I saw the preview for The Invisible Man and absolutely knew that I was in. If you remember Hollow Man, there is one point where the film takes a dramatic left turn, and Kevin Bacon’s character turns rapey. Was it the effect of the experiment or was he always a predator? This film seemed as if it wanted to expand that question by focusing on the target of his abuse instead of the titular character. Regardless of how I feel about the actual movie that she is in, Elisabeth Moss can act her ass off and is usually the best part of the film or a close runner up: Us, Her Smell, The Seagull, The One I Love. I also support Blumhouse Productions as a film studio because while all their films aren’t Get Out, filmgoers are more likely to get the next Get Out from Blumhouse than any other studio. Blumhouse unashamedly embraces horror and is willing to take chances so for every dreadful Fantasy Island and Unfriended: Dark Web, you also get franchises like Paranormal Activity and The Purge; better as stand alone hits as Sinister; and great one offs like The Bay, Oculus, Whiplash, The Gift, Split, BlacKkKlansman or Upgrade.
The Invisible Man’s best action sequence is in the mental hospital, but it has some amazing special effects. Director Leigh Whannell’s unflinching influence in the action scenes was evident. Whannell directed Upgrade, his sophomore film, which I absolutely adored because it was merciless so I came to the film with high expectations. I am not sure if Blumhouse invested more money in this film because he proved himself with Upgrade, or if it was earmarked cash for the Dark Universe franchise. You have probably forgotten, but Universal Studios used The Mummy starring Tom Cruise to launch their creature features, and this film allegedly was supposed to be a part of that franchise, but no one cared or probably remembers except me so that plan was scrapped although I do not understand the logistics of the deal since Universal and Blumhouse are different studios, right? While The Invisible Man is an improvement in terms of production quality and consistent acting quality, the story felt fundamentally unbalanced, which could have been the point, but did not work for me.
The Invisible Man is a terrific horror movie because I already get unbearable second-hand anxiety while watching those seventies sitcoms where characters get their signals crossed, and the stakes are low. Miscommunication can literally mean life or death, and there are infinite misunderstandings until the absolute end. Also by pulling a Logan and introducing an affable black family, the stakes are higher because I was constantly worried that they were going to get killed. This film turns the screws on our protagonist in a mostly plausible way so the tension is unrelenting, and we never get any relief. Moss deftly depicts the double edged sword for survivors—the protagonist is anxious because she did suffer abuse, but even her allies question whether the experience has left her with a sound mind. She is the dangerous, crazy woman.
I really hate it when films give enough objective evidence to a character that the character could use to prove that she was not insane yet inexplicably refrains from doing so. This situation is different from authorities ignoring irrefutable evidence because patriarchy (I am looking at you, Alabama). For example, in one scene, she literally presents her evidence to the enemy when her best friend is a cop, who probably could give the evidence to a lab for fingerprinting and DNA testing then her sister, a lawyer, is a witness, who could corroborate the protagonist’s story of how the DNA got on the object. In the real world, it would be the first argument that made to an authority, but instead it is used in an argument with someone who was never on her side then is never raised again. That dangling thread bugged me.
I have other suspension of disbelief issues with The Invisible Man. I will not give away how characters become invisible (side note: not naked, phew, because that has always been the most ridiculous part of the story that a naked man can be comfortably get up to shenanigans while flying free) yet just because you can make yourself invisible does not mean that you become super strong or invulnerable. Sure an invisible person does not have to deal with effective defense which could amplify the attack, but to hurl anyone across the room or force a person to have a certain physical reaction for any length of time requires a consistent level of weight training and domination that I never bought could happen repeatedly. You cannot force someone to physically do something unless you are stronger than that person.
The Invisible Man is not cleanly divided into three parts. The first and second part feel a little one note because we focus on the escape and recovery, but the recovery phase does not get enough time before we plunge into the gaslighting/she is a crazy woman phase. I saw this film the day after I saw Seberg so maybe that proximity affected my reaction to this film, but it feels as if we really enjoy ogling the psychological torture of a woman. When the movie refuses to end like the last film in The Lord of the Rings, alarm bells began to go off for me. The viewer knows more than the protagonist about what is unfolding, yet the denouement evokes ambiguity to shift sympathy away from the protagonist. I actually believe that the filmmakers were aiming to finally empower the protagonist with the motivation of protecting innocent children, which was credible because women are notorious for treating others, especially children, better than herself, but the way that it is done makes her seem like a cold blooded, manipulative figure, and the men of the film are the real victims. The tone shift is a dramatic contrast to what we see in the beginning of the film. Until the end of the film, we never fully see her significant other. In the beginning, we only get fragments so by taking the time to reassess him in a clear-headed, full shot reveals not a monster, but a victim at worst or an excellent actor at best. This refocus makes her look like the monster instead of the final girl who is changed, but survives and is a champion. I think that the intention was to appropriate his power, but the shift in how the camera moved when it was focusing on the protagonist and the significant other inadvertently made them literally trade places. Our eyes are trained to sympathize depending on the composition of the shot, and he possesses that space in the denouement. I felt robbed by the ending, especially since up to that point, the movie did such a superb job of detailing the nuances of abusive relationships.
The Invisible Man’s overall story did not work. I do not need details, but if you are going to offer some to me, then I want everything. The movie falls all over itself to reassure the audience that the protagonist is just friends with Aldis Hodge’s character (it is nice to finally see him on the other side of bars), but how does she know him? I also thought that the relationship with the sister felt too fraught with tension. It would alternate from stalwart defender to being willing to completely write each other off, and I think that the movie failed to convey or imply the structure of these relationships.
Imagine if Tony Stark was an abusive genius meets Sleeping with The Enemy, and if that description intrigues you, then definitely see The Invisible Man, but the story needs work, and maybe it is just a smidge longer than it should be. The dog lives!