THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020) UNIVERSAL MONSTER REVIVAL. MOVIE REVIEW.

Invisible Man – Universal Monster

After attempts to create a Dark Universe with the classic Universal Studios monsters, pantheon displays failed, given the failures of The Mummy (2017) and Dracula Untold (2014), the executives decided to create individual films with these characters. As a result of this comes The Invisible Man by Leigh Whannell, co-produced by Blumhouse.

The invisible man is a character created by H.G. Wells in 1897 in the novel of the same name. Taken to the movies by revered director James Whale in 1933, he was part of Universal Studios monster universe, joining Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Werewolf. Since then, the theme of invisibility has been revisited numerous times in both books and movies.

Invisible stalker

Cecilia flees from a toxic relationship with her partner Adrian, who is a billionaire wizard inventor, owner of a large company that is dedicated to high-end technology. Shortly after her escape, and in hiding living with her sister’s boyfriend, Cecilia learns that Adrian has committed suicide and she inherits a large amount of money. Severely damaged by how insanely possessive Adrian was in their relationship, she remains in a permanent state of paranoia, which begins to escalate when strange events begin to occur in her daily life.

Elizabeth Moss emotional performance.

Director Leigh Whannell, who also wrote the script, succeeds in telling this story of how the fears of a person affected by emotional torture received in an abusive relationship can become reality. And all the weight of this dramatic effect falls on the performance of Elizabeth Moss, who delivers everything in the role of Cecilia. Both, in her most vulnerable moments and in those that she has to will herself with the courage to fight for her life and her beloved ones, Moss is simply admirable. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is not very memorable.

Admirable SFX and editing

The special effects are top-notch. From the admirable use of CGI on the invisibility scenes to the most simpler practical effects. All of them work together to give a very convincing sense of the unseen menace. The long action scenes are excellent and very well directed by Whannell. With confidence, the production team did not shy away from showing long takes where the invisible presence is present. This is made possible by superb editing work, which makes it imperceptible to the viewer to see where the cuts are made in these long scenes, giving the appearance that these scenes are made in just one shot. The original music compositions are decisive and forceful. On a technical level in general, The Invisible Man is a flawless movie.

A plethora of creative licenses

Horror and sci-fi filmmakers often use unconvincing creative licenses to have a greater impact on the narrative of the story, or simply to lengthen it. And in the case of The Invisible Man, these licenses were excessive. The story is full of nonsense, plot holes, and continuity errors that make it somewhat frustrating if you follow the plot carefully.

(Spoilers) The suit besides giving invisibility also gives superhuman strength? Did a simple pen affect the suit more than any of the other hits it received in the movie? Are there no cameras in the restaurants? Why does Cecilia stop bleeding just minutes after slicing her wrist? Why doesn’t Cecilia take the evidence that Adrian is alive when she finds it in the attic? How did they can reach so soon Cecilia at Adrian’s house if she had traveled for a long time? In short, there are many absurd situations and samples of lazy writing in which Leight Whannell, the screenwriter, depreciates the great work of Leigh Whannell, the director.

Good, a failed chance to be great.

If The Invisible Man hadn’t had a multitude of flaws in the script, it would have raised its quality dramatically. Maybe reaching a small classic status. And this is because the film is simply excellent in all its technical aspects, in the dedicated performance of Elizabeth Moss, and the great action sequences. Still, it’s a good movie, its successes outweighing its failures. With a high entertainment value, the best thing is to disconnect the brain a bit and get carried away.

Delirium Score.