Review: The Invisible Man
There’s always some trepidation about a film when the property has been made and remade across eras. The concept of the “invisible killer” has been a go-to in the horror genre and when it was announced that Elisabeth Moss would be starring in yet another take on The Invisible Man, the only reassurance we had was knowing that Moss is a discerning actor who chooses high-quality projects.
In this iteration of the story, Moss plays Cecilia, a woman caught in an abusive relationship with her husband, a tech guru. When she finally escapes his clutches in a harrowing scene with spectacular suspense-building flare, she’s able to flee with the help of her sister and a friend. When he turns up dead, she’s suspicious of the reported cause: suicide. Why would a wealthy and incredibly successful man with an ego to match kill himself out of the blue?
We’ve come to expect Moss to helm movies that feature female heroines prominently, (this year’s Shirley and the multi-season The Handmaid's Tale being just a couple of examples) so it wasn’t too surprising to see her own this role and bring showcase female empowerment in the context of a relationship with an abuser. I don’t want to spoil how that looks in this film, but credit is definitely owed to writer/director Leigh Whannell (Saw and Insidious) for not only making good use of Moss’ talent, but also creating a truly terrifying atmosphere for it. Many who have survived abusive relationships will know, living in the shadow of an abuser is scarier than the scariest horror movie.