The Invisible Man

Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, The Invisible Man follows Elisabeth Moss’ Cecilia Kass as she escapes from her abusive boyfriend (Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s Adrian Griffin) and breathes a sigh of relief after he supposedly commits suicide – with terror ensuing as Cecilia becomes convinced that she’s being stalked by her dead ex. Filmmaker Whannell does an absolutely stunning job of immediately drawing the viewer into the deliberately-paced proceedings, as The Invisible Man kicks off with an impressively tense sequence detailing Cecilia’s surreptitious efforts at leaving Jackson Cohen’s sleeping character – with the movie, past that point, segueing into a remarkably compelling midsection that rarely goes where one might’ve anticipated. (There is, for example, a scene set within a restaurant that’s breathtaking in its audaciousness.) There’s little doubt, as well, that Moss’ frequently riveting performance plays a significant role in cementing The Invisible Man‘s success, and it goes without saying, too, that the inclusion of several astonishingly exciting and visceral action interludes paves the way for a third act that fares almost uncommonly well. (The somewhat overlong running time of 124 minutes is ultimately Whannell’s only real misstep here.) The end result is a contemporary horror remake that transcends its source material to become something wholly original and vital, with Whannell certainly (and definitively) establishing a place for himself among the very best filmmakers currently working in genre cinema.

***1/2 out of ****