PG, 2hr 4min,
Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Opens Today
Leigh Whannell’s “The Invisible Man” is an effective, smart and timely thriller. In an era where every known property from every possible genre is exposed and remade multiple times, Universal Studios and Blumhouse Productions found a way to bring something new and fresh to the proceedings.
This is due primarily to lead Elisabeth Moss (“Mad Men,” “The Handmaid’s Tale”), who’s a force of nature in this film. She has the ability to build empathy in an audience while also towing the line between tormented victim and badass hero. There’s no one like her on television or film right now.
We all know the story of “The Invisible Man,” so I won’t bother giving a synopsis of the original novel or the Universal Picture monster movie starring Claude Rains from 1933, but I will give a bit of context for this most recent incarnation: In 2017 Universal announced a shared “Dark Universe” to relaunch all of the classic Universal horror properties to modern audiences. The plans included the casting of Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Edward Hyde, Javier Bardem as the Frankenstein Monster, and Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man. Tom Cruise was also part of this strategy with his film “The Mummy,” which would be the first relaunch title out of the gate for the new banner.
Unfortunately for Universal, 2017’s “The Mummy” would be a critical and box office failure, causing Universal Studios to cancel all planned “Dark Universe” horror remakes. Enter Jason Blum (Producer, “Get Out”), who took on the “Invisible” property and gave it the treatment it needed.
This included a significantly lower budget compared to other recent horror relaunch attempts. Made for a paltry (by today’s standards) $7 million, I can’t help but think that the filmmakers having their hands monetarily tied somehow allowed them to stretch their creativity and focus more on script, performance and mood. They certainly did more with less on this one. I was struck at how tense the film is. It takes its time to build tension, allowing Moss to not only build character but the film to embrace its tone.
The story – written by director Whannell – doesn’t have a lot in common with the H.G. Welles novel. That’s fine. We’ve seen it. What it does center around is an abusive ex that takes his own life and leaves his fortune to his girlfriend, who suspects his death was a hoax. What’s most impressive about this story is that it takes a 100+ year old novel and makes it about something modern and relevant. Specifically, physical and emotional abuse and trauma in the #MeToo era. An extremely effective take, but one that might be triggering for some viewers.
If Universal Studios was smart they would put Bloomhouse in charge of more of the Universal monsters and earn the audience back with responsible budgets and good, well thought out screenplays. What a novel approach!
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