This
invisible man is serious about invisibility, so he doesn’t mess around with
hats, goggles, and bandages. That is rather unfortunate for the woman he stalks
so stealthily. Fans will miss the iconic imagery of the 1930s Universal monster
franchise, but they should still appreciate the tension of Blumhouse’s
modernized take on The Invisible Man,
directed by Leigh Whannel, which opens tomorrow nationwide.
After
careful planning, Cecilia Kass finally manages to escape from her cruel and
controlling lover, the fabulously wealthy Adrian Griffin. He made his fortune
through his breakthroughs in optics, so you know what that means. Shortly
thereafter, Griffin suspiciously commits suicide. At least it is suspicious to
Kass and us. Sure enough, an invisible entity is soon tormenting her. He is
especially vicious, devising ways to isolate Kass from her support system,
including her platonic cop friend James Lanier and his daughter Sydney, with
whom she has been crashing.
Forget
all the hype about Invisible Man
being a #metoo movie. That’s just lazy marketing hype. Yes, Kass definitely
must overcome Griffin’s abusive and manipulative behavior, but this is really
an old fashioned “woman in jeopardy” thriller (this a term we really use in
publishing), raised to the power of one hundred. Despite the affection we all
have for the disembodied raincoat gags of the 1933 films, the invisibility special
effects this time around are quite impressive—and Griffin’s attacks are notably
violent. Indeed, Whannel and the tech team fully live up to the frightening
implications of an invisible monster.
Whannel’s
nearly-in-name-only adaptation of Wells’ Invisible
Man also shifts the focus from the unseen mad man, to his victim (or would
be victim), Kass. Fortunately, Elisabeth Moss is up to the challenge of
carrying the picture and playing complicated attack scenes by herself. Moss is
terrific portraying her fear, alienation, vulnerability, and resiliency, which
is a lot of emotional terrain to cover. Even though it comes in a pure genre
film, this might be Moss’s best performance to date.
Aldis
Hodge’s portrayal of Lanier is quite charismatic and grounded. Plus, it is cool
to see his character wearing a Prestige Records t-shirt (a vintage jazz
label—we prefer Blue Note’s ethics and aesthetics, but there is no denying they
waxed some classic sessions).
Blumhouse’s
Invisible Man is a suspenseful ride,
right from the start. Somehow, Whannel and cinematographer Stefan Duscio makes
shots of nothing feel like something—something menacing. It looks great, but
Benjamin Wallfisch’s portentous score should have been cranked down a bit in
the sound mix. Nevertheless, the final product is quite a successful
reboot/remake/re-conception. It certainly puts The Mummy to shame, but most films do. Recommended for fans of dark
suspense and Blumhouse, The Invisible Man
opens tomorrow (2/28) across the country, including the AMC Empire in New
York.
