Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

The Invisible Man (2020)

This is a white knuckled twisted story that had me constantly on the edge of my seat! Elizabeth Moss delivers a riveting performance that is emotionally heartbreaking and incredibly captivating to watch unfold onscreen. The film goes through this incredible maze of events where we don’t know where anything will end up by the final act it had me constantly amazed by how well structured and well executed all the twists and turns were in this film. As if really makes you pay attention to every single detail as it will have some sort of importance later on and I love that aspect that was brought to the film. This film gets under your skin and into your brain as it will chill you and amaze you all at the same time. 

Firstly, one of the biggest strengths this film has is in the screenplay. The way the story is crafted is not like your average horror film as Leigh Whannell grounded the story in a terrifyingly realistic way that Scares you more with the psychologically emotional scenes then the actual horror scenes and I haven’t had that effect on me in a while as it’s more about how the films seeps through your brain and unsettles you emotionally and mentally and uses that as the driving force of the scares and it was so smartly approached and executed. Their is only about three or four actual jump scares a lot of the scares are used from the uneasy feeling of silence and not knowing of What’s going to happen. The film uses its pulse on you to make you paranoid by playing with sound and would constantly unsettle the audience by having a simple scene of Elizabeth Moss walk around a house with music overplaying and then it will just stop and the tension would rise in such a nail biting suspenseful way that would constantly have me on edge. Now the way they use the sound of the film to seep into the scares is the same way a Quiet Place was executed which is to make the audience uncomfortable by winding up the tension by just using that scary element of unpredictability. Then In such a simple conversation between two people would send me chills due to how the camera was positioned in a way and the music bubbling underneath until something pops off right when you think it will then dose not and when your guard is down then they go for the scare. So the way in which the horror was presented was showing this abusive relationship which is very real thing that within itself is already terrifying. Then when you add the element of the horror scares that only contributes already added layers of scares as the abusive relationship is terrifying to watch unfold but then to have this classic horror style shown as well makes it a punch to the chest. The writing is realistic how an actual abusive relationship would be like its scarily realistic as their is lines of dialogue in which I was almost in tears of how they don’t glorify or just to make the persons actions redeemable as they keep it as grounded as possible in probably to what I think is one of the most realistic depictions of emotional abusive relationships captured onscreen. It could of just been another by the numbers horror film but Leigh Whaanell dug deep down and really showed something truly unique and compelling as it is multi layered in grounded depictions but also being able to use different elements of emotional, psychical and bloody horror that was brilliantly brought to the surface of the screen.

Secondly, The acting in this film is incredible! Everyone involved all gave solid work from Aldis Hodge who gives a layered and emotionally restrained but incredibly effective performance. Micheal Dorman has a supporting role in this film and isn’t in it much but when he is he shines in every moment he speaks as he brings this shady character to life with his fantastic onscreen charisma and energy that is intimating and terrifying all at once and it’s an amazing supporting turn that deserves to be recognized. And then theirs Elizabeth Moss who gives once again another captivating performance that shows such a emotionally scared and mentally battered from so much stress and she brings that to the screen in an intensity that demands your attention and you can’t look away. Overall the entire cast gave terrific performances that you can’t help but be mesmerized by. 

Lastly, The Invisible Man delivers on a deep level very few horror films have. It roots the central discussion in brutal realistic honesty and then Sprinkles it with horror elements that make what’s an already horrifying story and makes it spine chilling. This is definitely one of the best written screenplays for a horror film I’ve seen ever and the lead performance from Elizabeth Moss is truly extraordinary and one that will be talked about. The Invisible Man is a film that will be talked about for years to come. I  recommend everyone go see this film  it’s a true piece of brilliance. 

Rated R : for some strong bloody violence, and language

This film centres on a woman trying to escape from her abusive relationship and when she finds out he is dead she tries to convince people his death was a hoax and that he’s haunting her without even being able to see him 

Elizabeth Moss :  Moss gives a gripping and  charged performance full of pain that slashes her emotionally from the inside! Moss has turned into one of the best actors working today as even when the film itself isn’t the best she’s always the best part because she always shows up and delivers her one hundred and ten percent to every role she plays. Here she plays a person who’s being haunted by her abusive relationship that she feels she can’t escape from and the sheer raw emotional vulnerability that she bares onscreen is heartbreaking. Theirs this sadness that washes over her face and this paranoia she is constantly feeling and is always in a state of. She’s always on edge and to the point where she can’t sleep and you see this blackness around her eyes and you can see the psychical toll it’s taking on her body and Elizabeth tackles this role and she plays an abuse victim and she doesn’t stereotype what an actual victim would do or how they would act she did a genuine and realistic portrayal of it and accurately shows the battered emotional scars it leaves on you. Elizabeth can be so expressive through her eyes as their are moments where you’ll see a look in her eye and wow it is gutting to see as you see her just pouring herself into this role and she truly shines in it. When she would speak you would hear this shakiness in her voice this sense of an uneasy feeling and those small pieces of attention to detail meant so much. Elizabeth can show her vulnerability and show this emotional brokenness but then she learns how to show that she’s not afraid and that’s powerful that she goes through this very dark place emotionally and comes out of it quite bruised but then slowly tries to piece herself back together and we see just that so we get to see this character develop and showcase such different amount of layers of herself and Elizabeth commits to every frame of this film giving to what I think is one of the best performances of her career she is a tour de force Moss is brilliant. 

Leigh Whannell  : Leigh gave masterful direction on this film! this filmmaker I am familiar with him As he made the film Upgrade a few years ago now and I still have not seen it only that I heard how impressive his specific style of direction is. I can see why now after seeing what he Brough to the screen with the Invisible Man. Here he does use horror but the true horror element isn’t gory or jump scares what the true horror is at the root of the story is Abuse. The film’s central plot is tackling and showing how an abuse victim can easily not be believed and he uses horror elements to convey that meaning in a very stylistic but still brutally honest way. The film never gets wrapped up in the whole spectacle of the visuals he focused on the narrative and then the visuals which is a mistake many horror filmmakers do quite a lot which is style over substance. Here he actually did it the correct way in which he made sure his characters were properly fleshed out and made sure he had a concrete story that was worth telling and then he shows the cool visuals. I respect his approach as well with blending a lot of these genres together as their is a sci-fi element their is hard hitting drama and their is straight up horror and I love that he was able to blend so many genres into a single narrative and it worked so effectively. He captures fantastic performances from his entire cast and a true tour de force from his lead Elizabeth Moss. Leigh brought such a thrilling and original concept that tackled so many topics and he showed them in the brutal ugliness of each one while still giving scares that felt effective and genuine rather then predictable and lazy. This film iis emotionally exhausting but yet I couldn’t look away he has captured and written a brilliant film that people will be talking about for years to come. It is one of the most well structured, well acted and incredibly well directed films in sometime Leigh you did an outstanding job.