The Invisible Man

     Since my last reviews have been of horror films that have come out years ago, this week I wanted to tackle something that was much more recent in our minds and thus I picked The Invisible Man. I did not have the luck of watching this in theaters, but I did manage to get my hands on it once it came out to home media and so I turned off all of the lights and watched it one late Saturday night and let me just say that it is a great film. It might arguably even be the best crafted film of 2020, and no, I am not joking. It is incredibly well-written, and the performances are all superb, especially the masterclass performance given by Elisabeth Moss. There are several elements of the film to enjoy but let us start with the most obvious.

Aside from having terrific writing, the actors all present themselves as truly believable within the context of the film, especially Elisabeth Moss. I know the Academy does not typically nominate actors for their performances in horror films, but she absolutely deserves a nomination for all of the emotion she brought to the film. She does an excellent job conveying her horror, panic, desperation, and near insanity as a terrorized woman who is at the mercy of an abusive partner. Aldis Hodge also does a fantastic job at portraying a caring and protective friend and father. He has really become one of the top actors and I look forward to seeing what he does next. Aside from the acting, the direction is also great. Director Leigh Whannell is no stranger to the new age sci-fi horror films, as his last venture was the well-received Upgrade, and he once again does a great job here. He does not oversaturate the film with unnecessary horror tropes like jump scares. Rather, he lets the silence build an uneasy tension that is palpable. The score suits the ambiance perfectly, as well as the cinematography and pacing.

The film is simply excellent. It is brutal at times without being unnecessarily gory. It creates an incredible tension without paying it off with unnecessary jump scares. It is the type of horror film that can transcend the genre and be looked at for its high quality and become a worthy contender for film of the year. It also brings up some very serious issues that women deal with and it does not pull any punches when it comes to portraying them. An important film for this generation, and what I hope will ultimately lead to a shift in the way the horror genre moves forward. Also, I am incredibly thankful that this went on to be a stand-alone and not a part of some god-awful Dark universe. Official Rating: 4 Stars.

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