The Invisible Man (2020)

	Directed by: Leigh Whannell	COUNTRY Australia/USA GENRE Science Fiction/Horror NORWEGIAN TITLE The Invisible Man RUNNING TIME 124 minutes
	Produced by: Jason Blum Kylie du Fresne
	Written by (based on the novel by H. G. Wells): Leigh Whannell

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Cecilia "Cee" Kass	Elisabeth Moss	½
James Lanier	Aldis Hodge	½
Sydney "Sid" Lanier	Storm Reid	-
Adrian Griffin	Oliver Jackson-Cohen	-
Emily "Em" Kass	Harriet Dyer
Tom Griffin	Michael Dorman

Review

A remarkably strong lead performance by Elisabeth Moss spearheads this otherwise far too formulaic take on H. G. Wells' famous 1897 novel. Moss is in a violent and controlling relationship with a wealthy and brilliant inventor in the field of optics (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). Having carefully planned to escape his controlling grip, she finally leaves, and then learns that her husband has committed suicide. While staying with a friend to recuperate, she soon starts experiencing inexplicable apparitions in and around the house.

The film's opening segment is a hair-raising achievement in movie making and will probably make a deep impression on anyone who has ever lived in or around an abusive relationship. Moss' acting here is terrifyingly intense, so much so that you soon wish this segment had belonged to another movie. Because once The Invisible Man moves into horror territory, director Leigh Whannell (the penner of the Saw and Insidious franchises) starts raiding the cliché cabinet and the film goes from genuinely stirring to mostly jump scares and predictable plot twists. Still it retains a certain level of interest thanks to Ms. Moss' continued dedication and a rather elegant ending (save for a very obvious case of Chekov's gun).