"The Invisible Man” makes a strong appearance

The revival of Universal’s smallest monster rewarded the brand in large ways.

Clinton Engelberger

“The Invisible Man”, released Feb. 28, made itself known through its gripping social commentary and genuinely effective scares.

Directed by Leigh Whannell, Universal’s next attempt at reviving their “Classic Monsters” brand proved to be a major success. After various films, such as “Dracula Untold” and “The Mummy”, failed to find much of an audience, director Leigh Whannell instead takes a lesser known monster and adds a riveting twist.

While the original 1933 film follows a mad scientist who turns himself invisible and invokes mischief on a small town, this updated version looks at the story through the eyes of the victim. After escaping an abusive relationship, Cecelia (Elisabeth Moss) finds that the death of her boyfriend is not a sure thing as she becomes tormented again through his invisibility breakthrough. The film's plot provides a timely look at social issues, such as domestic abuse and female empowerment. By looking through the lens of the victim and not the villain, audiences become truly terrified of what they cannot see.

The scares in the film are also immensely effective. Thanks to the filmmakers, the Invisible Man himself has multiple scenes that are set up to indefinitely frighten audiences. The film’s tension comes from extended scenes of our lead victim attempting to find her nemesis, only to be overwhelmingly taken off guard by a sudden movement or physical harm from him. The scares work effectively also due to the cast’s strong performances of grief and insanity, and Elisabeth Moss transforms her character in a way that creates empathy and horror with her intricate character. With such a small following, Whannell was able to take a lesser known monster and make him truly terrifying and popular for a new generation.

While the character development could have benefited from more personal screen time with

each character, the strong performances made each character stand out in a shock-driven film.

As various iterations of Dracula and Frankenstein continue to fail with budgets exceeding $120 million, it was the smallest of all the monsters that saved one of Universal’s most valuable horror brands.

4/5