‘The Invisible Man’ review: A chilling mind-bender

Don’t be confused between HG Wells’ classic tale of The Invisible Man and this more modern yarn, which borrows the name but utilises a few techno tricks of its own.

Leigh Whannell’s serviceable production opens on an eerie note.

It’s the middle of the night and Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) is desperately trying to escape from Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Chen), her abusive husband who is sleeping beside her.

Slowly she threads her way through their high-tech minefield of a home, making sure she does not set off alarms and wake him up.

Elisabeth Moss in ‘The Invisible Man’. Photo: Universal Pictures

This unfortunate woman has been trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with Adrian, her wealthy and brilliant scientist husband, whose futuristic inventions will benefit mankind.  She now wants out of the relationship before she is murdered by him.

After going into hiding, aided by her understanding sister (Harriet Dyer), their childhood friend (Aldis Hodge) and his teenage daughter (Storm Reid),

Cecilia learns that her husband has committed suicide. He has left her a generous portion of his vast fortune, but the all-knowing Cecilia, however, suspects Adrian’s death is a hoax.

What follows is a convoluted tale in which Cecilia has to prove to the authorities that she is not insane.

Aldis Hodge, Elisabeth Moss and Storm Reid in ‘The Invisible Man’. Photo: Universal Pictures

As the story unfolds, a series of eerie coincidences begin to turn lethal, situations which threaten the lives of all those she loves.

An immensely frightening aspect of the narrative is that Cecilia is having to prove that she is being hunted by something (or somebody) whom nobody can see. It’s like this deadly entity is not only invisible but destructive, too.

Director and writer Whannell, who acknowledges the HG Wells inspiration, elicits convincing performances from her cast, especially Elisabeth Moss, who has to anchor the enterprise.

The Invisible Man is not without its moments of graphic violence and wholesale bloodletting, but there is enough meat on the bone to keep it all on the boil with a nicely judged twist at the end.

Elisabeth Moss in ‘The Invisible Man’. Photo: Universal Pictures

Info

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Harriet Dyer, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Director: Leigh Whannell
Classification: 18DHLV

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