Horror movies are sometimes a hard sell for me because I like to be genuinely scared rather than shocked and it is very rare that a movie can really scare me (the exceptions are The Witch and Hereditary). However, I really liked the trailer for The Invisible Man so I decided to see it last night. If you are wondering if I was scared I will just say that I screamed out loud (and so did the majority of the people in my screening). Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) flees from an abusive relationship with Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a wealthy and powerful tech guru in the field of optics, with the help of her sister Emily (Harriet Dyer). She stays with her childhood friend James (Aldis Hodge) and his daughter Sydney (Storm Reid). Several weeks later she learns that Adrian has committed suicide and has left her a large bequest in his will. After a series of disturbing incidents that alienate her from Emily and James, she comes to believe that Adrian has found a way to become invisible and that he faked his suicide so that he can terrorize her. She appears more and more erratic but no one believes that an invisible man is behind her behavior. She is forced to take matters into her own hands but how can you fight someone you can't see? This is a psychological thriller that is entirely believable. The monster from H.G. Wells' classic novel has been updated to a villain (a domestic abuser who takes gaslighting to a whole new level) that contemporary audiences can relate to and it is a terrifying premise. It is sometimes almost unbearable watching Cecilia's fear and powerlessness. The tension builds and builds, more because of what you can't see than for what you can, until there is a twist that I didn't see coming and an ending that made me want to stand up and cheer! Moss gives a riveting performance (she is great at portraying women in the midst of a breakdown) and I was fully invested in her plight. This movie is genuinely scary and I recommend it to fans of the genre.
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