j* movie reviews 2020

The Invisible Man (2020)

Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi, oi, oi - horror perfection!

Look we talk a big talk about the Saw Franchise (I don't think I've ever even seen one!) but we don't celebrate the fact that Leigh Whannell is an Australian nearly enough. He was that cute twenty-year old who used to do movie reviews on Recovery in the shadow of the irrepressible Dylan Lewis and a gazillion forms of epic chaos. Leigh has written and directed Invisible Man. And it was filmed in Australia so it should be celebrated more clearly as an **Australian made film.** It might be set in San Fran, but the epic beach house is in Gerringong.

Right. So the basics of this story and intense tone are pretty clear from the trailer. Bad boyfriend. Girl leaves him. He dies, turns invisible and haunts her every move - is she crazy? And this film delivers 100%. It is an intense exploration of both domestic violence and Yellow Wallpaper level female madness. I'd argue there are similarities here to Unsane (2018). Elizabeth Moss plays the disbelieved Celia with grit, gusto and a whole lot of twisty facials.

This is a horror film that is predominantly psychological with some genius moments of slasher. Because of the invisibility, there are also sections that tap the vibe, tone and beats of a supernatural ghost story. There are shots set up to drive you mental as you search a large "empty" space for slight signs of movement or presence, often to no avail. And then later there are rewards with clear (and invisible) presences that are very creepy.... before eventually becoming violent and terrifying.

The deaths are spectacular.

Celia's housemate James (Aldis Hodge) is an excellent character and he plays so many varied roles within this; good cop, social worker, doting dad, disbeliever, defensive Dad. I also enjoyed what I take as a complete lack of clarity around who he is, how he knows Celia and why he's a single Dad - this film just lets him exist as a character in the story.

Celia herself, and a few other characters, do at times have some impressive battles with the invisible. I could see how some people might just find this a bit hilarious as they writhe and roll around. Speaking of which there are a few great laugh moments amongst the tension. The pacing is great. The whooshy breath holdy air intakes are great.

The score is excellently ominous and makes more use of more bassy growling notes than a lot of horror, and soundscapes are very eerily 3D. And there are some twisty-turny twists and turns along the way. Some would argue the ending could be cropped, but I think both endings are worthy.

There are jumpy bits, eye closey bits, creeping dread bits and bits where you sympathise entirely with the need to just lash out. There is not really anything that I would change.

J* gives it 5 stars.

PS. I agonised about this for a while. My initial feeling was 4 stars, but this does all the things I describe in my own cheat notes for a five:
"so excellent. I forgot I was in the cinema, didn't care I was the only one laughing, feared for characters lives, physically twitched or jumped in scary bits and made oooohing or gasping noises I couldn't control. If I was going to change something in this film I know I would be nitpicking because it's pretty much done a perfect job. You're mad if you don't see this."