LogFAQs > #946460455

19. The Invisible Man (2020 film) (22.5 points)
Nominated by: BetrayedTangy (0/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSBsNeYqh-k

Importance: 5
Fear: 7.5
Snake: 10

The Invisible Man is my new gold-standard for remakes. The fact that we got this amazing film from out of the failure that was the Dark Universe is a feat in and of itself. Incredibly modern and culturally relevant, I'm tempted to call this film the next evolution in horror storytelling. We could've easily gotten a lazy film much like 2017's awfully forgettable The Mummy: an action-adventure flick where none of the action or adventure is fun to watch at all and only the lightest touches of horror are present in a retelling stuck in the doldrums of retelling a story no one really cares about anymore. Imagine a world where this was a remake that had Griffin create the invisible potion in his mad scientist lab and then terrorizes a city as Detective McDerrick played by Chris Evans tries to track him down. Directed by Leigh Whannell fresh off his 2018 action-body horror hybrid Upgrade, he had much bigger ambitions in mind. Make no mistake, The Invisible Man is made for mainstream audiences, but melds blockbuster horror sensibilities with an artful minimalism, where its antagonist is never seen by design and it becomes solely a character study focused on this traumatized young woman (Cecilia), abused emotionally and physically by her controlling mega-millionaire boyfriend (Griffin). Cecilia manages to escapes this cycle of violence, but still feels the presence of Griffin everywhere she goes, even after he seemingly commits suicide. When Cecilia starts getting mysteriously drugged, feels like she's being watched, and her life gets put in danger, of course no one believes her. It becomes an obvious allegory seeped in MeToo and Believe Women comparisons, and that's fine. Elizabeth Moss infuses her character with decades worth of pent up anger, emotion, and injustice, serving as the perfect avatar for any woman out there who has ever been afraid to share their story, their emotional trauma, their abuse at the hands of men just like Griffin. Owing to the film's modernity yet again, Griffin feels like Tony Stark by way of Harvey Weinstein, a character in power only increasing that manipulative stranglehold over others through the use of science, money and invention. For example, Griffin leaves Cecilia millions of dollars in a trust fund only to have it frozen when she's committed to a mental institution; Griffin toys with Cecilia's life as if she's his own personal plaything simply because he can. And yeah, you could say it was Griffin's asshole lawyer brother in the suit, but I think that again ties into the whole 'believe women" thing, where the real abuser gets away with everything simply due to his current stature. No, when Cecilia slits Griffin's throat at the end, it's a statement, to stop letting anyone, man or woman, keep getting away with any sort of abuse you may be experiencing, no matter how small or insignificant it my seem.

With powerfully resonate themes and Whannell's confidently stylish direction that incorporates dazzling and creative superhero-esque action with an unmatched sense of suspense and excellently timed shockers, The Invisible Man has already cemented itself as one of the early bests of the 2020s. It's not afraid to throw out what doesn't work in the old story to make room for a new voice that people actually want to hear, while still keeping the integrity and intent of the original intact. I thought this was movie was going to blow big time based on the trailers, but I've never been so happy to have been proven dead wrong. Its status as one of the first COVID-affected movies to be released for home streaming early also made sure this film was put in front of a lot more eyeballs than maybe it would've otherwise, though that being said it still managed to be a box office smash. This is the kind of horror remake we need more of now, there simply isn't any room for The Mummy route anymore. The bar has been raised, and now it's up the filmmakers to keep meeting that bar and deliver pertinent, scary horror films like The Invisible Man.

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Bare feet on the tile with my head up in the clouds
https://imgur.com/1e1e70S