The Invisible Man is a 2020 science fiction horror film written and directed by Leigh Whannell. A contemporary adaptation of the novel of the same name by H. G. Wells and a reboot of The Invisible Man film series, it follows a woman who believes she is being stalked by her abusive partner, despite him apparently having died. The film stars Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen. It is an international co-production of the United States and Australia.
Development of a new Invisible Man film began as early as 2007. The project was announced to be revived as part of Universal's shared cinematic universe in 2016, intended to consist of their classic monsters, with Johnny Depp attached to star in the title role. After The Mummy was released in 2017 to critical and financial failures, development was halted in all projects. In early 2019, the studio changed their plans from a serialized universe to films based on individualized story-telling, and the project reentered development. Principal photography commenced in July 2019 and wrapped that September in Sydney, Australia.
The Invisible Man was released in the United States on February 28, 2020, by Universal Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Moss's performance and the combination of scares with "a smart narrative about how women can be manipulated and abused in harmful relationships
Plot
Trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with wealthy scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) escapes in the dead of night and disappears into hiding, aided by her sister Emily (Harriet Dyer), their childhood friend James (Aldis Hodge) and his teenage daughter Sydney (Storm Reid). Adrian later commits suicide and leaves her a generous portion of his vast fortune, but a series of bizarre events leads Cecilia to suspect his death was a hoax. As these eerie coincidences turn lethal, threatening the lives of those she loves, Cecilia’s sanity begins to unravel as she desperately tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see. She visits Adrian's home to investigate and discovers a suit that uses cameras to render the wearer invisible. She takes it and hides it in the house before escaping as she continues to be followed by who she believes to be Adrian. When Cecilia attempts to tell her sister about the suit, Adrian cuts Emily's throat in a packed restaurant, making it look like Cecilia committed the crime.
Remanded to a treatment center while she awaits trial, Cecilia is informed by the medical staff that she is pregnant. Adrian's brother Tom (Michael Dorman) visits her and offers to help her if she agrees to return to Adrian and raise their child together, acknowledging that he helped his brother stage his suicide. Cecilia refuses his offer but manages to steal a pen from his briefcase, which she uses later to stab Adrian while he is lurking in her room. This causes his suit to malfunction and flicker in and out of visibility, drawing the attention of security. Adrian is able to violently incapacitate the security staff as he flees the building, but Cecilia follows him and attempts to kill him with a security guard's gun. Adrian subdues her and admits that he won't harm her while she is pregnant, but makes clear he plans to kill Sydney instead.
Cecilia races to James' house and ends up shooting and killing an invisible intruder, although she unmasks him and finds Tom in the suit. When police find Adrian alive at his house, claiming that he was his brother's captive all along, Cecilia realizes that Adrian sent Tom to James' house in his place, knowing what would happen. In an attempt to get Adrian to admit to his role, she meets him for dinner at his home to discuss her pregnancy, but Adrian denies any involvement. Knowing she'll never be safe as long as he is alive, Cecilia puts on the spare invisible suit and cuts his throat in full view of a security camera, making it seem as if he committed suicide.
Cast
Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia Kass
Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Adrian Griffin, a scientist and Cecilia's abusive ex-boyfriend.
Aldis Hodge as Detective James Lanier, a childhood friend of Cecilia.
Storm Reid as Sydney Lanier, the daughter of James.
Harriet Dyer as Emily Kass, the sister of Cecilia.
Michael Dorman as Tom Griffin, a lawyer and Adrian's brother.
Benedict Hardie as Marc, an architect.
Amali Golden as Annie
Sam Smith as Detective Reckley
Zara Michaels as Nurse
Anthony Brandon Wong as Accident Victim
Myles Rice as Security Guard
Production
Development
Development of a new The Invisible Man film began as early as 2007, when David S. Goyer was hired to write the screenplay.[3] Goyer remained attached to the project as late as 2011 with little to no development on the film.[4]
In February 2016, the project was announced to be revived as a part of Universal's shared cinematic universe, intended to consist of their classic monsters. Johnny Depp was cast as the titular role in the film, with Ed Solomon writing the screenplay.[5] The film was planned as part of Universal Pictures' modern-day reboot of Universal Monsters, called Dark Universe. The series of films, which began with The Mummy, was to be followed by Bride of Frankenstein in 2019. Producer Alex Kurtzman stated that fans should expect at least one film per year in the shared film universe.[6] However, once The Mummy was released with negative critical reception and box office returns that were deemed by the studio as less-than-expected, changes were made to the Dark Universe to focus on individual storytelling and moving on from the shared universe concept.[7][8][9]
In January 2019, Universal announced that all future movies based on the characters, would focus on standalone stories as opposed to inter-connectivity.[10] Successful horror film producer Jason Blum, founder of production company Blumhouse Productions,[11] had at various times publicly expressed his interest in reviving and working on future installments within the Dark Universe films. The film was set to be written and directed by Leigh Whannell, and produced by Blum, but it would not star Depp as previously reported.[12][13]
During an interview with Cinemablend's ReelBlend Podcast on February 22, 2020 Leigh Whannell stated that the movie is not part of any cinematic universe including the Dark Universe.[14] He stated "It was weird, this film came about in a really random way. It wasn’t like I was plugged into some kind of worldbuilding. I had just finished Upgrade, they called me in for a meeting with some of these Universal and Blumhouse execs… I go to this meeting, and they didn’t really talk about Upgrade. I mean, they said they liked it and they moved on. So, I’m sitting on this couch thinking 'What am I here for? What is this meeting about?' And they started talking about The Invisible Man."[14]
Casting
In March 2019, Elisabeth Moss entered early negotiations to star as one of the main characters,[15] with official casting the following month.[16] Storm Reid, Aldis Hodge, and Harriet Dyer later joined the cast,[17][18][19] with Oliver Jackson-Cohen cast in the titular role.[20]
Filming
Principal photography began on July 16, 2019 and ended on September 17, 2019 in Sydney, Australia.[21][22]
Music
Benjamin Wallfisch composed the music for the film.[23] Back Lot Music has released the soundtrack.
Release
The Invisible Man is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on February 28, 2020 by Universal Pictures.[24] It was originally scheduled for release on March 13, 2020, but in August 2019 was moved up two weeks.[25]
Reception
Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film is projected to gross $24–30 million from 3,600 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] It made $1.65 million from Thursday night previews.[26]
Critical response
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 91% of 173 reviews of the film were positive with an average rating of 7.57/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Smart, well-acted, and above all scary, The Invisible Man proves that sometimes, the classic source material for a fresh reboot can be hiding in plain sight."[27] Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[28] Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film an average 4 out of 5 stars, with 53% of people saying they would definitely recommend it.[26]
Manohla Dargis of the New York Times commented that Moss' performance "gives the movie its emotional stakes" and wrote that "while her agony can be unnerving, it is even more shivery when her weeping stops and this horror-movie damsel in distress becomes a threat."[29] Writing for The A.V. Club, Jesse Hassenger gave the film a B+, also praising Moss' performance and the film's centering of her character's experience;[30] the publication followed up with a video review from senior writer Katie Rife and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky who also gave a positive review for the aesthetic and filmmaking of Blumhouse Productions as well as Moss' performance.[31] Alison Willmore from Vulture commented about the effectiveness Moss' facial expressions and said that she "has established herself as an empress of the onscreen breakdown, our lady of ruined eye makeup..."[32] Patrick Cavanaugh of ComicBook.com gave 4/5 stars, and wrote that Whannell made "an experience that is both effective as a full-blown horror film and as a chilling reminder of the abuse one can suffer from a supposed loved one."[33]
Conversely, Nicholas Barber from BBC gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, claiming that "the latest remake of the HG Wells tale offers a timely feminist spin – but it's lacking in thrills." He criticized the film's vagueness, concluding that: "At a time when small-scale horror movies can be as stunning as A Quiet Place and Get Out, a film as perfunctory as The Invisible Man feels insulting".[34]
Future
In November 2019, it was announced that a spin-off film centered around the female counterpart to Invisible Man was in development. Elizabeth Banks will star in, direct, and produce a new adaptation of The Invisible Woman, based on her own original story pitch. Erin Cressida Wilson will write the script for the reboot of the female monster, while Max Handelman and Alison Small will serve as producer and executive producer, respectively.[35] Banks was allowed to choose a project from the roster of Universal Monsters, ultimately choosing Invisible Woman
Development of a new Invisible Man film began as early as 2007. The project was announced to be revived as part of Universal's shared cinematic universe in 2016, intended to consist of their classic monsters, with Johnny Depp attached to star in the title role. After The Mummy was released in 2017 to critical and financial failures, development was halted in all projects. In early 2019, the studio changed their plans from a serialized universe to films based on individualized story-telling, and the project reentered development. Principal photography commenced in July 2019 and wrapped that September in Sydney, Australia.
The Invisible Man was released in the United States on February 28, 2020, by Universal Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Moss's performance and the combination of scares with "a smart narrative about how women can be manipulated and abused in harmful relationships
Plot
Trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with wealthy scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) escapes in the dead of night and disappears into hiding, aided by her sister Emily (Harriet Dyer), their childhood friend James (Aldis Hodge) and his teenage daughter Sydney (Storm Reid). Adrian later commits suicide and leaves her a generous portion of his vast fortune, but a series of bizarre events leads Cecilia to suspect his death was a hoax. As these eerie coincidences turn lethal, threatening the lives of those she loves, Cecilia’s sanity begins to unravel as she desperately tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see. She visits Adrian's home to investigate and discovers a suit that uses cameras to render the wearer invisible. She takes it and hides it in the house before escaping as she continues to be followed by who she believes to be Adrian. When Cecilia attempts to tell her sister about the suit, Adrian cuts Emily's throat in a packed restaurant, making it look like Cecilia committed the crime.
Remanded to a treatment center while she awaits trial, Cecilia is informed by the medical staff that she is pregnant. Adrian's brother Tom (Michael Dorman) visits her and offers to help her if she agrees to return to Adrian and raise their child together, acknowledging that he helped his brother stage his suicide. Cecilia refuses his offer but manages to steal a pen from his briefcase, which she uses later to stab Adrian while he is lurking in her room. This causes his suit to malfunction and flicker in and out of visibility, drawing the attention of security. Adrian is able to violently incapacitate the security staff as he flees the building, but Cecilia follows him and attempts to kill him with a security guard's gun. Adrian subdues her and admits that he won't harm her while she is pregnant, but makes clear he plans to kill Sydney instead.
Cecilia races to James' house and ends up shooting and killing an invisible intruder, although she unmasks him and finds Tom in the suit. When police find Adrian alive at his house, claiming that he was his brother's captive all along, Cecilia realizes that Adrian sent Tom to James' house in his place, knowing what would happen. In an attempt to get Adrian to admit to his role, she meets him for dinner at his home to discuss her pregnancy, but Adrian denies any involvement. Knowing she'll never be safe as long as he is alive, Cecilia puts on the spare invisible suit and cuts his throat in full view of a security camera, making it seem as if he committed suicide.
Cast
Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia Kass
Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Adrian Griffin, a scientist and Cecilia's abusive ex-boyfriend.
Aldis Hodge as Detective James Lanier, a childhood friend of Cecilia.
Storm Reid as Sydney Lanier, the daughter of James.
Harriet Dyer as Emily Kass, the sister of Cecilia.
Michael Dorman as Tom Griffin, a lawyer and Adrian's brother.
Benedict Hardie as Marc, an architect.
Amali Golden as Annie
Sam Smith as Detective Reckley
Zara Michaels as Nurse
Anthony Brandon Wong as Accident Victim
Myles Rice as Security Guard
Production
Development
Development of a new The Invisible Man film began as early as 2007, when David S. Goyer was hired to write the screenplay.[3] Goyer remained attached to the project as late as 2011 with little to no development on the film.[4]
In February 2016, the project was announced to be revived as a part of Universal's shared cinematic universe, intended to consist of their classic monsters. Johnny Depp was cast as the titular role in the film, with Ed Solomon writing the screenplay.[5] The film was planned as part of Universal Pictures' modern-day reboot of Universal Monsters, called Dark Universe. The series of films, which began with The Mummy, was to be followed by Bride of Frankenstein in 2019. Producer Alex Kurtzman stated that fans should expect at least one film per year in the shared film universe.[6] However, once The Mummy was released with negative critical reception and box office returns that were deemed by the studio as less-than-expected, changes were made to the Dark Universe to focus on individual storytelling and moving on from the shared universe concept.[7][8][9]
In January 2019, Universal announced that all future movies based on the characters, would focus on standalone stories as opposed to inter-connectivity.[10] Successful horror film producer Jason Blum, founder of production company Blumhouse Productions,[11] had at various times publicly expressed his interest in reviving and working on future installments within the Dark Universe films. The film was set to be written and directed by Leigh Whannell, and produced by Blum, but it would not star Depp as previously reported.[12][13]
During an interview with Cinemablend's ReelBlend Podcast on February 22, 2020 Leigh Whannell stated that the movie is not part of any cinematic universe including the Dark Universe.[14] He stated "It was weird, this film came about in a really random way. It wasn’t like I was plugged into some kind of worldbuilding. I had just finished Upgrade, they called me in for a meeting with some of these Universal and Blumhouse execs… I go to this meeting, and they didn’t really talk about Upgrade. I mean, they said they liked it and they moved on. So, I’m sitting on this couch thinking 'What am I here for? What is this meeting about?' And they started talking about The Invisible Man."[14]
Casting
In March 2019, Elisabeth Moss entered early negotiations to star as one of the main characters,[15] with official casting the following month.[16] Storm Reid, Aldis Hodge, and Harriet Dyer later joined the cast,[17][18][19] with Oliver Jackson-Cohen cast in the titular role.[20]
Filming
Principal photography began on July 16, 2019 and ended on September 17, 2019 in Sydney, Australia.[21][22]
Music
Benjamin Wallfisch composed the music for the film.[23] Back Lot Music has released the soundtrack.
Release
The Invisible Man is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on February 28, 2020 by Universal Pictures.[24] It was originally scheduled for release on March 13, 2020, but in August 2019 was moved up two weeks.[25]
Reception
Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film is projected to gross $24–30 million from 3,600 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] It made $1.65 million from Thursday night previews.[26]
Critical response
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 91% of 173 reviews of the film were positive with an average rating of 7.57/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Smart, well-acted, and above all scary, The Invisible Man proves that sometimes, the classic source material for a fresh reboot can be hiding in plain sight."[27] Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[28] Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film an average 4 out of 5 stars, with 53% of people saying they would definitely recommend it.[26]
Manohla Dargis of the New York Times commented that Moss' performance "gives the movie its emotional stakes" and wrote that "while her agony can be unnerving, it is even more shivery when her weeping stops and this horror-movie damsel in distress becomes a threat."[29] Writing for The A.V. Club, Jesse Hassenger gave the film a B+, also praising Moss' performance and the film's centering of her character's experience;[30] the publication followed up with a video review from senior writer Katie Rife and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky who also gave a positive review for the aesthetic and filmmaking of Blumhouse Productions as well as Moss' performance.[31] Alison Willmore from Vulture commented about the effectiveness Moss' facial expressions and said that she "has established herself as an empress of the onscreen breakdown, our lady of ruined eye makeup..."[32] Patrick Cavanaugh of ComicBook.com gave 4/5 stars, and wrote that Whannell made "an experience that is both effective as a full-blown horror film and as a chilling reminder of the abuse one can suffer from a supposed loved one."[33]
Conversely, Nicholas Barber from BBC gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, claiming that "the latest remake of the HG Wells tale offers a timely feminist spin – but it's lacking in thrills." He criticized the film's vagueness, concluding that: "At a time when small-scale horror movies can be as stunning as A Quiet Place and Get Out, a film as perfunctory as The Invisible Man feels insulting".[34]
Future
In November 2019, it was announced that a spin-off film centered around the female counterpart to Invisible Man was in development. Elizabeth Banks will star in, direct, and produce a new adaptation of The Invisible Woman, based on her own original story pitch. Erin Cressida Wilson will write the script for the reboot of the female monster, while Max Handelman and Alison Small will serve as producer and executive producer, respectively.[35] Banks was allowed to choose a project from the roster of Universal Monsters, ultimately choosing Invisible Woman
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