THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020) – My rating 9/10

The Invisible Man is a science fiction horror film written and directed by Leigh Whannell. A contemporary adaptation and reimagining of the novel of the same name by H. G. Wells and a reboot of The Invisible Man film series of the 1930s-1950s, it follows a woman who deduces that her abusive and wealthy boyfriend has acquired the ability to become invisible and is stalking her. Critics praised the film and the star’s performance, its inventive modernization of the novel’s plot, and the combination of scares with “a smart narrative about how women can be manipulated and abused in harmful relationships.”

Cecilia “Cee” Kass (Elisabeth Moss) is trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with wealthy optics scientist, Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). It’s 3:41am, Cecilia quietly raises from her bed, leaving Adrian who is drugged with Diazepam. She sneaks through the house, grabs her already packed bags before finally making a clean escape.  Cecilia meets her sister, Emily Kass (Harriet Dyer) who has come to rescue her.  Adrian suddenly appears just as Emily tries to drive away and unsuccessfully makes an effort to stop her. Cecilia hides out with her childhood friend, James Lanier (Aldis Hodge), a police detective, and his teenage daughter Sydney Lanier (Storm Reid). Two weeks later, Cecilia and Emily are told by Adrian’s brother, Tom Griffin (Michael Dorman) that Adrian committed suicide and left Cecilia $5 million in his will.

Cecilia is suspicious of the entire suicide but tries to move forward. Mysterious events start to take place, mostly in James’ house, causing Cecilia to become stressed and produce irrational behavior.  There’s an unexplained fire, missing papers for her job interview, and high levels of Diazepam in her system.  Convinced she is right about Adrian not being dead, Cecilia proceeds to prove she is not hallucinating nor crazy.  She arranges a meeting with Tom and insists that Adrian, as a leader in optic science, has found a way to become invisible and fake his death in order to torment her.

The Invisible Man is one of the most brilliant remakes I’ve seen.  There is drama, suspense, horror, science fiction, fantasy and it can definitely be considered a thriller.  Elisabeth Moss is a phenomenal actress and plays every scene to a Tee. If you look closely and are old enough to remember, you’ll see many references to the original Invisible Man, especially the way it ends.  I highly recommend The Invisible Man to all.  As of March 4, 2020, The Invisible Man grossed $55.9 million, worldwide. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 91% of 293 reviews of the film were positive, with an average rating of 7.66/10. 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.”  Check It Out!

 

US (2019) – My rating: 6.5/10

Us is a horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele, who produced the film alongside Jason Blum and Sean McKittrick (with the trio previously having collaborated on Get Out and BlacKkKlansman), as well as Ian Cooper. I am not a fan of horror flicks but I am a fan of Lupita Nyong’o, so I saw the movie. Honestly, Us was more of a mystery than a horror movie, which I thought was interesting. The film follows a family who are confronted by their doppelgängers (a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person) and has grossed $102 million worldwide. Us received praise from critics for Peele’s screenplay and direction, as well as for the score and acting.

In 1986, Russel (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Rayne (Anna Diop) Thomas go on vacation with their young daughter, Adelaide (Madison Curry) to Santa Cruz, CA. While at the beach carnival, Adelaide’s mother goes to the ladies room, leaving Adelaide with her father, who is trying to win a prize playing one of the carnival games. Bored watching her father play, Adelaide wanders off and enters a funhouse, where she encounters a doppelgänger of herself in the “hall of mirrors”. After a short search by Russel and Rayne, a traumatized Adelaide is reunited with her parents but unable to speak about her disappearance or what she experienced.

In the present day, a now adult Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) heads to her family’s beach house in Santa Cruz with her husband Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke) and their children, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex). Adelaide, never forgetting the traumatic incident from her youth, is apprehensive about the trip. On the other hand, Gabe is eager to impress their friends Josh (Tim Heidecker) and Kitty (Elisabeth Moss) Tyler, purchases a boat ignoring Adelaide’s emotional status. Once settled at the beach and into their indivisible activities, Jason suddenly wanders off. He encounters a man in a red jumpsuit, standing alone on the beach with his arms outstretched and blood dripping from his hands. Jason does not tell his family about the man but later draws a picture of him. Later that night, a strange family of four appears in the driveway of the beach house. After several attempts from Gabe get the invaders to identify themselves, they attack him and break into the beach house. The Wilsons realize that the four intruders are doppelgängers of themselves, led by Adelaide’s double, Red. Being the only doppelgänger capable of speech, Red tells the Wilsons the story of a girl who lives a happy life while her shadow suffers. The family is then separated by their opposites —  things start to get wild and seriously dangerous.

There is no way I can tell any more of this thriller without spoiling it for you, so I’ll leave it here. I can only say, the adventures between the original humans and the Doppelgängers get pretty intense. From the Tyler twins, Becca Tyler/Lo (Cali Sheldon) and Lindsey Tyler/Nix (Noelle Sheldon) who don’t really like the Wilson children, to Adelaide’s true story revealed, you will see a whole new side to Us. The acting was brilliant and the special effects were outstanding. For me, horror is not how I would define Us. There were a few scary moments but nothing earth shattering and certainly nothing we haven’t seen before. Us was extremely bloody and the anticipation was at an all time high, as we waited to find out what was really going on. There were times I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t real and I didn’t like the way Us ended. When it all became clear, I was ready to vote for a rewrite of the final results. I’ve heard many opinions about Us, some say they liked it and some say it was a waste of time and money. You will have to go see it for yourself and make your own determination. Us is exciting and entertaining so you won’t lose on that accord, Check It Out if you like thrillers.