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!

 

DON’T LET GO (2019) – My rating: 8/10

Don’t Let Go is a psychological horror-thriller directed and written by Jacob Aaron Estes, from a story by Estes and Drew Daywalt. Jason Blum serves as a producer through his Blumhouse Productions banner, alongside Bobby Cohen and David Oyelowo.

I took a chance and went to see Don’t Let Go, despite the fact I  never heard of it. This one flew way under the radar, as I really enjoyed it.

Don’t Let Go starts off with Jack Radcliff (David Oyelowo) who is a homicide detective, picking up his niece Ashley Radcliff (Storm Reid) from a theater, after her parents had forgotten. Ashley is somewhat detached from her parents, especially her father Garret Radcliff (Brian Tyree Henry) due to his bipolar disorder and past years of drug abuse. Jack decides to have a stern talk with Garret about his lack of decent parenting skills. The movie goes on to show the close relationship Jack and Ashley have developed over the years.

While bogged down in paperwork, Jack receives a disturbing phone call from Ashley desperately begging for help. Jack races to their house only to find Ashley, Garret and his sister-in-law dead. He also finds a box of cocaine beside Garret, which suggests Garret killed his wife, daughter and himself after consuming too much drugs, which caused him to lose control and go into a murderous rage. Jack blamed himself, thinking that his chastising of Garret sparked this murder-suicide.

Two weeks later, Jack receives a phone call from Ashley which indicates she is still alive. Mysteriously, Ashley is calling him from the past. Jack then realizes by changing events in Ashley’s timeline will cause changes in his own time, enabling him to re-write the past. He decides to covertly help her re-arrange events in her life in the hope of preventing the murder-suicide. It quickly becomes apparent that Garret was not responsible for murdering himself and his family but was murdered by someone else. Jack and his partner Bobby (Mykelti Williamson), who is also a homicide detective and close family friend, begins to uncover evidence of an underground network of drug dealing cops working for an unknown figure called “Georgie”. Garret’s old connections to the drug underworld finally caught up with him, allegedly leading Georgie to collect some old debts and kill Garret and his family, or so it seems.

Although, Don’t Let Go, in my opinion,  is a science fiction/fantasy movie, it was directed in such a way that you really start to believe this could happen.  Kudos to Jacob Aaron Estes for his creativity and direction.  There is a lot of story here that will require your deepest focus to keep up.  Things are going to happen quickly so keep alert.  “Georgie” must be cracked, the timeline must line up and Jack must convince someone that there is really a chance to turn this murder mystery around.  I highly recommend Don’t Let Go — Check It Out!