“The Invisible Man” directed by Leigh Whannell and starring Elisabeth Moss follows a woman who escapes an abusive relationship with a wealthy scientist. After her ex commits suicide and leaves her much of his wealth, she begins to notice a presence following her and suspects that he faked his death and found a way to become invisible in order to torment her. 

“When I first saw the trailer for the ‘Invisible Man,’ I thought it would be another stupid, straight-to-DVD horror movie that wouldn’t actually depict anything scary other than a couple of corny jump-scares,” Aytek Abdulla (9) said. “But I was pleasantly surprised.”

The film depicts a strong female lead escaping a violent relationship with her boyfriend.

“The abuse was the scariest aspect of this film,”Abdulla said. “It shows the dangers of not believing victims of abuse and did a good portrayal of gaslighting. This movie kept me on the edge of my seat till the end.”

Domestic abuse is a difficult subject and can be hard to depict in a sensitive way.  

“Most of the abuse implied which really leaves an imprint on the viewers since they don’t know exactly what this woman has endured,” Sofia Schaafsma (9) said. “All they know is how frantic she is to escape the clutches of the man she was with. 

The film shows the character Cecilia Kass’s struggle trying to prove that her ex-boyfriend is actually alive and invisible. It is representative of what is occurring today with things such as the Me Too movement.

“The acting was incredible. Elisabeth Moss did an amazing job,”Abdulla said. “I really hope that horror movies in the future attempt to be somewhat like this by bringing issues in real life into their work, like Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out.’”

Modern horror seems to be shifting when it comes to themes and relevance. Throughout the 80s and 90s, horror slashers were known for their lack of plot and having stereotypical teens being killed off by a masked killer in a spooky setting like in “Child’s Play” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” In the 2000s, the genre became very gory and still generally lacked likable characters for example in films such as “Saw.” A new era of horror seems to have been sparked by movies including “Us” and “The Lighthouse” which are more metaphorical for things in society and are more demanding when it comes to acting performances..

“While watching the movie, Moss’s emotions were so evident in her performance,” Schaafsma said. “The whole theater could feel her anxiety, the tension, the fear, and the madness that she felt as nobody believed her.”

According to most reviews, it’s the acting by all of the lead roles that makes “The Invisible Man” a successful film.

“I felt particularly attached to both the characters of Cecilia and her abusive partner Adrian Griffin,” Schaafsma said. “ They were both excellent characters, which is crucial in a horror film. Having a weak or annoying protagonist and it ruins the movie, and the same goes for the antagonist.” 

In contrast to the original “The Invisible Man,” the 2020 version is viewed through the perspective of an abused woman whereas the 1933 original revolves around a scientist who creates an potion that makes him invisible and he becomes obsessed with the power he believes it will bring him. 

“In my opinion, the classics are just irreplaceable, but one of my favorite things about the movie and many of the modern remakes of old classics is the new and improved effects,” Schaafsma said. “It was truly like watching an invisible man terrorize people in real life. Overall, it was pretty good for being a reiteration of the 1933 ‘The Invisible Man.’” 

In the 1930s there was a horror movie craze. Many of the classic Universal monsters including the wolf man, Frankenstein’s monster, the creature from the black lagoon and the invisible man were created. Since then, hundreds of makes have been made. 

“The movie did as best a job they could’ve with portraying him in a modern way that was scary instead of corny like the old one, but some legacies just cant be replaced,” Schaafsma said. 

By Violet Chace