The Invisible Man
Director: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, Renee Lim, Benedict Hardie, Nicholas Hope, Nick Kici, Vivienne Greer, Zara Michales, Sam Smith
Based on the H.G. Wells novel of the same name, The Invisible Man follows Cecilia (Elizabeth Moss), as she fights back against a monster that she cannot see. Summoning up every last ounce of her courage, the deeply traumatized architect, Cecilia Kass, sneaks away from the lavish seaside mansion of her brilliant, but harmfully controlling, optics engineer boyfriend, Adrian Griffin, in the dead of night. However, no place, no matter how far away, is safe from manipulative Adrian--and even though Cecilia has found refuge in the house of a dear friend--she knows that, eventually, she will have to confront the monster, once again. Then, suddenly, perversely joyous news reaches Cee, that this monster is dead, and for the first time in a long while, she feels free; nevertheless, eerie instances of an unseen presence haunting and watching her every step suggest otherwise. But fear is her worst enemy. Is Cecilia starting to lose her grip on reality, or has the elusive villain found a way to pick up where he left off?
It is absurd to accept that the husband, Adrian, was eliminated that quickly, when his brother tells Cecelia that Adrian offed himself. We are all of fifteen minutes into a two-hour movie and according to the article that announces his apparent death by suicide, Adrian specializes in optics. Cee clearly does not trust her sister, because she is not happy to see her when her sister visits Cee at James’s home to tell her about Adrian’s apparent death. Something is amiss about that relationship. James cares more about Cecilia’s well-being than her boyfriend and her sister do, and he wants her to be safe. This apparent suicide is merely a trick to flush Cecilia out of hiding. She had to sneak out to escape Adrian and he is extremely controlling over her. The only way she would reveal herself is if she were certain he was dead and could no longer haunt her. The brother is definitely privy to Adrian's plan. Why would he need her banking information? Why not just send her a check every month or let her set that up herself? I would not trust the brother of my abuser with my personal banking information when there is no real proof, he is actually dead. I would definitely be refusing that money. We did not actually see a body to confirm that Adrian is dead… we only have the brother’s word and the only proof he has offered of his brother’s demise is an article and an urn. The brother only pulled out the death photos when Cee was challenging his claim that his brother was really dead.
It is all about control for Adrian. Cecelia did not want a baby with Adrian, so he forced her to get pregnant by switching her birth control with Diazepam. She left him and broke his shackles of control over her… that is why his lunatic of a brother wanted to force her to sign the document, stating that she would relinquish her portion of the inheritance, and come back to her psycho husband, and agree to have his baby. This would get Adrian exactly what he wanted. It has nothing whatsoever to do with him loving her as a wife or wanting to be a good father to the child. Adrian wanted her back in his control and he wanted her to submit to him, willingly, to regain that control over her, by forcing her to sign the document. Fortunately, she is much smarter than these men give her credit for.
I found an intriguing secret woven into the story, regarding the word "surprise" and how this word is used to both petrify and justify the two characters who are using it: Adrian and Cecelia.
It was unnerving to hear the buzzing phone ringing right above her head, in the attic, and then, she not only finds the phone, with that very creepy "SURPRISE" text, confirming that her worst fears have come true, but she also finds her missing drawings from her portfolio, proving that he was the one who took them, and also, pictures of her and the little girl sleeping, proving that he has been watching her. He also has the knife, that he stole from the kitchen with her fingerprints on it, and this is the same knife that was used to kill her sister. This surprise was Adrian revealing to Cee that her suspicions were correct, and he is, in fact, still alive, and still haunting her from his invisible suit. I love how subtle his confession is, he never directly says “Yeah, I did it” but he knows that all Cecilia needed to hear was that one word… “Surprise”… and she would know that it was Adrian who was really haunting her, and not his brother. I do love how she turned this word (and his method of murdering her sister) back on him, when SHE becomes the invisible woman and slashes his throat, ending it with a "surprise" of her own. She was also the one to position the camera to precisely pick up the whole exchange, even making it appear that he slit his own throat, and she called in a suicide. And notice, she even makes it a point to get out of the camera's sight before that triumphant “surprise” when she hangs up from dialing 911.
To answer your question about why the dog didn't bark when she came in... if you pay attention, she clearly cares about this dog. While she couldn't bring the dog with her when she ran away the first time, Cecelia did take the time to take off his torture collar that Adrian had put on him, thus breaking Adrian’s cruel hold on the dog, and she brought the collar with her, so Adrian couldn't just immediately put it back on and continue torturing the dog. Adrian, on the other hand, just reeks of a dangerous predator. That is why Zeus protects Cecelia when Adrian attacks her. And notice, at the end, she brings Zeus with her this time, when they are leaving the house after she kills Adrian. Also, you mentioned Adrian could only be on one side when the sister is killed... but WHAT IF, as we saw when they attack Sydney, the little girl, there are TWO of them working in tandem? It is also impossible to attack Sidney and also be out in the hall at the same time. We see that the man in the hall is the brother, Tom....but what if both brothers are working together in these moments to terrorize this poor girl and make her think she is crazy. One to kill the sister and the other to force the knife into Cee's hand, making it appear like SHE did the deed. And all they have to do is stand there, silently watching, as the drama plays out and she is framed. That is why he says "surprise" again, in the hospital. He wants Cee to know it was him that actually killed her sister.
The Invisible Man is my favorite kind of horror movie…rich with suspenseful and chilling storytelling, and while there is a bit of gore, its not vulgar or unnecessary and each death was well-played. I thought it was very intelligently written and creatively executed and very well-acted. Both Elizabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen made me genuinely believe what their character was feeling. Being a lover of suspenseful storytelling, I enjoyed how they scattered little clues throughout the story that painted a very detailed and vivid picture of the four main characters, and the part that each one played in the story, and alerted the audience to the motives of each, and created a nice balance of power between Cecelia and Adrian. While Cee is clearly very traumatized by her former lover, both during their time together, and after she escapes to the safe and comforting protection of James’s home, she doesn’t allow that trauma to paralyze her with fear after she realizes the truth that her former boyfriend is still haunting her. She fights back, and she fights back well. She does not naively fall prey to her boyfriend’s clever tricks. Her plan is both well thought out and well-executed and, in the end, after spending the whole movie being on her guard, she only closed her eyes and allowed herself to truly rest once the unseen monster was finally vanquished. I left the movie feeling satisfied and impressed and inspired to write the critique for this film and add it to the horror section of my website. I would highly recommend this film if you have not seen it.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserve
Director: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, Renee Lim, Benedict Hardie, Nicholas Hope, Nick Kici, Vivienne Greer, Zara Michales, Sam Smith
Based on the H.G. Wells novel of the same name, The Invisible Man follows Cecilia (Elizabeth Moss), as she fights back against a monster that she cannot see. Summoning up every last ounce of her courage, the deeply traumatized architect, Cecilia Kass, sneaks away from the lavish seaside mansion of her brilliant, but harmfully controlling, optics engineer boyfriend, Adrian Griffin, in the dead of night. However, no place, no matter how far away, is safe from manipulative Adrian--and even though Cecilia has found refuge in the house of a dear friend--she knows that, eventually, she will have to confront the monster, once again. Then, suddenly, perversely joyous news reaches Cee, that this monster is dead, and for the first time in a long while, she feels free; nevertheless, eerie instances of an unseen presence haunting and watching her every step suggest otherwise. But fear is her worst enemy. Is Cecilia starting to lose her grip on reality, or has the elusive villain found a way to pick up where he left off?
It is absurd to accept that the husband, Adrian, was eliminated that quickly, when his brother tells Cecelia that Adrian offed himself. We are all of fifteen minutes into a two-hour movie and according to the article that announces his apparent death by suicide, Adrian specializes in optics. Cee clearly does not trust her sister, because she is not happy to see her when her sister visits Cee at James’s home to tell her about Adrian’s apparent death. Something is amiss about that relationship. James cares more about Cecilia’s well-being than her boyfriend and her sister do, and he wants her to be safe. This apparent suicide is merely a trick to flush Cecilia out of hiding. She had to sneak out to escape Adrian and he is extremely controlling over her. The only way she would reveal herself is if she were certain he was dead and could no longer haunt her. The brother is definitely privy to Adrian's plan. Why would he need her banking information? Why not just send her a check every month or let her set that up herself? I would not trust the brother of my abuser with my personal banking information when there is no real proof, he is actually dead. I would definitely be refusing that money. We did not actually see a body to confirm that Adrian is dead… we only have the brother’s word and the only proof he has offered of his brother’s demise is an article and an urn. The brother only pulled out the death photos when Cee was challenging his claim that his brother was really dead.
It is all about control for Adrian. Cecelia did not want a baby with Adrian, so he forced her to get pregnant by switching her birth control with Diazepam. She left him and broke his shackles of control over her… that is why his lunatic of a brother wanted to force her to sign the document, stating that she would relinquish her portion of the inheritance, and come back to her psycho husband, and agree to have his baby. This would get Adrian exactly what he wanted. It has nothing whatsoever to do with him loving her as a wife or wanting to be a good father to the child. Adrian wanted her back in his control and he wanted her to submit to him, willingly, to regain that control over her, by forcing her to sign the document. Fortunately, she is much smarter than these men give her credit for.
I found an intriguing secret woven into the story, regarding the word "surprise" and how this word is used to both petrify and justify the two characters who are using it: Adrian and Cecelia.
It was unnerving to hear the buzzing phone ringing right above her head, in the attic, and then, she not only finds the phone, with that very creepy "SURPRISE" text, confirming that her worst fears have come true, but she also finds her missing drawings from her portfolio, proving that he was the one who took them, and also, pictures of her and the little girl sleeping, proving that he has been watching her. He also has the knife, that he stole from the kitchen with her fingerprints on it, and this is the same knife that was used to kill her sister. This surprise was Adrian revealing to Cee that her suspicions were correct, and he is, in fact, still alive, and still haunting her from his invisible suit. I love how subtle his confession is, he never directly says “Yeah, I did it” but he knows that all Cecilia needed to hear was that one word… “Surprise”… and she would know that it was Adrian who was really haunting her, and not his brother. I do love how she turned this word (and his method of murdering her sister) back on him, when SHE becomes the invisible woman and slashes his throat, ending it with a "surprise" of her own. She was also the one to position the camera to precisely pick up the whole exchange, even making it appear that he slit his own throat, and she called in a suicide. And notice, she even makes it a point to get out of the camera's sight before that triumphant “surprise” when she hangs up from dialing 911.
To answer your question about why the dog didn't bark when she came in... if you pay attention, she clearly cares about this dog. While she couldn't bring the dog with her when she ran away the first time, Cecelia did take the time to take off his torture collar that Adrian had put on him, thus breaking Adrian’s cruel hold on the dog, and she brought the collar with her, so Adrian couldn't just immediately put it back on and continue torturing the dog. Adrian, on the other hand, just reeks of a dangerous predator. That is why Zeus protects Cecelia when Adrian attacks her. And notice, at the end, she brings Zeus with her this time, when they are leaving the house after she kills Adrian. Also, you mentioned Adrian could only be on one side when the sister is killed... but WHAT IF, as we saw when they attack Sydney, the little girl, there are TWO of them working in tandem? It is also impossible to attack Sidney and also be out in the hall at the same time. We see that the man in the hall is the brother, Tom....but what if both brothers are working together in these moments to terrorize this poor girl and make her think she is crazy. One to kill the sister and the other to force the knife into Cee's hand, making it appear like SHE did the deed. And all they have to do is stand there, silently watching, as the drama plays out and she is framed. That is why he says "surprise" again, in the hospital. He wants Cee to know it was him that actually killed her sister.
The Invisible Man is my favorite kind of horror movie…rich with suspenseful and chilling storytelling, and while there is a bit of gore, its not vulgar or unnecessary and each death was well-played. I thought it was very intelligently written and creatively executed and very well-acted. Both Elizabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen made me genuinely believe what their character was feeling. Being a lover of suspenseful storytelling, I enjoyed how they scattered little clues throughout the story that painted a very detailed and vivid picture of the four main characters, and the part that each one played in the story, and alerted the audience to the motives of each, and created a nice balance of power between Cecelia and Adrian. While Cee is clearly very traumatized by her former lover, both during their time together, and after she escapes to the safe and comforting protection of James’s home, she doesn’t allow that trauma to paralyze her with fear after she realizes the truth that her former boyfriend is still haunting her. She fights back, and she fights back well. She does not naively fall prey to her boyfriend’s clever tricks. Her plan is both well thought out and well-executed and, in the end, after spending the whole movie being on her guard, she only closed her eyes and allowed herself to truly rest once the unseen monster was finally vanquished. I left the movie feeling satisfied and impressed and inspired to write the critique for this film and add it to the horror section of my website. I would highly recommend this film if you have not seen it.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserve