The Invisible Man (2020)

"The Invisible Man" (2020, Leigh Whannell, Blumhouse Productions, Nervous Tick, Goalpost Pictures, Universal Pictures) is a modern retelling of the classic H.G. Wells story, and a poignant story about control and abusive relationships.

Cecilia Kass (Elizabeth Moss) flees in the night from her rich boyfriend, Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) with the help of her sister, Emily (Harriet Dyer). The two women make their hasty escape, and Cecilia begins living temporarily with her cop friend, James (Aldis Hodge) and his teen daughter, Sydney (Storm Reid).

Cecilia is naturally affected by her ordeal and we learn that Adrian emotionally controlled her during their relationship and she lives in constant fear that he will find her and punish her for leaving. She also reveals that he'd boasted that she would 'never see him coming'.

James is supportive, but as Cecilia's behaviour becomes more erratic he, Emily and Sydney begin to distance themselves from her leaving her to the mercy of her unseen, controlling stalker, who is hellbent on ruining her life...

A film which is very uncomfortable in places and which does a great job of showcasing how a gaslit relationship can look from various angles (the friends', the sister's, the victim's). The action and horror scenes are excellently achieved and there's several parts where I found myself on the edge of my seat. There are a few holes that took me out of the film a bit - time seems to be an elastic concept at points with characters managing to achieve quite a lot in an extremely short space of time (i.e. the fastest and most efficient washing off of paint I've ever seen) and it seems that our titular invisible man is able to hold his bladder for quite an impressive amount of time. On the other hand, however, the modernising of the plot to be more technology based was extremely effective. My trypophobia was going off the charts in some places, though *shudder*.

Moss gives an excellent performance as Cecilia. We feel for her but we're also with her in her fight to prove her innocence. She's not a quitter, but she's also not a textbook heroine, either. She's normal, relate-able and fallible.

Jackson-Cohen also gives a great, if small (visibly) performance as our main antagonist. We never see the abuse first hand but his mastery is in his supposed reasonable demeanour.

Definitely a film worth checking out. It's currently available to rent online from various sources. As scary as a violent, malicious and invisible stalker is, the real horror comes from the helplessness our protagonist feels and they way that her control can be so easily taken away. That, and that whole trypophobia thing...

[Image: Blumhouse Productions]

Hani

Insidious: The Last Key

"Insidious: The Last Key" aka "Insidious Chapter 4" (2018, Adam Robitel, Blumhouse Productions, Stage 6 Films, Universal Pictures) is the fourth film in the Insidious series, but the second in terms of story chronology. We follow the parapsychologist from the series, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), who is brought in on a case that is very close to her own heart.


Young Elise (Ava Kolker) did not enjoy much of a childhood. Her connections with the ghostly world were not well received by her father (Josh Stewart) who was abusive and violent anyway, and her timid, yet supportive mother (Tessa Ferrer) was met with an unhappy and untimely end for which Elise feels largely responsible. After running away as a teenager (Hana Hayes), Elise is sure that she will never have to see that unhappy house ever again, but alas, fate brings her in on a new case set within the very walls of her initial torment.


A fairly formulaic entry to the franchise, we once again enjoy the company of awkward nerd duo, Specs (Leigh Whannell, Mr Writer/Producer) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), who's uncomfortable patter did a good job of breaking up the scenes. We are also introduced to Elise's estranged brother, Christian (Bruce Davison) and her two nieces, Melissa (Spencer Locke) and Imogen (Caitlin Gerard). I can completely understand Christian's anger towards his sister who abandoned him with their abusive father alone as soon as she was legally able. What I didn't understand was the girls' sudden repartee with Elise; an aunt that they had never known existed. It all seemed a bit sudden, a shade more than curiosity and... unlikely.


The film offers a few fun jump scares and skilfully holds back often enough to deliver a surprise every now and again. The setting is the familiar haunted house of the series, but it works well.


I do not dislike Lin Shaye. I have seen her in plenty of things where I've liked her performance and I would say that my dislike of Elise Rainier is not due to Shaye's performance but the character itself. It's pleasant to watch an older female take the lead in a film, especially as such a flawed character. Elise is not a heroine, per se, she is a woman exploiting her unusual skillset for money and to soothe her own guilt. Not unlike the character of Angel in the Whedonverse who saves people in an attempt to make up for his past transgressions, Elise is driven by good intentions but also selfish ones. Helping people makes her feel better about her past. And there's nothing wrong with that, in fact, I enjoy that aspect of the character. I think what I dislike about Elise as a character is the way she responds to everything. I think the intention is to make her appear strong and methodical, but to me she reads as cold and a little flat.


The monster of the piece enjoys some good scare factor but is a little over-revealed and loses a bit of its edge early on, although the design innovation is commendable.


As fourth sequels go, it's pretty decent, but it does feel like they may be running out of ideas to keep this particular branch of the franchise going.

[Image: Universal Pictures, et al]

Hani

Insidious: Chapter 3

"Insidious: Chapter 3" (2015, Leigh Whannell, Focus Features, Gramercy Pictures, Stage 6 Films) is a prequel to Insidious 1 and is also the directorial début of Leigh Whannell, who not only played ghost-hunter Specs in all 3 Insidious films, but also wrote Insidious 2 and several other James Wan films.

Paranormal expert, Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye), hasn't met the Lambert family yet, but she has just met a young actress called Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott), who has been trying to contact her dead mother. Elise tells Quinn that what she has been contacting is not her mother, and asks her to leave the spirit alone as it may be dangerous. Too bad for Quinn, the spirit has heard her cries and is now fixated upon her, and it is definitely dangerous.

A very jumpy film which is technically sound but with an aimless, meandering plot which lost my interest quickly. I found myself only paying close attention when I sensed a spooky bit coming on. The jumps are effectively created, with some unsettling images and some nicely realised effects. The scares are also not too few and are evenly spread. The main issue was that things took a while to get started and, although spooky bits were happening, the plot itself didn't seem to be going anywhere until the last quarter of the film.

A good sleepover film bound to make you jump at least once, but no lingering freaky feeling and by no means the best in the "Insidious" series.

[Image: Gramercy Films]

Hani