The Invisible Man is a 2020 American science fiction horror film written and directed by Leigh Whannell, loosely based on the novel of the same name by H. G. Wells. It follows a woman who believes she is being stalked and gaslit by her abusive and wealthy boyfriend even after his apparent suicide, and ultimately deduces that he has acquired the ability to become invisible. The film stars Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.
The development of a new film based on Wells's 1897 novel began as early as 2006. The project was revived as part of Universal's attempted Dark Universe in 2016, intended to consist of their classic monsters, with Johnny Depp attached to star in the title role. After The Mummy was released in 2017 to critical and financial failure, development was halted on all projects. In early 2019, the studio changed their plans from a serialized universe to films based on individualized story-telling and the project reentered development. Principal photography lasted from July to September 2019 in Sydney, Australia.
Cecilia Kass is trapped in a violent and controlling relationship with wealthy optics engineer and businessman Adrian Griffin. One night, Cecilia drugs Adrian with diazepam and escapes his highly secured house with the assistance of her younger sister, Emily.
Cecilia hides out in the home of her friend Detective James Lanier and his teenage daughter, Sydney. Two weeks after Cecilia's escape, Adrian seemingly commits suicide and leaves her $5 million. His lawyer brother, Tom, handles the arrangements. Cecilia suspects another presence in the house after several strange events, but James assures her she is just traumatized and paranoid. During a job interview, she finds her work portfolio's contents removed, then faints. The doctor says high levels of diazepam were found in her system. In her bathroom, she finds the same bottle of diazepam with which she drugged Adrian, and dropped, during her escape.
Cecilia, accompanied by James, meets with Tom. She believes that Adrian faked his death and used his optics expertise to become invisible in order to torment her, but this idea is rebuffed. Later, Sydney is hit by an unseen force while comforting Cecilia, and she and James assume that Cecilia did it and is becoming unbalanced. Alone at the house, Cecilia tries various tactics to catch the figure. She finds Adrian's phone in the attic, on which she immediately receives a text saying "surprise". Cecelia dumps paint down the attic trap door and it coats a previously invisible figure. A violent struggle ensues but she escapes. She goes to Adrian's home to investigate his lab, where she finds an invisible bodysuit, confirming her suspicions. Right after she hides the suit in their former bedroom's closet, the invisible figure attacks again, so she flees and contacts Emily. The pair meet at a restaurant, where the invisible figure slits Emily's throat and places the knife in Cecilia's hand, framing her for murder.
While awaiting trial, Cecilia is remanded to a psychiatric hospital, where she learns she is pregnant. Tom offers to get her charges dropped if she agrees to "return to him" and raise the child, implying that Tom helped stage his brother's suicide. He reveals Adrian tampered with her birth control to impregnate her. Cecilia refuses the offer and steals a fountain pen from him. That night, she attempts to commit suicide to lure out the invisible figure. When the figure tries to stop her, she stabs him repeatedly with the pen, causing the suit to malfunction. The security team arrives, but the figure incapacitates them before fleeing the hospital, with Cecilia in pursuit. To protect her unborn child, the figure instead threatens to attack those she loves.
Cecilia races to James' house and finds the figure attacking him and Sydney. She shoots the figure to death, but when unmasked, she finds Tom in the suit. Police storm Adrian's house and find him alive, tied up and claiming that Tom held him prisoner. They conclude that Tom killed Emily, as well, but Cecilia believes that Adrian set his brother up as the fall guy for his crimes.
To get Adrian's confession, she meets him at his house secretly wearing a wire tap, while James listens in from a few blocks away. She agrees to mend their relationship, but only if he confesses to killing Emily. Adrian insists that Tom was responsible, but claims that the experience changed his outlook on life and how he treated her. After Adrian works the word "surprise" into a sentence while looking into her eyes, meaningfully, Cecelia excuses herself to use the restroom. Moments later, the security camera captures Adrian seemingly slitting his own throat. Cecilia returns and, apparently distraught, calls 911. Out of the camera's sight, however, she taunts a dying Adrian, revealing that she had used the spare bodysuit to kill him.
When James arrives, she confirms what the camera captured. He notices her carrying the suit, but allows her to leave.
Casting
- Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia "Cee" Kass, an architect and the main protagonist
- Aldis Hodge as James Lanier, a San Francisco police detective, Sydney's father and Cecilia's friend
- Storm Reid as Sydney Lanier, James' teenage daughter
- Harriet Dyer as Emily Kass, Cecilia's sister
- Michael Dorman as Tom Griffin, Adrian's brother and lawyer
- Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Adrian Griffin, the main antagonist, a wealthy entrepreneur and scientist specializing in optics and the psychopathic and abusive boyfriend of Cecilia.
- Benedict Hardie as Marc
- Amali Golden as Annie
- Sam Smith as Detective Reckley
- Nash Edgerton as a Security Guard
- Anthony Brandon Wong as Accident Victim
