W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K | 063
The Invisible
Man
Perceptive
Release 7 February
Director L eigh Whannell
Cast lisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, E
Aldis Hodge
Distributor niversal U
Certificate 15
Universal’s classic monster movie
The Invisible Man, directed by James
Whale in 1933 and based on the H G
Wells novel, was a hugely influential
horror thanks to John P Fulton’s impressive
special effects.
In 2020, this Blumhouse-produced
reimagining, written and directed by Leigh
Whannell, proves to be a success thanks to
a smart script that takes its subject matter of
domestic abuse seriously and turns it into a
terrifying nightmare.
Elisabeth Moss stars as the film’s heroine,
Cecilia, who we first meet running away
from her tech entrepreneur partner Adrian,
intimidatingly played by Oliver Jackson-
Cohen. After her escape, the long-term effects
of violence persistently haunt her every move,
even in the safety of close friend and cop (Aldis
Hodge)’s home.
Fantasy Island
What dreams may come
Release O ut now
Director eff WadlowJ
Cast Michael Pena, Lucy Hale, Maggie Q,
Michael Rooker
Distributor Sony Pictures
Certificate 15“Da plane! Da Plane!”
exclaimed the diminutive Tattoo (Herve
Villechaize) excitably at the beginning
of each episode of Aaron Spelling’s TV
series Fantasy Island, after glimpsing the aircraft
that brings guests to their magical resort for
fantasy fulfilment.
Tattoo is conspicuous by his absence in
Blumhouse’s horror reinterpretation of the vintage
family show (his iconic line is uttered several times
throughout however), and so too is the charm
and sophistication that the much-missed Ricardo
Montalban brought with his commanding portrayalof island guide Mr Roarke.
“Here everything and anything is possible!”
assures his cinematic successor (Michael Pena) to
his motley guests with far less conviction. It doesn’t
help that Jeff Wadlow’s (Truth Or Dare) direction
is predictably workmanlike and that the script is
anything but inspiring, even if the aesthetics are
deceptively glossy.
The hapless island guest ensemble includes the
mouthy Melanie (Lucy Hale), the maternal Elena
(a compelling Maggie Q), the comic relief brothers-
from-another-mother Bradley and Brax (Ryan
Hansen and Jimmy O Yang respectively) and soulful
Randall (Austin Stowell). Their diverse customised
experiences range from laughable erotic titillation,
wistful familial fulfilment to blood-curdling
revenge... but as Roarke aptly laments: “Often
people’s fantasies are painfully unimaginative.”
Indeed, a little more imagination could have
made proceedings more thrilling for this Fantasy-
turned-horror-Island. Admittedly, some effort is
made to explore the nightmarish mythos behind
the island’s life-fulfilling supernatural power, (the
TV show left things ambiguous). However, it all
becomes too convoluted when the fantasies crossover and an attempt to illogically tie everything
together with a twist proves even more tiresome
than the predictably sign-posted jump scares.
If you were stranded on this desert island and
made to live out your chosen fantasy to its logical
conclusion, you would surely choose something
more life-affirming than this forgettable affair.
Oliver Pfeiffer
Soon after, she’s told Adrian has passed away
but strange bumps in the night convince Cecilia
that her partner’s death was a hoax.
Whannell sets a tense atmosphere from
the outset which rarely lets up throughout
the film. He clearly takes inspiration from
Nineties thriller Sleeping With The Enemy;
with the beach-side concrete mansion setting
and inversed narrative about a woman faking
her own death to escape from a controlling
husband, the similarities are evident. It also
avoids resemblance to Hollow Man by placing
the focus on Cecilia.
As in his previous feature, Upgrade, Whannell
employs some nifty fight sequences, and also
blends science fiction and horror to hint at how
technology can be used by egotistical, business
magnates for ill gotten gains.There’s been a surge of films about women
reckoning with powerful men in the post
#metoo era and The Invisible Man wrestles
with the emotional ordeal of harassment and
isolation. Stalking, gaslighting, aggressive
behaviour, not being believed and the
questioning of sanity are all touched upon. Even
though some of these issues are not all handled
with subtlety, the true horror of Cecilia’s
situation is effectively conveyed with Moss
turning in another gloriously edgy performance.
The film gives her plenty of space to express
a plethora of reactions as she rages against a
chillingly real kind of monster.
Katherine McLaughlin
Although never revealed on
the show, Ricardo Montalban
claimed Mr Roarke was a fallen
angel, whose sin was pride, and
Fantasy Island was his purgatory.