Most films about The Invisible Man focus centrally around, well, The Invisible Man. But not The Invisible Man. Leigh Whannell’s Blumhouse reboot of the classic Universal monster property centres on Elisabeth Moss’s Cecilia, a woman convinced that her abusive ex-boyfriend – who seemingly committed suicide – has mastered the art of invisibility and is using his power to stalk her without detection. It’s a timely, thought-provoking update on H.G. Wells’ original story, one that probes real-world horrors – while still delivering the frights you’d expect from a mainstream scare-‘em-up.
Speaking to Empire in the new issue, Moss opened up about the subject the metaphors at play in Whannell’s film. “You literally have a man who is invisible, you can’t see him, she’s saying he’s there, that he’s attacking her, abusing her, manipulating her, and everyone around her is saying, ‘Relax. It’s fine.’ And she keeps saying, ‘No, he is – he’s alive, he’s doing this,’ and no-one believes her. The analogy is incredibly clear,” she says. And as the lead of The Handmaid’s Tale TV adaptation, Moss is no stranger to portraying women suffering under the patriarchy on screen. “I’ve had quite a bit of experience playing characters who are dealing with various types of abuse,” she explains. “Whether it’s emotional, physical, sexual, it’s something that I’ve dived into quite a bit. So I was able to bring that knowledge to the role.”
Read more about The Invisible Man in the 100 Greatest Movies Of The Century issue of Empire – on sale from Thursday 23 January, in a choice of six covers. The Invisible Man comes to UK cinemas from 28 February.
