Starring Elizabeth Moss, Oliver-Jackson-Cohen

Directed by Leigh Whannell

Universal, out now

When Cecilia’s abusive ex-partner takes his own life, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody else can see.

After the financial and critical mauling of Tom Cruise’s The Mummy it felt like Universal were resting their Universal Monsters indefinitely. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, comes this low budget Blumhouse co-production that does the unthinkable and makes the premise both scary again and relevant to modern audiences.

Elizabeth Moss is Cecilia, her successful role in The Handmaid’s Tale preparing her for the trauma and misery about to be heaped upon her. This is as much a tale about domestic abuse and gaslighting as a variation on HG Wells’ 1897 classic. At times it’s hard to watch, Cecilia being the punchbag for vile tech genius Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen from The Haunting of Hill House).

The Upgrade and Insidious 3 director Leigh Whannell writes and directs this version, which keeps the same surname of the invisible lead in the novel and James Whale 1933 movie – Griffin – but updates the technology to something that a 21st Century audience could accept. For the first hour, the influence of invisible assailant is more subtle, helping sell the idea that Cecilia is imagining things, but then there’s a significant turning point and he’s out in the open.

With plenty of jump scares, a number of gruesome murders and some clever ‘invisible’ effects, this is first and foremost a horror movie, occasionally reminiscent of abuse drama Sleeping with the Enemy and home invasion movies like Hider in the House and The Intruder. Moss is 100% believable, watching her world fall down around her for daring to leave the ultimate narcissist control freak. At times it feels like she has no possible means of fighting back, and when it comes it’s so much more satisfying.

Verdict: The best Invisible Man in years, and coming from the unexpected place. My only caution is that the domestic abuse is understandably very hard to watch and may be a dealbreaker for some viewers, which would be a shame, as this is a well-made, classy horror flick. 9/10

Nick Joy