Parasite review

PARASITE:

BONG JOON-HO'S BLACK-COMEDY THRILLER IS COMPLETELY TRANSFIXING AND NOTHING SHORT OF A MASTERPIECE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

NEON

Song Kang-ho and Choi Woo-shik in Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite

            This has been a long time coming but due to recent circumstances and movie theaters everywhere currently being closed for the time being, I have to do something to keep this blog and my movie reviews alive. The solution: A series of reviews for movies released last year (2019) and/or earlier this year (2020) that I either have not seen, films I saw but didn’t review during their original theatrical runs, or revisiting movies that I reviewed but probably could have done better justice to (Like a certain live-action Disney remake that several people gave me a lot of $%^& for! But I digress). 

            The first of these reviews is for the recent Oscar winner for Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Director, and International Feature Film. I’m of course talking about the South Korean black comedy/thriller, Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho (The Host, Snowpiercer, Okja) which upon its release everyone went nuts over and for good reasons. 

            I did see the movie in theaters and absolutely loved it, but for some odd reason I never reviewed it. Perhaps it was because I saw it like a couple of days after seeing The Lighthouse which was an absolute mindf*ck and by the end of it my brain was sore or that I went to a late evening showing and was tired by the time I got home from the theater. 

            Hopefully, I’m making up for skipping out on a review of this now but first I want to make something perfectly clear. Because I’m getting to this rather late you probably won’t get any new information out of this review since everything that can be said about Parasite has already been said and everyone and their mothers has discussed and reviewed it so don’t expect to hear anything mind-blowing that’ll make you look at the movie in a brand new light. 

            With all that out of the way, let’s finally talk about Parasite, does it deserve all the praise, awards, and attention it got since its release? Yeah, pretty much! 

            Parasite is a virtually flawless movie that explores the ongoing dilemmas of different social classes, in this film’s case the rich vs the poor, while managing to be smart, very funny, and even spine-tingling all at the same time. This could very well be the best film in Bong Joon-ho’s entire career and is something everyone should see at some point, I don’t care if you have to read subtitles, go learn about a different culture! 

            The film follows the Kim family consisting of father Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho-The Day a Pig Fell into the Well,Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Snowpiercer), mother Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin-Secret Sunshine, The World of Us, Mothers), son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik-Set Me Free, Train to Busan, Okja), and daughter Ki-jung (Park So-dam-The Royal Tailor, The Throne, The Priests) who live in a small semi-basement apartment, have low-paying jobs, and are struggling to make ends meet. However, when the family learns about the wealthy and happy-go-lucky Park family who live right above them, the Kims see a golden opportunity and without hesitation install themselves as a tutor (Ki-woo/Kevin), art therapist (Ki-jung/Jessica), housemaid (Chung-sook), and a personal driver (Ki-taek/Mr. Kim) for the seemingly nice rich family and provide services for them while also conning the Parks out of their money and bankroll their entire household without ever being aware of it. 

            Things start to get ugly when a parasitic interloper comes into the picture and interrupts the Kims’ new life of luxury and comfort causing a savage and deadly battle for dominance to erupt that threatens to destroy the delicate ecosystem between both families. 

            The film also stars Lee Sun-kyun (Drama City, Coffee Prince, White Tower) as Mr. Park, Cho Yeo-jeong (The Servant, I Need Romance, The Concubine) as Mrs. Park, Jung Ji-so (May Queen, Empress Ki, Daughter) as Da-hye, Jung Hyeon-jun (You Are Too Much, Nokdu Flower, At Eighteen) as Da-song, Lee Jung-eun (Mother (2009), New Trial, Okja) as Moon-gwang, and Park Myung-hoon (Alive, Steel Flower, Ash Flower) as Geun-sae. 

            Overall, Parasite is easily one of the smartest, funniest, and most well-crafted films I’ve seen in a long time and definitely a worthy movie to be called “Bong Joon-ho’s Masterpiece”. From the witty dialogue and brilliant uses of visual storytelling, to the strong performances by its lead actors and an intelligent plot that masterfully blends a suspenseful mystery and timely and relevant social themes with ease. 

            The movie is essentially a social satire that explores the lives of the wealthy and free-spirited vs the poor and unemployed brilliantly depicted visually by the rich family living high above in a beautiful, almost otherworldly home while everyone else lives down below in the dirty slums without any narration or exposition dumping required. Just one look at the rich house and poor neighborhoods and you know exactly how the city in this movie works and why someone from the lower grounds would try to pull off a crazy heist like this. 

The film completely utilizes the concept of visual storytelling where even if you’re not reading the subtitles, you’ll get an understanding of what is happening through the visuals, characters’ facial expressions and mannerisms, and cinematography. A notable example is the sequence where the Kim family escapes from the Parks’ house in the middle of a rainstorm which to the rich family seems beautiful and whimsical but for everyone living below them the neighborhood literally goes to shit as it gets flooded with sewage water, and the Kim family has to climb down a bunch of stairs to get back to their apartment which is shot and edited like the family is literally walking down into Hell. 

Despite its realistic and sometimes frightening subject matter, Parasite is also a very funny movie and the humor is quite smart and clever without ever turning the characters whether rich or poor into complete farces. The rich family isn’t depicted like dimwits or even as villains nor do they really do anything that makes you hate them but at the same time you understand why the poor family is starting to, and the less-fortunate family conning the rich is also very smart because they don’t have the same resources as the wealthy and have to rely solely on their wits and all of the actors successfully bring these characters to life and leave an impression. 

Parasite is the kind of movie that reminds me why I love movies in the first place and is something that must be seen to be believed. It pretty much has something for everyone, terror and suspense for horror and mystery fans, laughs, and even some thrills on top of smart writing, compelling characters, and bold storytelling, it’s a film that deserves to be watched and celebrated for generations to come. 

Bloodshot review

BLOODSHOT:

ASIDE FROM A FEW INTERESTING IDEAS AND FUN MOMENTS, THIS VIN DIESEL “UPGRADE” FEELS MORE LIKE A DOWNGRADE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Vin Diesel, Eiza González, and Guy Pearce in Bloodshot

            Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious franchise, XXX, Marvel Cinematic Universe) gets a genetically enhanced upgrade in Bloodshot, a new superhero action film based on the Valiant Comics series of the same name and the first in a supposed cinematic universe. The film is directed by David S. F. Wilson in his directorial debut, produced by Neal H. Moritz (Fast & Furious franchise, 21/22 Jump Street, Sonic the Hedgehog) who had previously worked with Diesel on the Fast & Furious franchise and XXX, and adapted from a screenplay by Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2, Truth or Dare?, Fantasy Island). 

            Let me make this perfectly clear, I have not read any of the comics nor do I know anything about Bloodshot so I will be judging this film on its own. If anyone wants to educate me on the source material, then please feel free to leave a comment under this review. 

            Anyway, despite the trailer pretty much giving away the entire plot of the movie, I thought Bloodshot looked like it could be a dumb, fun action movie. Granted, the idea of a person getting superhuman enhancements is nothing new, in fact if you want the movie that pretty much perfected that concept then go watch 2018’s Upgrade, it is fantastic. 

            Still, the movie looked like it could be a fun time, but then a serious red flag began to show, rated PG-13 despite the trailers showing some pretty bloody and intense imagery. Yeah, a dark comic book movie released by Sony and given a PG-13 rating, that has never happened before in the history of filmmaking. 

            Okay, it’s not as bad as that film but unfortunately while there are a few interesting ideas being explored as well as some exciting action sequences, Bloodshot is a dull, predictable mess with an inconsistent tone and uninspired narrative that heavily recycles from other, better sci-fi films. It’s not Babylon A.D. bad but this is definitely one of Vin Diesel’s weakest action movie outings in recent years. 

            The film follows Ray Garrison (Diesel), a marine who is suddenly killed-in-action along with his wife and is brought back to life by a group of scientists from a mysterious facility. Ray discovers that he has been enhanced by nanotechnology with the ability to repair human tissue and give him extraordinary powers, but memories from his past are a bit shady. 

            However, when his memories start flooding back and remembers the man who killed him and his wife, he escapes the facility hellbent on revenge, and goes on an all-out manhunt. But he soon discovers that everything he thought he knew may not be as it seems. 

            The film also stars Eiza González (Baby Driver, Alita: Battle Angel, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw) as Katie, Sam Heughan (Doctors, Outlander, The Spy Who Dumped Me) as Jimmy Dalton, Toby Kebbell (War Horse, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, A Monster Calls) as Martin Axe, Guy Pearce (Memento, Prometheus, Iron Man 3) as Dr. Emil Harting, Lamorne Morris (New Girl, Barbershop: The Next Cut, Game Night) as Wilfred Wigans, Talulah Riley (Pride & Prejudice, Inception, Westworld) as Gina Garrison, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Noah, Atomic Blonde, Alpha) as Nick Baris. 

            Overall, Bloodshot has glimpses of a cheesy action movie that can be enjoyed from a guilty pleasure perspective, but the predictable story and exposition being delivered to the audience like they’re brain-dead makes it a slog to get through. If you’ve seen the trailer or any other movie with this kind or premise, then you can literally pinpoint every single thing that is going to happen in the story, and the film thinks it’s being clever with such laziness. 

            The action sequences at times can be entertaining, but mostly they’re either shot in the dark or bombarded with shaky cams making it very difficult to know what’s going on. Oh, do you want to play the Bloodshot Drinking Game? Take a shot every time it goes slow-motion during an action sequence, you’ll be dead before you know it. 

            Even Vin Diesel’s performance is bad in this movie, and I usually enjoy him as an action star as well as the voice and motion-capture for Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here, he’s as dull as a rock and is delivering his lines quietly sometimes while other times shouting them in an angry outburst, and none of it feels believable, it makes his performance in The Pacifier look like Daniel Day-Lewis by comparison, hopefully F9 will make up for this. 

             Aside from Diesel, the character development is almost non-existent in this movie and the motives of some of the side characters seem to come in at random. One moment Diesel is making small talk with a guy with mechanical prosthetic legs running on a treadmill, the next that same character is altering Diesel’s memories to turn him into a killing machine right out of nowhere. 

            Also, the death of the wife character is very poorly handled, and I guess it’s tragic for Vin Diesel’s character, but aside from that she’s literally just a plot device to get the story rolling. Had the movie took its time to give her more of a character so we could get attached to her and Vin Diesel before the tragic death, this probably would have been a lot stronger, but as is the film needed to constantly remind the viewer that he had a wife because of how lazy this script is. 

            The majority of the film’s narrative, science, and concepts are all recycled from other, better sci-fi films. Upgrade as previously mentioned but also the deceased man brought back to life through science but suffers from memory loss and is being controlled by an evil corporation ripped straight out of RoboCop, and bending reality and fantasy like in The Matrix or Total Recall, if a movie is so lazy and unimaginative that it needs to constantly rehash ideas from all of these movies at the exact same time then what’s even the point of watching it, just marathon every single movie I just listed and I guarantee you’ll have a much better time. 

            Bloodshot had potential but ultimately fell short due to lazy storytelling, dull characters, and a tone that doesn’t know whether it wants to be an edgy R-rated gore-fest, which honestly would have been the better option or your basic run of the mill PG-13 comic book movie with nothing new or interesting. My advice is to save your comic book entertainment until Black Widow and Wonder Woman 1984, at least those movies look like they have a lot more thought and passion put into them than this cheap, bland, studio-assembled mess. 

Emma. review

EMMA.:

CLASSIC JANE AUSTEN STORY GETS AN ELEGANT AND HUMOROUS UPDATE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** 1/2 out of 4

FOCUS FEATURES

Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma. 

            The beloved Jane Austen novel is retold in Emma, the latest film adaptation of the 1815 book of the same name. Much like Little Women, Emma has been adapted numerous times in both film and television, most notably the 1996 film version released by Miramax and starring Gwyneth Paltrow as the titular character. 

            Granted, I haven’t watched the Gwyneth Paltrow version in a long time and the only other exposure I had with this story is the 1995 comedy film Clueless starring Alicia Silverstone which was a modern retelling of Emma set in modern day Los Angeles and revolving around a valley girl, which was both very funny and smart at the same time, it still holds up today. However, from what I remember of the 1996 adaptation I remembered it being a solid, relatively entertaining version of the story and featured star power like Toni Collette, Alan Cumming, and Ewan McGregor, but it never really left a huge impression on me. 

            Now, we have this new adaptation of Emma by Autumn de Wilde in her directorial debut and starring Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split/Glass, Thoroughbreds) in the lead role. So, how does this new version of Emma hold up? Can a photographer turned director capture the spirit of its source material while also making it accessible to a wide audience? The short answer is Yes. 

            Emma is an absolute delight from beginning to end and one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve had so far this year. The film tells the story in a very tongue-and-cheek way leading to some genuinely funny moments and performances without shying away from the dramatic elements, the production and costume designs are gorgeous, and Anya Taylor-Joy shines as the titular Emma Woodhouse. 

            The film follows Emma Woodhouse (Taylor-Joy), a young, beautiful, and rich woman who lives in a mansion on the Hartford estate of her elderly father Mr. Woodhouse (Bill Nighy-Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) in the village of Highbury. She enjoys pairing her family despite having no desire to marry herself, but Emma along with her friend Harriet (Mia Goth-The Survivalist, A Cure for Wellness, Suspiria) begin to experience friendship, love, and heartbreak in this exquisite satire of social class and the pain of growing up. 

            The film also stars Johnny Flynn (Song One, Clouds of Sils Maria, Beast) as George Knightley, Miranda Hart (Miranda, Call the Midwife, Spy) as Miss Bates, Josh O’Connor (God’s Own Country, Les Miserables (2019), The Crown) as Mr. Elton, Callum Turner (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Queen and Country, The Capture) as Frank Churchill, Amber Anderson (We Are the Freaks, The Riot Club, Strike) as Jane Fairfax, Rupert Graves (A Room with a View, The Madness of King George, Sherlock) as Mr. Weston, Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, The End of the F***ing World, Prevenge) as Mrs. Weston, Tanya Reynolds (Delicious, Outlander, Sex Education) as Mrs. Elton, and Connor Swindells (Sex Education, The Vanishing) as Robert Martin. 

            Overall, Emma is a funny, well-acted, and beautifully filmed adaptation of Jane Austen’s book and a solid first directing effort from Autumn de Wilde that is sure to please both fans of the source material as well as casual moviegoers. Given this film is brought to us from someone who used to be a photographer, the movie is gorgeous to look at whether we’re talking cinematography, production design, or costumes. 

            The entire movie is saturated with bright, lively colors to set a welcoming, almost dreamlike tone which is an absolute feast for the eyes. In fact, it’s just as much fun to look around the movie and admire the scenery, production design, and costumes, you can literally pause any part of this movie and it’ll look like a work of art. 

            The costume design also integrates the lively colors that the sets and cinematography have resulting in attire fitting for the time period, but the colors give them a modern feeling as well. Many of the costumes range from elegant and eye-catching to ridiculous and comical with none of them ever feeling out of place or distracting, all I have to say is there better be some Oscar nominations for this film in the future. 

            All the actors play their parts very well especially Anya Taylor-Joy has Emma who adds a lot of charm and likability to a character who can be charming but is also spoiled and cynical and even when she has to act mean it’s never to the point where she becomes an unlikable character, Anya finds a perfect compromise in her performance and also shares wonderful chemistry with Johnny Flynn’s Mr. Knightley. Other performances such as Bill Nighy as Emma’s father and Josh O’Connor as Mr. Elton have their moments in the spotlight and both actors bring their own unique personalities to these Jane Austen characters, Nighy as Emma’s clueless elderly father and O’Connor as this eccentric vicar who aspires to secure Emma’s hand in marriage but is rejected with hilarious hijinks, they made me laugh every time one of them was on-screen, even Miranda Hart’s supporting role of Miss Bates is memorable and has some genuinely funny moments. 

            While I thought the 1996 version was a decent effort, this adaptation of Emma is a lot more entertaining to watch and closer in tone of a Jane Austen story. A welcoming but also quirky and humorous perspective on social classes, I’m not saying the 1996 adaptation of Emma didn’t have any of this, this version just handled it better and made it more appealing to a wide audience. 

            Emma is one of the most pleasant surprises I've had all year, it effectively captures both visually and narratively how a Jane Austen story should feel like, add in some very witty dialogue and show-stealing performances by Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Nighy, Johnny Flynn, and Josh O’ Connor and you got yourself a perfect match. It may not be as captivating or powerful as Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women from last year, but if you’re looking for a comedic perspective on period pieces then you've got a date with Emma.

Onward review

ONWARD:

NOT ONE OF PIXAR’S BEST ANIMATED FILMS, BUT STILL A QUEST WORTH EMBARKING ON!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

DISNEY/PIXAR

Ian and Barley on an adventure to bring their dad back in Onward

            Two brothers embark on a life-changing quest to bring their deceased father back to life in Onward, the latest animated film from Pixar Animation Studios and one of two films being released this year by the studio with Soul following in June. The film is directed by Dan Scanlon (Monsters University) in his second directing outing with Pixarand is a return to original animated films from Pixar following the back-to-back releases of Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4. 

            The movie looked interesting when the trailer first came out showing a bizarre modern-day fantasy world with all kinds of imaginative characters and creatures inhabiting this otherworldly suburban neighborhood, kind of like what DreamWorks did with Shrek years prior. However, the Shrek comparisons pretty much end after the modern-day fairytale world and Onward becomes its own unique animated adventure. 

            While I can’t say Onward is among Pixar’s best work, it’s still an enjoyable road trip movie, nonetheless with plenty of colorful characters, a strong brother-brother dynamic, dazzling animation, and a lot of heart. It isn’t perfect, but it’s a fun quest to embark on with your entire family. 

            The film follows Ian (voiced by Tom Holland-Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spies in Disguise, Dolittle) and Barley (voiced by Chris Pratt-The Lego Movie 1 and 2, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jurassic World 1 and 2), two brothers living with their widowed mother Laurel (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus-Seinfeld, A Bug’s Life, Veep) in a world inhabited by mythical creatures where magic once existed but became obsolete after technological advances over the years. On Ian’s sixteenth birthday, him and Barley are given a gift from their dad who had passed away when Barley was a young boy and before Ian was born, a wizard staff and a spell that can bring him back to life for one more day. 

            However, things get a little wacky when Ian performs the spell and only the lower half of their dad’s body is resurrected and with only 24 hours to bring the rest of him back, Ian and Barley go on a quest to find a phoenix gem to finish the spell. Along the way they encounter a centaur police officer (voiced by Mel Rodriguez-Getting On, The Last Man on Earth, Better Call Saul), a pixie bike gang, and the legendary manticore…named Corey (voiced by Octavia Spencer-The Help, Hidden Figures, The Shape of Water) as these two brothers race against time to bring their dad back while also learning that maybe the fatherly figure might be closer than they thought. 

            The film also features the voices of Kyle Bornheimer (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Casual, Playing House) as Wilden, Lena Waithe (The Chi, Ready Player One, Queen & Slim) as Specter, Ali Wong (Black Box, American Housewife, Birds of Prey) as Gore, Grey Griffin (The Fairly OddParents, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Avatar: The Last Airbender) as Dewdrop, Tracey Ullman (The Tracey Ullman Show, Corpse Bride, Into the Woods) as Grecklin, Wilmer Valderrama (That 70s Show, From Dusk till Dawn: The Series, NCIS) as Gaxton, and John Ratzenberger (Toy Story franchise, The Incredibles 1 and 2, Cars trilogy) as Construction Worker Felix. 

            Overall, Onward doesn’t quite have the same emotional powerhouse compared to other Pixar films, but it’s still a fun animated adventure with a colorful cast of characters, some humorous scenarios that at times can be very clever and well executed, and some legitimate drama and heartfelt moments. It doesn’t really tug at your heartstrings the same way as something like Inside Out, Coco, or even the Toy Story movies, but there are some genuine heartwarming and poignant moments when the brothers are reminiscing on their dad and telling stories to each other, one of them in particular that’s being told by the older brother (Barley) is so depressing and tragic I almost cried. 

            All the dramatic moments are beautifully handled and completely sold through the voice acting which is perfectly cast in this movie. Tom Holland and Chris Pratt both hot off the MCU work great together, Pratt as the fearless adventurer who wants to explore the great unknown and Holland as the wide-eyed kid in desperate need of a confidence boost, they both have some great banter between each other, get into all kinds of wacky shenanigans, and share a brotherly bound that’s actually quite touching, not to mention their character designs capture the likenesses of the actors portraying them similar to John C. Reilly in Wreck-It Ralph or Craig T. Nelson in The Incredibles. 

            Of course, the other voice talents have their moments to shine, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the most awesome mom in cinema since Sally Hawkins from Paddington and even had a moment during the film’s climax where I wanted to shout out “Yeah, go mom!” and Octavia Spencer is hilarious as mighty beast turned restaurant owner Corey the manticore with one of the funniest restaurant freak-outs since the McDonalds’ Szechuan Sauce incident (BTW Disney, if you’re reading this, bring it back for the Mulan remake!). 

            For the most part I was getting into the story and character building, but there are some issues I have with the movie and it’s mostly about the dad. The film doesn’t really show much of a connection with the brothers, mother, and father which makes it a little difficult to be invested in the quest when one of the characters is literally just a pair of walking legs with pants and shoes on without much of a character, had the movie explored more about the family’s relationship with their dad this probably would have been a lot stronger narrative wise. 

            Also, while the film has great character building, I can’t say the same for its world building, it’s just your typical suburban and city environment that films like Shrek and Zootopia had but with mythical creatures inhabiting it. The movie doesn’t really explore the world around it or show how it works, it feels more like a device to get the plot going rather than an environment you can be immersed into. 

            If you’re looking for an entertaining animated movie or something to bring the kids to then Onward is a good pick. Sure, it may not have the same replay value as other Pixar movies, but I think it’s a quest still worth checking out for at least a viewing or two. 

The Invisible Man review

THE INVISIBLE MAN: 

CLASSIC UNIVERSAL MONSTER GETS A CHILLING UPDATE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Elizabeth Moss in The Invisible Man

            The classic Universal horror icon gets a modern update in The Invisible Man, a contemporary adaptation and re-imagining of the novel of the same name by H.G. Wells and reboot of Universal’s Invisible Man film series from the 1930s-1950s. Originally intended to be an installment of Universal’s Dark Universe that all started (and supposedly ended) with the “One Movie Cinematic Universe” known as the 2017 reboot of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, but due to its poor box-office returns and critical reviews production on The Invisible Man along with the other announced films in the Dark Universe were halted and put into question. 

            This led to Universal changing their plans from a shared cinematic universe to standalone horror movies and brought on producer Jason Blum (Split/Glass, Get Out, Us) of Blumhouse as well as frequent James Wan collaborator Leigh Whannell (Insidious: Chapter 3, Upgrade) to direct. Things started to look up for The Invisible Man remake and when the trailer was first released I was into the direction they were going with the story, a modern take on The Invisible Man with a woman escaping from her abusive husband who happens to be a successful optics scientist but is soon haunted by an invisible entity that makes her go crazy. 

            Now that I got all that out of the way, how does this movie hold up? Honestly, a lot better than I expected given the track record for remakes of Universal monster movies. It isn’t a direct adaptation of the original movie or the book, but instead a modern re-imagining of the story done in an inventive, new way and balancing scares with timely social themes about the dangers of abusive relationships without ever feeling forced. 

            The film follows Cecelia (Elizabeth Moss-On the Road, The Old Man & the Gun, Us) who had just escaped from her abusive and sociopathic husband, a wealthy optics scientist named Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen-Going the Distance, The Raven, Dracula (TV series)) and is now hiding out with her sister Emily (Harriet Dyer-Love Child, No Activity, The Other Guy), childhood friend and police detective James (Aldis Hodge-Straight Outta Compton, Hidden Figures, Underground), and his teenage daughter Sydney (Storm Reid-A Wrinkle in Time, Euphoria, The Suicide Squad). However, when news comes up that Adrian had committed suicide and left a generous portion of his vast fortune to Cecilia, she suspects his death was a hoax. 

            Cecilia soon discovers that she is being stalked by an invisible entity that isn’t just out to destroy her own sanity but will also destroy everything and everyone she loves. Cecilia’s sanity is put to the ultimate test as she desperately tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see. 

            The film also stars Michael Dorman (Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, For All Mankind) as Adrian’s brother and lawyer Tom. 

            Overall, The Invisible Man updates its classic source material and results in one of the smartest and most terrifying scary movies I’ve seen in a very long time. I’m serious, the plot of this movie is brilliant and extremely clever by not just being another scary movie about an invisible killer but it also addresses the psychological effects it could have on a person witnessing it, made even better by the pitch-perfect casting of Elizabeth Moss in the lead role. 

            She legitimately looks crazy every time she’s on-screen, from her facial expressions to her body motions and the way she speaks, Moss gives a million percent in this movie but it’s never to the point where it becomes unintentionally hilarious. However, she still shows her vulnerable side and that she’ll do anything to keep her loved ones safe, which is enough for me to be invested in her character.

            In fact, Elizabeth Moss’ character leads into another aspect of the film that I absolutely adore, the plot focusing on the victim who’s experiencing it. The possibilities of this are pretty much endless and as mentioned before the film explores the psychological effects of what an invisible man attack would have on a person but also shows how women can be manipulated or abused in harmful relationships and the dangers it can have, it’s a scary movie that makes you think just as often as it scares you. 

            While this movie probably won’t keep me up at night, there are some genuinely scary moments and the film understands the science of how to build suspense and set an unsettling tone for what’s to come. The film constantly messes with your mind and you start questioning if you’re seeing something unusual during various scenes, but the film immediately proves there is nothing there, keeping the suspense going longer until the big scare, not to mention one of the coolest reveals of the Invisible Man ever in the attic, I’ll just leave it at that. 

            The Invisible Man offers a unique perspective on its classic source material and delivers a horror movie that scares but also has a surprising amount of intelligence. Whether as a remake of the original movie, an adaptation of the book, or as a standalone scary flick, The Invisible Man delivers the goods and should be the proper start of Universal’s Dark Universe, not Dracula Untold and especially not the 2017 version of The Mummy, this spine-tingling and relentlessly entertaining horror movie that I will gladly go watch again.