The Invisible Manheld its world premiere last night at the world famous TCL Chinese Theatre in the heart of Hollywood, and it did not disappoint the crowd in attendance, which included star Elisabeth Moss and director Leigh Whannell, along with plenty of their famous friends and co-stars. There were plenty of big scares, a great score by Benjamin Wallfisch, and a great affection for the material, which brought in nods from the original while also playing sly homage to more recent thrillers likeSleeping With the Enemyand evenPredator.
The Invisible Manis Blumhouse’s first take on reviving the classicUniversal Monstersafter Dark Universe failed to properly reboot the franchise with Tom Cruise’sThe Mummy. Where that was a bombastic rollercoaster ride jam-packed with effects, this new remake ofThe Invisible Mantakes a scaled down, refined approach that is all about atmosphere and scares. It manages to build tension throughout, and left the crowd cheering during its big set pieces.
As seen inThe Invisible Man trailer, the scene in the attic where Cecilia Kass tosses paint on her invisible tormentor, played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen, brought a big jump in the audience and thunderous applause. But if you think you’ve seen it all in the previews, this moment was precisely calculated, and nothing after this moment, which happens within the first hour, has been revealed to audiences yet, so the second half of the movie comes as both a big shock and surprise. This is what our own Brian Balchack had to say about the cleverly remade horror classic after watching it.
“#TheInvisibleMan is fantastic.Elisabeth Moss is superbin every way imaginable. I haven’t been this impressed by a film score in a long time. What @benwallfisch brings to the atmosphere of the movie completely floored me. Congrats to @LWhannell on such a thrill ride!”
The esteemed Ryan J. Downey was also in attendance last night, and thought this proved to be one of thebetter recent horror remakes. Dare we call it on par with David Cronenberg’sThe Flyand John Carpenter’sThe Thing? It’s obvious that Leigh Whannell was shooting to be in that same company, with a movie that will probably fare very well at the box office.
“#TheInvisibleMan is fun! Some gorgeous, classic cinema style shots, with locations as characters. Elisabeth Moss elevates every scene with nuance, depth & physicality. Well earned jump scares & most of all, THAT SCORE. @benwallfisch, bravo. That swell at the end! Hitchcock vibes.”
Acclaimed director Mike Dougherty was also amongst those wowed byThe Invisible Manlast night. He’s known forKrampus,Trick or TreatandGodzilla: King of the Monsters. He went onto say this about the movie.
“#TheInvisibleMan is fantastic. Smart, fun, and genuinely suspenseful with scares that had the entire theater jumping and squealing. Go see it.”
Senior film reporter at The Wrap Beatric Verhoeven was also excited to see that Leigh Whannell was able to pull off this magic trick, achieving what Dark Universe failed to do, properly relaunch the classic Universal Monsters. She had this to say about the movie after watching it at an earlier screening before last night’s premiere.
“My prayers have been answered! I can talk #TheInvisibleMan! Man, that movie scared the shit out of me - legit woke up the night after thinking he was in my room. Deals with such timely issues in a way that I don’t think a horror movie’s done before. Going to see it again Monday.”
You can check out plenty more reactions fromThe Invisible Man, which hits theaters this Friday, February 28. It should prove to be a huge hit at the box office, and will generate a ton of buzz assuring that it sticks around for week’s to come.
