Review: The Invisible Man is a horror film that works on multiple levels

Elisabeth Moss gets the gaslighting treatment in Universal's reinvention of The Invisible Man.

A traumatized woman escapes her abusive relationship, only to find she is being stalked by an unseen entity in The Invisible Man, (very) loosely based on the H.G. Wells science fiction novel. It's less a direct adaptation than a reinvention, written and directed by Leigh Whannell, best known for the Saw and Insidious horror franchises. The Invisible Man is horror in the best sense of the word, working on multiple levels and firmly anchored by star Elisabeth Moss' intensely emotional, yet nuanced, performance.

(Some spoilers below.)

First serialized and then published as a book in 1897, the novel tells the story of a scientist named Griffin, whose research into optics leads him to invent a means of turning himself invisible with a serum that chemically alters his body's refractive index to match that of air. Wells cited Plato's Republic as one of his influences, notably a legend involving a magic ring that renders a man invisible, which Plato used to explore whether a person would behave morally if there were no repercussions for bad behavior.

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