As you are walking home by yourself from a long night of partying and friends, have you ever felt a supernatural presence from the shadows following closely in the distance?

While you are tiptoeing back to your bedroom in the absolute pitch-dark hours of the night, do you refuse to look behind you even though you rationally know there could not possibly be something or someone behind you?

Well… perhaps there is.

All these spooky, spine-chilling instincts are confronted and validated by the new sci-fi/horror The Invisible Man (2020) which stars Elisabeth Moss in a reboot of the classic movie The Invisible Man (1933).

The story follows Cecilia who has recently escaped the clutches of her brilliant but psychopathic scientist ex-boyfriend Adrian. As she learns the news of his shocking suicide, her sister and loved ones encourage Cecilia to leave behind her life full of fear and paranoia inflicted under Adrian’s extreme psychological control. However, when a series of haunting apparitions and supernatural signs in her house mock her attempts to assimilate back into society, she soon finds that some scars can never be heal

Although this movie is far from perfect, The Invisible Man captures a universal human fear of the unknown and the invisible (so to speak) in a surprisingly original and creepy story, making it one of the best horror films I’ve seen in many years. From the first five minutes of viewing the air in my seat-packed cinema was so tense and dead quiet, that the explosive sound of Cecilia accidentally kicking a doggy-bowl startled the crowd into brief laughter. I would completely recommend watching this film without seeing ANY TRAILERS as many of the terrifying moments and important plot twists are foolishly revealed and it diminishes the edge-of-seat-what’s-going-to-happen-next experience.

This film revolves around the themes of trauma and recovery that many victims like Cecilia go through. I personally have had very little awareness of trauma survivors could be affected for so long after their experiences. And as good-intentioned her family and friends are, we can empathise with how isolated and misunderstood Cecilia feels. In a purely metaphorical aspect, this movie sensibly deals with the difficult topic of victimhood. In a purely entertainment aspect, the concept of an undetectable presence makes for a pretty awesome horror movie.

Elisabeth Moss gives an amazing performance and transforms Cecilia into a strong-willed, bad-ass motherf**ker that we can truly champion for. The cinematography, visual effects and CGI are surprising top-notch with a movie budget of a measly 9 million dollars. There is also an insanely jaw-dropping twist in the middle of this film which. And above all, it’s very scary. This film invents fun jump scares whilst keeping a long-drawn creepy atmosphere burning until the very end.

I definitely recommend watching this film with someone else. Don’t make the mistake of watching this alone because you will suddenly find the urge to clamber into somebody else’s arms. Get literally anybody. Your mum, your brother, your neighbours, your friends… or even your imaginary friend. You know, the one standing behind you right now. Just kidding.