Movie Conventions Research: The Invisible Man

 

Hello! 

        The Invisible Man was directed by Leigh Whanell in 2022. The premise of the story is a woman by the name of Cecilia flees from her abusive, billionaire boyfriend. Not long after, he is declared to have committed suicide, but as she is being haunted by an invisible source, she comes to believe that he might not be as dead as he seemed. Based on a novel by H.G Wells, it is considered one of the best thriller movies of the year, winning many awards at the Australian Academy Awards. 

What elements (Conventions) of the genre that you chose to base your final task on do this

movie have?

        This film masterfully manipulated conventional thriller elements into an innovative style of thriller that left the audience reeling. It included various long tracking shots and slow panning close-ups to increase the audience’s emotional response. When combined with the dim lighting that is typical of the genre and the ambient noise of the ocean, a strong sense of suspense is produced. Adding sharp-cut editing, the purposefully stereotypical thriller locations such as attics, bedrooms, and secluded mansions build the air of isolation central to the film as well as the expected weaponry of a knife. The film also utilized dark lighting to build a gloomy scene.

        

What elements (Conventions) of the genre did the movie have that you like?

        The director's psychological toll on the audience in an innovative twist of isolation through an invisible stalker eclipsed the usual suspense employed in thrillers. The cinematography of the movie is skillful with various long tracking shots and slow panning close-ups that serve to fill an empty space with terror. While slightly reliant on jump scares, it utilizes negative space to allow the audience to internalize the character’s fear which is something we plan to adopt for our own film. At the onset of the movie, the ambient noise of the ocean drowns out all other noise which juxtaposed with the dark lighting stereotypical of the genre creates a strong sense of suspense that serves as a hook to the movie. This is integrated with sharp-cut editing which introduces the scenes piece by piece to intensify terror. The main actress, Moss’ becomes crazed as the film continues to the point where her delivery and behavior by the end of the film are impossible to equate to the same character at the beginning. Next, the setting is purposefully stereotypical thriller locations such as attics, bedrooms, and secluded mansions to build the air of isolation central to the film. Finally, the director symbolized violence using a knife throughout which is conventional in the genre. 

What elements (Conventions) of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you?

To be honest, I found this movie to be masterful in film and did not have many elements I disliked. While the dark lighting at the beginning served to build suspense, the continuance of it throughout the movie became prosaic and did not aid in building suspense. Secondly, I thought the insanity of the scientist was slightly overdone and might have been more impactful as a character if he was not. 

Thank you so much!