The Unseen: A Better Invisible Man Movie [Review]

unseen

A sawmill worker with a mysterious condition that slowly turns him invisible must risk everything to find his missing daughter.

I'm sure after reading that sentence you are asking yourself "how is that better than the Invisible Man of 2020?" Well, first we all need to be on the same page and that page is that Leigh Whannell's film may have been an okay watch, it was  by no means an Invisible Man movie. It was a movie about a man with a suit that made him appear invisible, this fact is a huge distinction that needs to be made.

For a movie to even be considered an Invisible Man story the main character must be biologically invisible, meaning his skin, and all internals, are unable to be seen by the naked eye and are not aided by mechanical means or tech. The Unseen doesn't just use this rule as a foundation, but expands on the premise in more detail than any that has come before it.

The story follows Bob Langmore (Aden Young), who eight years earlier, abruptly left his wife Darlene (Camille Sullivan) and their daughter Eva (Julia Sarah Stone) behind, only to isolate himself in a small northern Canadian town where he works in a sawmill. Prior to this Bob was playing in the NHL and is know throughout the country because he delivered a brutal beating to an opponent in his final game.  Bob tanked his career and left his family because of his rare condition: he is becoming invisible in an irregular, random way that presents him in a ghoulish fashion. When his ex-wife Darlene reaches out to him, he returns to the city for one last chance to reconnect with his daughter, but when she goes missing, he will risk everything to find her, including exposing the secret that he is becoming invisible.

The film is written and directed by Geoff Redknap who has done special fx on everything since 1996 (Deadpool, FD5, Watchmen, Cabin In The Woods). This is Redknap's first feature film and he nails it to perfection. The dialogue, character development and overall plot are so smooth that you feel like your watching a master of horror at work; akin to Wes Craven.

On screen Aden Young does most of the heavy lifting and gives an unmatched performance, think Claude Rains in the original Invisible Man; yes, it is that good.

If you want to watch a true Invisible Man film and not a story about an obsessive weirdo running around in a golf ball dimpled suit then this film is the perfect match for you.

Rating: 9/10 Stars