History Film / TheInvisibleMan2020

** Cecilia is deliberately vague on what Adrian specifically did to her during their relationship any time. Given that he uses a number of real-world abuse tactics to gaslight her while invisible, it's probably safe to say we don't ''want'' to know.

* NothingIsScarier: Pretty much the bedrock of the film's horror and suspense. It's implied that in every scene before the reveal, Griffin is lurking somewhere right in the frame or off-camera, observing the characters or just biding his time. In fact, the more the invisibility trick is revealed, a subtle [[HellIsThatNoise clicking noise]] becomes more prominent.

The film was originally developed as part of the [[SharedUniverse shared]] "Film/DarkUniverse" alongside other upcoming Franchise/UniversalHorror remakes, with Creator/JohnnyDepp in the title role. After [[Film/DraculaUntold two]] [[Film/TheMummy2017 false starts]], Universal announced that it would suspend the plan for the shared universe and instead redevelop each movie as a standalone. Leigh Whannell was brought in to direct and write and Creator/BlumhouseProductions to produce the film. Instead of a direct remake, the film reimagines the original plot against the backdrop of a domestic abuse story and consequently the titular character now serves as an antagonist, rather than the VillainProtagonist he was in the book. Whannell has stated that the film was not made with any shared universe in mind.

** [[spoiler:Right as Cecilia begins explaining her case to Emily at a restaurant, Emily gets distracted by a knife floating near Cecilia right before it zooms through the air, slitting her throat, and flies into Cecilia's hand, making it seem to the horrified onlookers that Cecilia has just killed her.]]

* PlayingGertrude: James is played by a then-33 year old Aldis Hodge, yet he's supposed to be old enough to have a daughter who's old enough to be entering college (16/17); no mention is made of him being a teen parent, suggesting that James is meant to be at least several years older than Hodge.

The film was originally developed as part of the [[SharedUniverse shared]] "Film/DarkUniverse" alongside other upcoming Franchise/UniversalHorror remakes, with Creator/JohnnyDepp in the title role. After [[Film/DraculaUntold two]] [[Film/TheMummy2017 false starts]], Universal announced that it would suspend the plan for the shared universe and instead redevelop each movie as a standalone. Leigh Whannell was brought in to direct and write and Creator/BlumhouseProductions to produce the film. Instead of a direct remake, the film reimagines the original plot against the backdrop of a domestic abuse story and consequently the titular character now serves as an antagonist. Whannell has stated that the film was not made with any shared universe in mind.

** In the 1933 film's sequel ''Film/TheInvisibleManReturns'', Griffin's brother is named Frank. Here, he is named Tom (a reference to the character Thomas Marvel[[spoiler:, Griffin's assistant,]] from the original novel).
* AdaptationalVillainy: Zig-zagged. While the Griffin of the original movie is [[AdaptationalHeroism portrayed sympathetically]], his book counterpart is a {{villain protagonist}} who used his condition for thievery and slowly lost his mind when he was unable to become visible again. This incarnation of him has Griffin as an outright antagonist being an unrepentant, abusive sociopath. To put it another way, in the book Griffin was a {{jerkass}} gone bad; in the film, he’s a bad man gone worse!

* PerspectiveFlip: The story is told from Cecilia's perspective rather than Griffin's.

The film was originally developed as part of the [[SharedUniverse shared]] "Film/DarkUniverse" alongside other upcoming Franchise/UniversalHorror remakes, with Creator/JohnnyDepp in the title role. After [[Film/DraculaUntold two]] [[Film/TheMummy2017 false starts]], Universal announced that it would suspend the plan for the shared universe and instead redevelop each movie as standalone. Leigh Whannell was brought in to direct and write and Creator/BlumhouseProductions to produce the film. Instead of a direct remake, the film reimagines the original plot against the backdrop of a domestic abuse story and consequently the titular character now serves as an antagonist. Whannell has stated that the film was not made with any shared universe in mind.

* EyeMotifs: The whole movie is about what Cecilia and others can't see; the titular Invisible Man. [[spoiler: The suit which grants the invisibility is also covered in cameras which look a lot like eyes]].

* BastardBoyfriend: Cecilia is a victim of domestic abuse from Adrian. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Adrian is so hellbent on keeping Cecilia because he realizes she's pregnant with his child and that he needs her more than she needs him.]]

** Adrian gets his shortly thereafter; Not only does his ridiculously intricate security system showcase his obsessive ControlFreak personality, but him ''breaking Emily's car window'' to try and take Cecilia back after having chased her both across a field and through a forest is pretty much the only indicator the audience needs to see how much of a BastardBoyfriend {{Determinator}} he is.

** James shares his first name with the director of the original film.

** When Cecilia is [[spoiler:attempting to kill herself with the pen, she turns on the shower first. Adrian reaches in to grab her arm, but no water can be seen on his arm to 'reveal' it. This hints at the same result during the rainstorm that very night, as even with the rain, he still cannot be seen]]

* CutLexLuthorACheck: At least one reason why nobody believes Cecilia is the simple fact that even if Adrian could design a suit capable of turning him completely invisible, surely nobody could be that evil and petty to use it for the sole purpose of sadistically tormenting one ex-lover? Unfortunately, EvilIsPetty is ''very'' much at work here and it’s all further justified as Adrian is a [[{{Narcissist}} narcissistic]] [[TheSociopath sociopath]].

* NeverSuicide: [[spoiler:In the ending, Cecilia murders Adrian while staging the scene so everyone except for James will think that he just killed himself. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Just like how he tried the tactic to gaslight her before]].]]

* NothingIsScarier: Pretty much one of the straightest examples, as it's implied that in every scene before the reveal Griffin is lurking right in the frame or off camera observing the characters or just biding his time. In fact, the more the invisibility trick is revealed a subtle [[HellIsThatNoise clicking noise]] becomes more prominent.

** TheReveal of [[spoiler:Adrian's InvisibilityCloak in his mansion]].
** [[spoiler:Right as Cecilia begins explaining her case to Emily at a restaurant, Emily gets distracted by a knife floating near Cecilia right before it slits her throat and flies into Cecilia's hand, pinning her for the murder.]]

* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler:Cecilia acts like she's going to slit her wrists in the mental hospital, assuming that Adrian is invisible and in the same room as her. If she's right, then he'll have to reveal himself to save her life, since he wants to pressure her into having their unborn child to force her to stay with him. If she's wrong, then she dies and takes their child with her, leaving Adrian with nothing in an act of spite. Turns out she's right, and Adrian is forced to reveal himself in order to stop her.]]

* AdultFear: When you pare away the sci-fi/horror elements, the movie is about a woman terrified of her violent ex finding her. Some of the {{gaslighting}}, such as sending e-mails to her sister, is a traditional tactic to isolate people from their allies.

*** The dog (ignoring the DramaticIrony of the situation) establishes his character pretty well: he is named after the head of the greek pantheon, and yet has a shock collar. Adrian shows strenght, hurts those below him and reacts violently (and cruelly) to people not act as he wants them to.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: [[spoiler:Adrian's suits appear to give the wearer a degree of superhuman strength, enough to effortlessly toss people across rooms or forcibly move their bodies against their will. However, it's worth noting that the opening shows that Adrian is strong enough to easily smash a car window and he's clearly in very good physical shape.]]

** When Cecilia finds the phone in the attic [[spoiler: with the text message "SURPRISE" on it, it has a mosaic background that looks just like the suit Adrian wears. The pattern can only be seen on the computers in his lab.]]

** [[spoiler:Right as Cecilia begins explaining her case to Emily at a restaurant, she sees a knife near Emily floating right before it slits Emily's throat and flies into her hand, pinning her for the murder.]]

Cecilia Kass (Creator/ElisabethMoss) is attempting to move on with her life after the death of her abusive ex, Adrian Griffin (Creator/OliverJacksonCohen). After a series of unexplained events, Cecilia comes to believe that Adrian, a brilliant scientist specializing in optics, is not in fact dead, but has discovered a way to turn himself invisible. That said-- Adrian has left Cecilia a significant amount of money in his will, but she can only obtain it by proving that she's mentally competent to his estate's executor. Trying to convince the authorities that a supposedly dead man is harassing her through advanced technology is not helping her case.

** The original novel referred to the main character solely as "Griffin" with the original movie adding the first name Jack. Here his name has been changed again to Adrian Griffin.

** [[spoiler:Emily having her throat slit open by Adrian and the knife being shoved into Cecelia's hand, pinning her for the murder]].

** When Cecilia finds the phone in the attic [[spoiler: with the text message "SURPRISE" on it, it has a mosaic background that looks just like the suit Adrian wears.]]

** In the opening scene when Cecilia is making her escape, she goes to Adrian's lab to disable the security system. [[spoiler:In the background, there's a series of black suits and when she looks in a seemingly empty room, she hears an ominous insect-like clicking.]]

'''Previews:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSBsNeYqh-k Trailer 1]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGNWHKprtnY Super Bowl TV spot]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO_FJdiY9dA Trailer 2]].

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: The alcove in Adrian's lab [[spoiler:which contains one of the operational suits]] uses the password 12-14-17, the date he met Cecilia. She sarcastically remarks "So romantic."

* ContraceptionDeception: Cecelia confesses that she had been secretly taking birth control pills without telling her husband Adrian, because she knew if they had a child, then she would never be able to leave him. [[spoiler: However, Adrian's brother Tom tells her that Adrian found out about her deception and swapped her birth control pills for "something else". Late in the film, Cecelia learns that she is pregnant.]]

* StalkerShot: When Cecilia thinks that Adrian, her late abusive husband, is stalking her, she steps out of her friend's house where she had been hiding since she ran away. The street is eerily empty in the middle of such a cold night, so cold that her breath condenses, just before she goes back inside, the camera focuses on [[spoiler: Adrian in his invisible suit, letting out a deep breath.]]

->'''Detective:''' You’re saying the person trying to kill you is in the room right now. But we can’t see him?\\
'''Cecilia:''' He’s listening.