The mystery/sci-fi movie “The Invisible Man” from director Leigh Whannell was released on Feb. 24. However, due to the recent closure of many theaters across the nation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film is now available online for purchase.

Unlike the majority of other films within its genre, “The Invisible Man” features a suspenseful and horrific twist; this truly enhanced the plot and made the movie distinguishable. In short, “The Invisible Man” illustrates the story of Cecilia Kass’s (Elizabeth Moss) struggle to escape from the wrath of her narcissistic and sociopathic husband Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen).

The suspenseful nature of this film launches at the very start. The opening scene captures the protagonist Cecilia as she escapes from her husband’s mansion in the middle of the night. While being a seemingly small detail, the eerie nighttime setting significantly increases the abeyance of the scene. This scene successfully establishes the tone for the entire movie and provides a captivating hook that evokes suspense.

Following Cecilia’s escape, Cecilia’s sister (Harriet Dyer) brings her to a family friend, the single father and detective James Lanier (Aldis Hoge). After staying with James and his daughter for only a couple of days, Emily arrives and informs Cecilia that Adrian has committed suicide.

As the film continues, it becomes evident that Adrian’s death has brought great ease upon Cecilia. Despite her growing confidence, however, unexplainable things begin to occur, which lead her to grow uneasy. Paranormal activities, such as footsteps and objects moving lead Cecilia to believe that her husband is haunting her. No one seems to believe her, however, and her friends instead disregard her concerns.

Throughout the entirety of the movie, dramatic irony prevails as the driving force that leads viewers to be truly drawn to the film, provoking frustration at times and establishing great suspense.

While “The Invisible Man” has a captivating plot on the surface, its true meaning lies beyond the story of an abusive husband haunting his ex-wife. Rather, “The Invisible Man” indirectly divulges the long-lasting physiological effects of an abusive relationship.

While Cecilia’s haunting makes for a suspenseful story, Adrian, the haunter, metaphorically symbolizes the impact left upon victims following abuse. In this respect, “The Invisible Man” depicts Cecilia as the victim, and while literally portraying Adrian as her abuser, he serves to metaphorically illustrate Cecilia’s daily struggles in his absence.

All and all, I feel as though this movie is underrated. Whannell truly integrated captivating moments of horror, mystery, sci-fi and suspense into this film to comprehensively create an interesting yet powerful story. For this reason, I strongly feel as though this film should have received a better rating than its 72% on Metacritic. “The Invisible Man” will keep you on the edge of your seat for a full 124 minutes, as each event flowed smoothly yet purposefully. I would recommend this film for mature audiences only.