Watch Invisible Man with lights off: Moss

NEW YORK • When it was released in theatres less than a month ago, The Invisible Man looked like a breakout hit with a topical twist.

This modern-day adaptation of the H.G. Wells science-fiction novel tells the story of a Bay Area woman, played by Elisabeth Moss, whose abusive ex-boyfriend (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) has apparently committed suicide and left her a large sum of money. But when she tries to move on, she is unable to convince others that her unseen ex might still be stalking her.

Moss, the Emmy Award-winning star of The Handmaid's Tale (2017 to present), was widely praised for her performance in The Invisible Man (written and directed by Leigh Whannell of Saw and Insidious fame), and the film had sold more than US$122 million (S$174 million) in tickets worldwide before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered most theatres.

Now, The Invisible Man is one of a few new movies that Universal Pictures has released through on-demand services, in a break from long-standing industry traditions.

In a recent telephone interview, Moss said she supported this experiment and was hopeful it would help The Invisible Man reach more viewers. "This is all new territory for everyone. It's an inevitable move. I also think that it's a brave move."

She added: "If we can provide a couple hours of escape for people who are at home, and they can get a chance to forget about things for a second, that's great."

She spoke about the themes of The Invisible Man, its insights into the nature of abuse and how horror movies can still offer relief in anxious times. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.

I've always been a fan of horror films. Ever since I was 11 or 12, I would get together with my girlfriends from ballet school and we'd have sleepovers and watch scary movies. That was our subversive act.

I was doing Season 3 of (The Handmaid's Tale) and I had done Us (2019), and as soon as I read this script, I understood why this was definitely up my alley. It was this convergence of a genre-film reboot and an emotional character piece.

This is the Jordan Peele way of approaching the genre. You're taking something that is, on the surface, entertaining and a popcorn movie, but at the same time, there is a deeper message to it.

There are films that have had women at the centre, especially recently with Bird Box (2018) and A Quiet Place (2018).

It also harkens back to the 1970s and 1980s, when you had The Shining (1980) and The Exorcist (1973). These movies were about more than what was on the surface.

It was Leigh Whannell's idea to approach The Invisible Man this way, to tell it from the perspective of the victim and make it an analogy for women not being believed, women not being heard – women being told they're crazy or emotional when they believed something was happening to them. The parallel is so incredibly obvious and relevant.

So much of my job is about imagination – creating something that is not there or erasing things that are there. So it's not as big of a leap as you would think.