‘The Invisible Man’ Star Elisabeth Moss Explains the Film’s Shocking Ending
Lots of people came out to see The Invisible Man, as it turns out.
Universal’s new horror movie — a modern-day reworking of the classic 1933 release movie — has become a monster hit (pun intended). Made for just $7 million, the film — directed by Leigh Whannell (Upgrade) — earned $29 million in its very first weekend. With that success, Universal wasted no time signing Whannell to a new contract.
The Invisible Man stars Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia Kass, a woman who flees an abusive relationship with scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). After his apparent death, she finds herself terrorized by an unseen individual, whom she believes to be her ex. But has he really discovered how to turn himself invisible?
Over the course of the film, the central question becomes much more complex than that. Moss recently weighed in about how The Invisible Man ends and how important it was to her that the film handles it just right.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains MAJOR spoilers for The Invisible Man. Read at your own risk.]
How ‘The Invisible Man’ ends
First, let’s recap where The Invisible Man leaves audiences. After enduring hell at the hands of her invisible tormentor, Cecilia is shocked to unmask Adrian’s brother, Tom (Michael Dorman), as the titular menace. Despite evidence that Tom had kidnapped evidence, Cecilia — who, by the way, also discovers she’s pregnant with Adrian’s baby — refuses to believe it.
Under the guise of an attempt to get Adrian to confess on tape, she returns to his home. But she’s really there to murder Adrian herself. Armed with one of his invisibility suits, she makes it look like Adrian committed suicide and walks away with her revenge. If we assume, as Cecilia does, Adrian is guilty, it’s a triumphant ending to a horrific relationship.
However, The Invisible Man doesn’t go that extra mile to confirm Adrian’s guilt — for audiences or Cecilia. Whannell stops short of clearing away any doubt, leaving the movie a bit open to interpretation. After all, Adrian’s been gaslighting Cecilia for years. So his behavior in the film’s climax could be just another ruse. But is it? Or did Cecilia kill an innocent man?
Elisabeth Moss addresses the ending
In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Moss took on the question looming over The Invisible Man‘s ending head-on. Initially, the actress asked interviewer Ash Crossan her thoughts. Then, when it becomes clear both women believe Cecilia is in the right, Moss explained the care the filmmakers took with that moment.
“That was important to us to map out really carefully. There’s a small period when she thinks, ‘Am I crazy? I could be wrong about this,'” Moss said. “Then we very carefully put things in place so you are with her, so you believe her through the story, so you’re on her side, and so you know that she’s right.”
As much as the movie leaves that conclusion a bit unclear, it does sound like everyone involved on set knew where the story fell. Jackson-Cohen also shared his approach to playing that final scene with Moss.
“It is about gaslighting, and so we wanted to do it as honestly as possible and this is how people like that operate,” he told ET. “That’s what is ultimately so terrifying about Adrian, there is not a single part of him that can be trusted.”
The movie’s very real themes — and technology apparently — only heighten the terror on the screen. And the ending is something Whannell might have to comment further on if The Invisible Man gets some kind of a follow-up.
Is ‘The Invisible Woman’ next?
The way the movie ends, some fans might expect Universal to announce a Whannell-directed redo of 1940’s The Invisible Woman any day now. And the studio is indeed developing such a project. It’s just not connected to Whannell’s movie.
Rather, Elizabeth Banks will direct, produce, and star in The Invisible Woman. It’s unclear if the new film will be a comedy like Universal’s original. But considering Banks’ background, that’s probably the likeliest route. At the very least, this approach will separate Banks’ movie from any potential sequel to The Invisible Man.
Given the movie’s success, we can’t imagine Universal wouldn’t want Whannell and Moss back for another one. The filmmaker now has a new deal with the studio. So he might be able to even get an Upgrade sequel made. Fans might not know for a while if we’ll get an Invisible Man sequel. But at least we’ve finally gotten a solid Universal monster movie again.
