It stars Elisabeth Moss as a woman who believes she is being stalked and gaslit by her abusive ex-boyfriend (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) after he acquires the ability to become invisible.

It received highly positive reviews from critics, with praise for Whannell's direction, Moss's performance, opening sequence, atmosphere, musical score and themes on domestic abuse.

Due to its theatrical release being cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was made available for digital rental three weeks after it premiered in the United States.

Cecilia Kass is trapped in a violent and controlling relationship with wealthy optics engineer and businessman Adrian Griffin, the founder and CEO of the human-computer augmentation company Cobalt.

One night, Cecilia drugs Adrian with her diazepam and escapes his highly secured house in spite of her younger sister Emily's ineptitude.

Cecilia hides out with her childhood friend, San Francisco Police detective James Lanier and his teenage daughter, Sydney.

The pair meet at a restaurant, where the invisible figure slits Emily's throat and places the knife in Cecilia's hand, framing her for murder.

They conclude that Tom killed Emily as well, but Cecilia believes that Adrian set his brother up as the scapegoat for his crimes.

To get Adrian's confession, a now exonerated Cecilia meets him at his house secretly wearing a wire, while James listens in from a few blocks away.

[8] In February 2016, the project was revived with Johnny Depp cast as the titular character and Ed Solomon writing the screenplay.

The would-be film series was set to begin in 2017 with The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, and Russell Crowe.

[11] In January 2019, Universal announced that all future movies on their horror characters would focus on standalone stories, avoiding inter-connectivity.

The Invisible Man was set to be written and directed by Leigh Whannell and produced by Blum, but would not star Depp as previously reported.

[17] Storm Reid, Aldis Hodge, and Harriet Dyer later joined the cast,[18] with Oliver Jackson-Cohen set to play the titular role in July.

The site's critics consensus reads: "Smart, well-acted, and above all scary, The Invisible Man proves that sometimes, the classic source material for a fresh reboot can be hiding in plain sight.

[35] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote that Moss's performance "gives the movie its emotional stakes," adding, "while her agony can be unnerving, it is even more shivery when her weeping stops and this horror-movie damsel in distress becomes a threat.

Club, Jesse Hassenger gave the film a "B+", also praising Moss's performance and the film's centering of her character's experience;[45] the publication followed up with a video review from senior writer Katie Rife and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, who also gave a positive review, for the aesthetic and filmmaking of Blumhouse Productions and Moss's performance.

[46] Alison Willmore of Vulture commented about the effectiveness of Moss's facial expressions, and said that she "has established herself as an empress of the onscreen breakdown, our lady of ruined eye makeup".

"[48] Conversely, Nicholas Barber from BBC gave the film two out of five stars, opining that "the latest remake of the HG Wells tale offers a timely feminist spin – but it's lacking in thrills."

"[49] Jake Coyle of the Associated Press was also less than positive, describing it as "a bracingly modern #MeToo allegory that, despite its brutal craft, rings hollow.

"[50] Sarah-Tai Black of The Globe and Mail gave the film two out of four stars, writing: "While chock full of relatively good scares, campy effects, and an ending that will tickle a very specific demographic of 1990s and 2000s thriller fans with glee, The Invisible Man doesn’t deliver more than that.