Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man re-imagines the Universal Monsters character as a stalker. The theme reminded us of one of Seventh Row’s favourite films, Stephen Soderbergh’s Unsane (2018), so we had to discuss them in conversation with each other.
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Michael Snydel from The Film Stage Show joins the entire Seventh Row editorial team: Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and Editor-at-Large Mary Angela Rowe for this episode. We discuss internal versus external horror, genre conventions, Chekhov’s Diazepam, and much more.
In Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018) stalking victim Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy) unknowingly signs a form voluntarily committing herself to psychiatric facility. Once there, she’s trapped as the facility is an insurance fraud designed to make sure everyone stays there as long as their insurance will pay. And worse, one of the orderlies appears to be her stalker, David Strine (Joshua Leonard).
Blumhouse’s re-imagined The Invisible Man (Leigh Whannell, 2020) follows Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss), who escapes from her abusive relationship with optics engineer Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). Two weeks later, Adrian seemingly commits suicide, but shortly after actions that could only be explained by the presence of an invisible man begin ruining Cecilia’s life.
Show notes and recommended reading
- Read Alex’s essay on Claire Foy’s performance in Unsane.
- For much more on Unsane and other feminist horror, purchase or preview our ebook Beyond Empowertainment: Feminist Horror and the Struggle for Female Agency.
- Listen to The Film Stage Show‘s episode on The Invisible Man.
- Check out all the rest of The Film Stage Show‘s episodes, including one an Portrait of a Lady on Fire, featuring Alex.
- Purchase or preview our ebook on Celina Sciamma and Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
- Pre-order our newest ebook on Kelly Reichardt, available May 8.
