I was very happy to see an Australian-made horror make its way into the mainstream’s radar this year, especially with COVID running rampant through the cinema industry, making it harder and harder to distribute quality content to a large, international audience. But Aussie film has really stepped up its game, strengthening its silver screen from home and setting itself up to compete with the Hollywood big dogs throughout 2021 as American film continues to struggle under near-financial collapse.

Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man (2020) is an ode to subtle, understated horror. Combining elements of sci-fi, thriller and something akin to dystopic surrealism, Whannell manages to thrust the spectator into the disturbing, isolated psychosis that is Cecilia’s (played marvellously by The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Elisabeth Moss) new reality.

Rife with twists and turns, you find yourself constantly questioning whether what is happening on-screen is merely a figment of Cecelia’s imagination or whether she truly is just the most unlucky woman when it comes to men. A horrific situation that many men and women alike have considered and feared before brought to life: just how messy can a break-up get? What do you do if you need protection from the one that should be protecting you? Will my past forever haunt me?

For poor Cecilia, she seems doomed to re-live her past trauma and abuse but with a disturbingly delicious twist – this time she won’t actually know if it’s her ex inflicting the torture or merely her own fragmented, deteriorating mind. A psychothriller concept that will leave most spectators with goosebumps, Whannell cleverly investigates the severely dark crevasses of abusive relationships and the difficulties (and dangers) associated with escaping them.

Even if you can’t see them, your trauma follows you. The Invisible Man will never let us forget that.