Warning! Major spoilers for The Invisible Man below
The Invisible Man is one of the most well known monster movies in cinematic history. The story has been adapted for the screen and referenced in pop culture countless times since the novel's publication in 1897. So, it should be no surprise that the 2020 remake is full of Easter eggs referencing the original monster and movie.
Director Leigh Whannell's film is an updated retelling of the 1933 classic. This new version focuses on Cecilia, who escapes an abusive relationship at the beginning of the film. Despite receiving the news that her ex killed himself, Cecilia becomes increasingly paranoid that he is alive and stalking her. To make matters worse, Cecilia believes her ex has figured out a way to make himself invisible, as he is a recognized leader in the optics field. As no one believes her, she is left on her own to fight an invisible foe.
As it was well-received by fans and critics alike, The Invisible Man introduced a new generation to H.G. Wells' creation. Of course the film could not do that without paying homage to the original monster and movie.
Griffin The Invisible Man Follows Many Movies
The name Griffin holds a lot of significance in nearly every iteration of The Invisible Man. Cecilia's ex-boyfriend, the titular invisible man, is named Adrian Griffin. That name goes back to H.G. Wells' novel. The protagonist of his story is also an optics scientist named Griffin. Instead of inventing a suit, Wells' Griffin invents a way to change a body's refractive index to air so it doesn't absorb or reflect light. This renders the body invisible. Griffin performs the procedure on himself but, much to his horror, fails to reverse it. Griffin wreaks havoc on his town before he is eventually taken down.
Griffin is also the protagonist's name in the 1933 film, The Invisible Man. This version follows chemist Jack Griffin, who has discovered the secret to becoming invisible while conducting a series of tests with an obscure drug. This drug was known to have dangerous mental health-related side effects, leading Griffin to go on a killing spree. This version of Griffin meets a similar fate to his namesake.
These men were clearly the inspiration for the 2020 version of The Invisible Man's Adrian Griffin. While he might not be a traditional scientist, it's apparent that his career in optics is a nod to both Griffin and Jack Griffin. But instead of tormenting an entire town like the other Griffins, he has his sights set on one person — his ex girlfriend Cecilia, the film's protagonist. Even so, he does commit a few murders here and there in order to get to her and attempt to ruin her life.
The Invisible Man's Original Look Is Reflected In 2020's Version
While 2020's Adrian Griffin prefers to stay invisible, prior versions of the character have wanted ways to blend in with the crowd and remain human. The Invisible Man pays homage to that a couple times in the film. After escaping Adrian, Cecilia goes to live with her friend, James, and his teenage daughter, Sydney. When Cecilia begins to suspect that an invisible Adrian is stalking her, her fears resurface. One night, she decides to sleep in Sydney's room for a little extra comfort. As Sydney dreams of going to fashion school, she has a mannequin with clothes on it in her room. In the middle of the night, Cecilia is woken up by a camera flash. She's startled by the figure in front of her, which appears to be a man in a scarf, coat, hat and sunglasses; this turns out to be Sydney's mannequin. Later, when she's at the hospital, Cecilia passes a patient whose face is completely wrapped in bandages.
Both of these moments are references to Jack Griffin's look in the 1933 film. In that version of The Invisible Man, clothing is what makes Jack feel human. He also feels that others will be more comfortable if they can see him as well. Jack wears a robe that resembles a trench coat, a fedora, dark goggles, and has his face completely bandaged up. As Jack Griffin has gone down in cinematic history as one of the most famous monsters in horror, it only makes sense that the 2020 Invisible Man pays homage to his iconic look twice.
The Invisible Man 2020 Has A Few Obscure Easter Eggs
The Invisible Man includes a few other references to the original film that are a bit more subtle than others. When Emily, James, and Cecilia sit down to discuss Adrian, James is wearing a shirt that says "Prestige Records 1949." That year could perhaps be a nod to the 1949 Japanese film The Invisible Man Appears, which is loosely based on Wells' novel. In this film, Professor Nakazato invents a formula for invisibility. Jewel thieves want to use his formula to steal a valuable diamond necklace.
The film's ending includes a loose potential reference to another monster in the world of The Invisible Man — The Invisible Woman. The 1940 film is a part of the same series as 1933's The Invisible Man. In this movie, a professor invents a machine for invisibility. Unlike The Invisible Man movies, he does not want to test invisibility on himself — he's looking for a guinea pig. Kitty Carroll volunteers, and ends up using her newfound invisibility to attempt to settle a few scores. While it's more comedy-based instead of horror, The Invisible Woman still sees someone turning invisible, just as Jack Griffin did. The end of The Invisible Man shows Cecilia stealing Adrian's invisibility suit as well; this happens after she kills him and stages it to look like a suicide as a final act of revenge.
Could this set up Cecilia as an invisible woman in a potential sequel? Elizabeth Banks is set to star in an upcoming remake of The Invisible Woman, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be two invisible women somewhere in the future.