Cecilia’s partner is obsessive, violent, and controlling. That much is made abundantly clear in the first eight minutes, despite the fact that a) there is hardly any dialogue, and b) Adrian is unconscious for most of it.

In almost deathly silence, we follow Cecilia as she slides out of bed in the middle of the night, gingerly moving Adrian’s arm – which he sleeps with flung across her body – to one side as she does so. We see her tiptoe into his office, where she logs into his computer and switches off their vast home’s security systems. We hold our breath as she collects her belongings and changes into a sweater, jogging bottoms and running shoes as quickly and quietly as possible. We, just like Cecelia, jump out of our skins when Adrian shifts in his sleep, seemingly nearing consciousness. And then we are running right along with her, hearts pounding in our chests, as she flees her home in the middle of the night..

Her desperation is potent. Moss, just as she does in The Handmaid’s Tale, is able to convey years of pent-up terror and anguish with just a twitch of her lips, or a shift of her eyes. Everything she does makes us fully aware of the fact that Cecelia is a victim of abuse. She has to get out before it’s too late. Her life is on the line. Because, if Adrian catches her, he will punish her in ways far too horrible for viewers to imagine.

The Invisible Man review: “I saw Elisabeth Moss’ new horror film, and couldn’t stop trembling for hours after”