Widescreen: New movies are back, but don't discount 'Invisible Man' at Oscar time

New movies are creeping back into theaters now, and while I don't think this week's "Bill and Ted Face the Music" or last week's box office champ "Unhinged" will be in the Oscar conversation, this year will present some golden opportunities to films that otherwise might not have had a chance at the industry's top prize. Even with the eligibility window's extension to Feb. 28, 2021, many would-be contenders originally slated for a 2020 theatrical release won't make the cut, barring a further extension or a 2022 ceremony that honors two years' worth of films.

It's been a joke since the beginning of the pandemic that "The Invisible Man," writer-director Leigh Whannell's critically and commercially successful subversion of the classic H.G. Wells story, might win Best Picture by default at the next Academy Awards ceremony. Same goes for star Elisabeth Moss and the Best Actress prize.

But it's a bad joke: "The Invisible Man" would be a worthy contender in any year, but especially amid a decadelong golden age of horror films that began with 2011's "The Cabin in the Woods." Whannell, who created the "Saw" franchise alongside "The Conjuring" and "Aquaman" director James Wan, perfectly constructed a screenplay that makes the title character a gaslighting boyfriend who torments the hero, Moss' victim of abuse who is stripped of all power and agency before a final triumph.

The broad strokes of Whannell's script are bold and beautiful: a classic premise turned on its head, a reflection of the #MeToo movement, the truly terrifying set pieces. But the fine details make the film even more special, with characterizations that defy horror tropes, and a refusal to conform to cliché. A small example: The title character's dog is a Doberman named Zeus, the kind of dog that is always menacing in movies. But this animal is not the villain's attack dog; he's another victim of abuse, and an eventual ally to our hero.

Moss, as you'd expect, is tremendous in the Blumhouse production, delivering on the film's demand that she play every emotion you could possibly ask an actor to play. "Invisible Man" comes a year after her thunderous supporting role in Jordan Peele's "Us," and will be followed by another lead performance in a Blumhouse thriller called "Mrs. March." I'm not sure many would have predicted that "Mad Men's" Peggy Olson would become the Queen of Horror, but it's a welcome surprise.

You could argue that a horror film has never won Best Picture. "Parasite" was a dark comedy with a horrific twist. "The Shape of Water" had elements of horror but was primarily a romantic fantasy. "The Silence of the Lambs" comes closest, but rides the line between horror and procedural thriller. "The Invisible Man" is a horror film through and through, and it's time for the Academy to recognize film's most creative, electrifying genre.

• "The Invisible Man" is available for digital rental and purchase, and on DVD and Blu-ray.