The Invisible Man

Starring: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, Henry Travers
Directed by: James Whale
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama, Horror, Science Fiction
1933

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A scientist (Claude Rains) discovers a formula that turns him invisible. However, as he searches for the cure to reverse his invisibility, he starts to go crazy.

Review:

Tim: I loved The Invisible Man. It is a classic horror movie, one of the best examples of Universal's monster movies of the 1930s. It's a thrilling, contemplative, entertaining story well adapted from H.G. Wells' story. It features amazing special effects, and overall, is an incredibly enjoyable, thrilling movie. This is exceptionally made, and it's a great movie.

The basic premise is wonderful. What if a man could turn himself invisible? Think of the power that one ability would create. You could go anywhere, see anything, and pretty much do whatever you wanted to do. This power would have been even more wondrous in the 1930s, before there were heat-vision goggles and such. You really would be nearly unstoppable, if you so chose. The dream of invisibility is intoxicating. That very idea is exciting. However, what if that power of invisibility came with the cost that you couldn't reverse the process. Now, this creates a whole new wrinkle to the story. What would it be like to be invisible? This movie does a great job of touching on the possibilities and consequences of such a power. You would have trouble walking down stairs, because you couldn't see where you were putting your legs. You'd have to take care to cover every inch of your body, lest people would become frightened of you. As with so many blessings, there's a downside as well. I loved how those concepts were explored in this movie.

Now, to make the story even more interesting, the chemicals the invisible man took to make himself invisible have an unattractive side effect- insanity. this is what creates the real drama and suspense of the film. An invisible man who is getting more and more insane is a pretty scary concept. He could be anywhere, at any time. The paranoia that would create is unsettling, and is well represented in this film. The idea of a man with so much power, and yet, increasingly little care to control that power is a very scary thing, indeed.

I thought Claude Rains did a fantastic job as the invisible man, given that he's not really "in" the movie until the very end. He does a fantastic job with his voice work to make his presence felt. Gloria Stuart is a good addition, but she doesn't have a whole lot to do. I also loved seeing Henry Travers here, but again, his part was pretty small. William Harrigan played an important role in the film. While his part wasn't the most glamorous, it was essential for the film to succeed, and he played it quite well.

The special effects for this film are astounding, especially when you consider the time period in which it came out. While rudimentary, they're still pretty stunning today. This is what really makes the movie outstanding- you will believe that a man can turn invisible. There are so many different variations of this, and they're all impressive. We see a shirt moving around, with no body. We see pants chasing an old lady. We see an invisible rider on a bicycle, we see a headless man moving around. The special effects draw the audience into the story and make it believable. I loved how this looked on screen. it was fantastic.

The Invisible Man is a great movie. It features an interesting story, made more real by fantastic special effects and has a good cast. I really enjoyed this movie and was entertained throughout.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein, Dracula