Night 26: ‘The Invisible Man’ (1933)
This is part of the ‘31 Nights of Horror Classics’ series, which I’ll be doing for Halloween 2017. Every night of this month, I’ll be watching a horror film made before the 90s and I’ll be posting a short review here.
The monster of ambition can turn even the most talented men into the most terrifying creature of all.
Dr. Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) has managed to decolor his skin and body to the point of turning himself invisible. He tries to get the cure, but a mysterious chemical changes his mindset, driving him to the edge of insanity. Now, he is set on conquering the world and imposing a reign of terror on everyone.
The Invisible Man has quite an interesting concept at its core. In a society that is obsessed and ruled by vision, being virtually imperceptible is the ultimate power. It’s no wonder why so many of us would choose that as our superpower if we could!
However, our main character doesn’t use it to escape. On the contrary, he wants to wield that power to dominate everyone around him. What I liked about the film is that Jack Griffin is, indeed, very terrifying. He’s maniacal, cruel and truly unhinged. His evil goes far beyond playing a few mischievous pranks, to actually murdering several people without a hitch.
His lack of limits is menacing, and it makes him one of the most frightening human villains I have ever seen. Claude Rains’ dark and malicious voice, as well as his frenetic and threatening body acting, is absolutely praiseworthy. His portrayal is impressively effective and chilling.
Unfortunately, the movie does have a problem with its tone.
During way too many times, it falls into absurdity and bad comedy in what could be a really unsettling moment. As villainous as he is, sometimes the Invisible Man is quite ridiculous. It also doesn’t help that the characters around him seem to be extremely dimwitted and useless. They accept the explanation of the man’s invincibility unnaturally fast, but thinking of a possible solution takes them an unbelievably long amount of time.
On the other hand, the film tries to give its ending an emotional weight without earning it. Since we don’t see see the development of any of the relationships between Dr. Griffin and the other characters (the girl, his friend, etc.), that last redemption scene is utterly void of any effectiveness.
Another element that I didn’t enjoy as much was the cop out of blaming a chemical, and not humanity itself, for the evil we end up witnessing in the main character. At least for me, it seems like a less groundbreaking way of exploring the situation.
In the end, I enjoyed the film, but it did have many issues that took me out of it. But, hey! It’s in Edgar Wright’s list of favorite horror movies! So at least out of curiosity, do check it out. You might find some enjoyment in it.
Grade: 7/10. A creepy although flawed ride.
Scare Factor: some shocking moments.
Gore/Violence: not much, and not graphic.
Nudity/Sexual Situations: none visible (*wink*).
Previous Night: ‘The Dead Zone’ (‘82)
Next up: ‘An American Werewolf in London’ (‘81)
