1933 / 71m - USA
Horror, Sci-fi
1.5*/5.0*
The Invisible Man poster

Watches

April 15, 2021

1.5*/5.0*

Classic horror cinema is never very horrific, so I was warned and prepared when I decided to give The Invisible Man a go. And sure enough, you better not watch this one hoping to find tension and dread. While there is some charm/atmosphere here, it mostly comes from the outmodish ideas and execution of classic horror cinema.

The only redeeming element of this film are its above average special effects. By modern standards its nothing special (and even for its time it wasn't exactly shocking), but at least they don't look completely out of place. Whale doesn't save them for a late finale either, which made it a little easier to sit through the ordeal that was the rest of the film.

The performances are very overstated and crummy, the invisible man himself is a parody of a villain and the plot is too simple even for the film's limited 70-minute runtime. It's only when objects are flying seemingly unaided through the air that the film retains its cheesy charm, otherwise this wasn't really worth my time.