Classic Monster Movie Marathon: The Invisible Man (1933)

This was by far the best movie of the bunch that I have watched so far. Quite simply, I freaking loved The Invisible Man. Based on the 1897 novella of the same name by H.G. Wells, The Invisible Man is an excellent morality tale about the draw and corruption of power, and possibly good ideas with bad intentions. The movie was directed by James Whale, who is known for directing other such classics as Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.

A mysterious man covered in bandages requests a room at a small village inn. He asks to be left alone while he works secretly on a science experiment. As it turns out, this man is Jack Griffin, a pupil of a Dr. Cranley, who has discovered a way to make himself completely invisible using an unusual drug called monocane. Unbeknownst to Griffin, the drug, mixed with the pleasure he gets from being invisible, makes him crazy with power. Griffin wreaks havoc in the village and even murders people. As Cranley and another friend, Kemp, try to make him come quietly so they can try to restore his visibility, the police and the rest of the people in the village work around the clock to capture and stop him for good.

The movie technically "stars" Claude Rains as Griffin, although he is usually just a voice or otherwise completely covered up in bandages and clothes. However, Rains's voice acting more than makes up for his inability to use facial expressions. There is true madness and glee in his voice as talks to his partner Kemp about wanting to go on a "reign of terror" to show the world his power, and as he tells Flora that even the moon is frightened of him. Costuming also helps makes Griffin look quite eerie and creeptastic, as well. The bandages on his head make him look less human, plus those old sunglasses are a bit strange and disconcerting. And that robe... oh, how I love that robe. Such sophistication and class disguising a madman.

Now, a lot of Universal's monsters can be seen as sympathetic in some ways, but Griffin/The Invisible Man doesn't really fall under that category to me. Sure, you can argue in Griffin's favor that it was the drug monocane that is to blame for his bad behavior. But is it really just the drug that is infecting his mind, or is it the rush that comes from what he can do with his invisibility? Griffin goes to his friend Kemp not in desperation to cure him of his condition, but to force Kemp into becoming his partner that will help him cause more devastation and mayhem. By the end, Griffin has murdered some 20 people in the village, and caused a train accident that killed 100 people. I could never have sympathy for someone with such a blatant disregard for human life, madman or no. Then we learn that Griffin and Flora are in love and Griffin tells her that he only pursued the experiment so that he could become famous and rich to make a life for the two of them. I have a hard time believing, though, that love was his true motivation. It was power, and power is a well-known corruptor.

You simply cannot talk about this movie without mentioning the insanely well-done special effects. I was pretty well floored about how awesome the effects looked when Rains first removed his bandages. That shot was incredibly creepy and looked so realistic, and things only got better as the movie went on. I cannot believe the ingenuity of the effects from a movie made in 1933 and how amazing they turned out from using a simple matte process. I've seen horror movies from the past few years that only wished their effects looked as good as this. Honestly, seeing The Invisible Man has made me a little pissed off at all the horrible, half-assed effects work that I've seen in modern movies. Take the time to do it right, and you'll wind up with much better results. It's that simple.

The Invisible Man is a really, really excellent film. Almost all reviews of this movie mention a comedy element to it, and while there is a little bit of that having to do with the people in the village of Iping, I mostly just felt the fear and suspense of what Griffin might do. This is a fantastic cautionary morality tale with a wonderful story and a hell of an actor to pull off the very limited main role. Definitely see this one soon if you haven't.