‘We’ll begin with a reign of terror, a few murders here and there…’
Watching the Universal monster movies for the first time has been an interesting experience. While many of them are clearly hampered by their primitive special effects, they are a fascinating insight into the early days of horror in mainstream cinema, and it is surprising just how well most of them hold up. The Invisible Man is perhaps not as recognisable a monster as Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, and the Mummy (and not just because he’s… well… invisible), but, in many ways, James Whale’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novella is perhaps the most effective of all of them…
We begin very much in media res with the titular invisible man (Claude Rains) already invisible from the opening scene. While we get a little backstory about how he became this way, the 70-minute run time ensures that any exposition is economical and efficient. From there, we see the man (otherwise known as Dr. Jack Griffin) go from pranks and hijinks to assault and mass murder.
Rains had been successful on Broadway and the West End, but his role here was his big break on the silver screen. He’s delicious. The fact that he can deliver such a captivating and compelling performance despite being invisible for much of the runtime is genuinely impressive, and it’s no surprise that this performance acted as a launchpad for a long and successful career that took in roles The Wolf Man, Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia. He imbues the invisible man with a jester-like playfulness that soon becomes horrifying as his diabolical acts of sabotage become ever more gleefully vindictive. Other than Rains’ bombastic performance and Whale’s assured direction, it is John P. Fulton’s visual effects that most impress. Fulton went on to work extensively with Hitchcock, and so it’s unsurprising that his work here is truly transcendental. The first reveal of Griffin’s invisibility is breathtaking, as are the footsteps in the snow. The fact that these effects are more impressive than many modern films is a testament to Fulton’s incredible visual effects work here.
Of all the Universal monster movies, The Invisible Man is perhaps the one that has aged the best. This is partly because the aesthetic of the eponymous monster is iconic (and let’s be honest, cool) and partly because Rains’ performance is so iconic. Either way, it’s a classic.
