Howdy there, Scream Freaks! We just saw the new Invisible Man flick this weekend from Blumhouse, and it’s pretty damn good, we gotta say. Here’s our review:
THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020)
After runnin’ away from an abusive relationship with a controllin’ scientist, Cecelia is convinced her ex-squeeze is gettin’ payback by fakin’ his death and harassin’ her in an invisible suit he built. Now, it’s a war of wits as she fights to prove he’s alive ‘fore he convinces everyone she belongs in the nuthouse. A different take on an invisible man flick that doesn’t follow the title character’s journey, this offers an entirely new kinda story told from the victim’s perspective. Despite the audience knowin’ what they’re gettin’ into from the get go, the filmmakers still manage to deliver plenty of suspenseful moments with whodunnit teases and some of the most bad ass invisible man kills I’ve seen yet. It’s not without it’s sours, however, like the non-sense logistics behind the scientist’s faked death and the lack of iconic imagery for such a universal monster. Best part is when Cecelia finds the Invisible Man by callin’ his cell. Slit throats, framed murders, kitchen fires, roofied job interviews, airborne women, young’n beatin’, macin’, car window punchin’, car wrecks, stabbin’s, fatal gunshots, bed sheet pranks, and nuthouse massacres and escapes! 4/5!
So, definitely worth checkin’ out in our opinion.
In the meantime, we’ve been on an invisible kick thanks to all the hype over this thing and wanted to share some of what we’ve found with ya’ll. Here’s a list of other invisible heroes and menaces who fall outside the mainstream of Universal monsters movies, Predators, and Hollow Man double features ya might enjoy:
INVISIBLE MANIAC – An erotically low budget flick ’bout a sexually repressed scientist escapin’ the nuthouse and hidin’ in plain site as a high school science teacher while completin’ his research to turn invisible. When he FINALLY achieves this, there’s just ‘nough time left in the movie to rip gal’s clothes off and massacre their boyfriends.
CHEVY CHASE – Playin’ it straight in one of John Carpenter’s lesser talked ’bout studio pictures, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Chevy is caught in a freak industrial accident that leaves him with a bad case of transparency. A dramatic thriller, this is the first time we’ve ever seen a film that made bein’ invisible not all it’s cracked up to be with Chevy pukin’ at the sight of his own meals visibly digestin’ in the air.
BENJAMIN KNIGHT -A loose sequel to Full Moon’s Mandroid, Invisible: The Chronicles of Benjamin Knight is the return of a fella who was turned invisible in a lab accident. Part of Full Moon’s attempt at creatin’ their own movie version of the Fantastic Four, this installment features super villains out to steal the cure to Benjamin’s predicament so they can weaponize it for eeevil ‘purposes.
THE DARKEST HOUR -Americans party in Moscow ’til invisible e.t.s invade the world and the only way to detect ’em is with light bulbs glowin’ in their presence. Decent flick, but feels like it ends as soon as it really starts to get rollin’.
INVISIBO -An evil resurrected Egyptian from the second season of the Freakazoid! cartoon series, this out of sight villain is easy to keep track of ’cause his magic weapon that turns him invisible ironically doesn’t disappear itself. Only thing worse than fightin’ his magic is gettin’ his catchy theme song stuck in yer head! “Where did he go? That Invisibo!”
SOUND OF HORROR -When workin’ on no-budget monster movies, ya gotta get pretty creative sometimes to suspend audiences’ disbelief. In this case, a buncha treasure hunters are after a loot of gold buried in a mountain, but they gotta go toe to imaginary toe with an invisible dinosaur to do it. This flick’s just beggin’ fer someone to drop in CG dinos after all these years!
INVISIBLE STRANGLER -A prisoner with interest in the occult uses magic ‘stead of science to make himself invisible and escapes the big house to strangle the five women who spoke ‘gainst him at his trial. A ’70s cop drama with a paranormal killer, this flick bounces back and forth ‘tween titles The Invisible Strangler and The Astral Factor.
LLOYD VENTRIX -Introduced in Batman: The Animated Series episode “See No Evil,” this criminal steals a toxic invisible suit to win his estranged daughter’s affection as an imaginary friend showerin’ her in stolen goods. Batman naturally kicks his ass in the end but not ‘fore a really cool chase scene with an invisible car!
FIEND WITHOUT A FACE -In this ’50s classic, a scientist’s experiments with telekinesis and thought projections give life to invisible creatures who steal their victims’ brains and spinal cords. When zapped with dangerous levels of radiation, the unseen creatures are revealed to be killer claymation brains that ooze bubblin’ blood when destroyed.
INVISIBLE MOM -Horror icon Dee Wallace accidentally drinks her inventor husband’s new invisibility formula and well – you know the rest. A duo of family friendly flicks from schlock maestro Fred Olen Ray, this makes me realize just how few invisible women there are in movies. Before this, the only one we could name is the Invisible Girl from the Fantastic Four!
FORBIDDEN PLANET -The movie that changed the trajectory of sci-fi films in the ’50s, a space ship lands on an alien planet and its crew is threatened by an invisible beast they can sometimes see outlined in their force fields. It’s runaway star, Robby the Robot, got a loose spin-off called The Invisible Boy where he grants a kid the wish to be unseen by his parents when he plays.
CECILY -When Boris Karloff’s soul needs help gettin’ into beach party heaven, he calls up his dead girlfriend, The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. A mixed bag of ideas, this whole concept was an afterthought edited into a haunted pajama party the producers were originally unhappy with.
RODNEY SKINNER -When Alan Moore’s comic The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen got the big screen treatment, his version of H. G. Wells’ Invisible Man was adapted as well. A thief who stole the original invisibility formula, Skinner acts as the super team’s spy and saboteur who occasionally throws grease paint on his face to be seen by his colleagues.
DARIEN FAWKES -Syfy (then Sci-Fi) had their own The Invisible Man show that featured a thief the government experiments on with a Quicksilver gland that allows him to disappear by secretin’ light bendin’ fluid from his pores. Sounds kinda gross, but this did allow for alotta fun ways for him to make different parts of himself invisible ‘stead of all at once everytime.
THE INVISIBLE BOY -When Bob Burden’s cult hit comic book hero The Flaming Carrot couldn’t be adapted for the big screen, he came up with a team of super losers called Mystery Men. Among their gang of shovelers, ragers, and utensil flingers, is one fella who claims he can turn invisible, but only if no one’s lookin’!
SUPERGIRL -Coastin’ off three Superman pictures, we’d think there would’ve been ‘nough money in the budget to give Supergirl a run for her money in her major motion picture debut. But hell, flyin’ effects ain’t cheap, so let’s just double that effort like she’s battlin’ some invisible beast at the same time!
Other than that, be sure to catch up on all past Screaming Soup! Seasons, check out this week’s Howl’n Hottie, read recent reviews for the newer horror films and comics we’re checkin’ out in our blogs, R-Rated Reviews and Sequential Slime, and help us get the word out about the web’s #1 animated horror host show! Please use our social buttons in the upper right corner of the site and follow our tweets, subscribe to our video channels, like our Facebook, watch and share all our vids, and keep that fan mail comin’. You can also warm up some Screaming Soup! leftovers with reruns currently playin’ on Beta Max TV, Sluggo’s The Vortexx, and Mr. Lobo‘s OSI 74!
VOTE for Deadwest as yer favorite horror host for the 18th annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards! Simply copy paste “Favorite Horror Host: Deadwest from Screaming Soup!” into an email with your name and shoot that vote to taraco@aol.com by 3/29/20. To vote in the other award categories, check out the full ballot HERE.
See ya later, Scream Freaks!
Screaming Soup! 