Based on the novella by H.G. Wells, The Invisible Man is one of the more frightening of the old Universal monster movies; one part creature feature, two parts thriller. Claude Rains plays Jack Griffin, a chemist who turned himself both invisible and insane in one fell swoop. Rains gives a spectacular performance as Griffin, bringing to life a truly psychotic and sinister villain without ever showing his face. It’s a very vocal and physical performance. Also of note in this movie is the special effects. Though nothing special now, the primitive effects used to render Rains invisible worked remarkably well and created some of the eerier imagery in the film, like the hollow head wrapping. The Invisible Man came out more than 80 years ago, and just as fun and frightening today as it was in 1933.
