Editorials
[Editorial] Why The Invisible Man is the Most Underrated Universal Monster
So… I have a confession to make. For the longest time, I thought that the Invisible Man was a wimp compared to the other Universal Monsters. Sure, I’ve always admired his iconic shades and general sense of style, but how the hell do you pair up Lovecraftian fish-people, undead abominations and tragic lycanthropes with a regular guy who just so happens to be invisible? Well, after years of avoiding this seemingly inferior “monster”, I finally got around to reading H.G. Wells‘ classic story and watching James Whale‘s 1933 adaptation of it (not to mention the subsequent sequels), and boy was I wrong!
Having seen the error of my ways, I feel that I owe The Invisible Man an apology, so here’s my attempt at explaining why I now consider him the most underrated of all the Universal Monsters!
Despite a few notable alterations (mostly attempts at making the titular character less of an irredeemable fiend), Universal’s first adaptation of The Invisible Man is surprisingly faithful to the source material. Much of this is due to Wells’ mastery of storytelling, using universal archetypes to spin an iconic yarn of mad science gone wrong, while also having fun with the sci-fi concept of invisibility. That makes this haunting tale quite easy to adapt into nearly any environment or time period without losing much of its impact, as the story deals with timeless concepts like the dangers of anonymity and man’s relationship with power.
Whale’s film actually injects a little bit more comedy into the mix, though it also makes Griffin more of a tragic figure by including a heartbroken fiancé and the fact that the main character’s apparent madness mostly stems from the invisibility formula and not necessarily from an inherent lust for power. However, it was only with the addition of Claude Rains‘ unforgettable performance that the character was truly transformed into one of fiction’s most notorious psychopaths.
Rains simply kills it through voice acting and body language.
Following in the tradition of complex horror protagonists like Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Jack Griffin’s uncontrolled ambition is the true monster here, with his reprehensible behavior making him inhuman, not the lack of a visible body. Over the course of the story, Jack distances himself so deeply from the human condition that murder no longer phases him and anything can be excused if it serves his megalomaniacal goals. In fact, The Invisible Man technically has one of, if not the, largest body count in all of the Universal Monster pictures. This is mostly due to one terrifying scene where Jack derails a speeding train, possibly murdering hundreds of innocent travelers just because he could!
However, the character is so much more than just a crazed killer. While some of his quirks may have originally been played for laughs, it doesn’t take a genius to imagine his invisible antics serving as the terrifying foundation for a modern haunted house story. Ghostly mutterings in the night, objects moving by themselves and unseen presences stalking innocent victims; it’s the stuff of nightmares! To me, an ultimate reveal that the evil entity was a crazed human the entire time seems much more horrifying than a simple spirit.
Couple these phantasmagorical shenanigans with a sadistic streak and delusions of grandeur (even featuring classic supervillain speeches about making the world grovel at his feet), and you have the recipe for one of fiction’s most compelling characters. It would actually be a while before we’d see this kind of madness again in film, especially after the Hays code, but The Invisible Man would become a franchise willing to reinvent itself with each new installment. While the original flick was a cautionary tale of sci-fi horror with a sprinkling of slapstick, the sequels would incorporate genre-bending elements to the story in order to keep the formula from getting stale.
The Invisible Man Returns is much more of a murder mystery as Vincent Price tracks down his brother’s killer using his newfound abilities, while The Invisible Woman would present itself as a screwball comedy, abandoning most of the story’s horror elements. My personal favorite of the bunch, Invisible Agent, was an insane propaganda flick chronicling the adventures of a new Invisible Man tasked with spying on the Nazis during World War II in a proto-superhero movie! Of all of these, The Invisible Man’s Revenge is arguably the most similar to the original, again featuring a psychopathic killer, though he still pales in comparison to Rains’ original Jack Griffin.
Getting a Hollow Man vibe from these effects!
Naturally, not all of these different interpretations were successful, but they can all serve as inspiration for even better adaptations in the future. The way I see it, the ideal Invisible Man film would incorporate elements from all these previous versions in a revamping of this classic monster, though I’d love it for a new creative team to dial the scare-factor up to eleven.
That’s why I can hardly wait for 2020 and Leigh Whannell‘s take on this iconic character. After seeing Upgrade, I’m pretty sure he’s one of only a few filmmakers able to tell a proper sci-fi horror story without skimping out on the brutality or clever nuances that made the original story such a classic in the first place.
At this point, I think it’s clear that The Invisible Man is one of the most versatile properties out there, able to effortlessly transition between genres while still maintaining an echo of the original story’s horrific elements. Even when the character is reimagined as a hero, there’s an inherently creepy voyeuristic element that can’t really be removed, not to mention the ever-present temptation to use these abilities for personal gain.
These days, The Invisible Man is right up there with The Wolfman as one of my all-time favorite movie monsters. It took a while for me to appreciate the value of this timeless character, but I’m glad that I did. If the age-old adage is true, and the deepest scares lie in the unknown, I feel that there’s no better story to revive through the lens of contemporary horror than the unseen terrors of the unforgettable Invisible Man.
Editorials
Before ‘The Blair Witch Project’, ‘Alien Autopsy’ Showed How Real Found Footage Could Feel
The line separating artist from con man is a lot thinner than you might initially believe. While I think we can all agree that lying for the sake of profit is actively malicious behavior, isn’t it also true that the faux documentary aspect of The Blair Witch Project is half the reason why that film became such a cultural phenomenon? After all, if there’s one thing filmmakers have in common with stage magicians, it’s that misleading and misdirecting audiences is simply part of the job.
That’s why I’ve developed a habit of mostly ignoring the moral quandaries behind many of film and television’s biggest “hoaxes” in favor of appreciating the narrative elements that drive productions like Mermaids: The Body Found and even Animal Planet’s highly underrated The Cannibal in the Jungle. However, if there’s a definitive case of a highly publicized broadcast fooling the world into taking it seriously, it has to be Fox’s infamous 1995 TV special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.
It’s been over three decades since that eerie footage first haunted television screens right at the peak of the ’90s ufology craze, and in that time, the video has taken on a life of its own. From countless parodies and references in everything from The X-Files to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (as well as John Dower’s recently released tell-all documentary The Alien Autopsy Scandal, which I’d highly recommend to genre fans everywhere), there’s no denying the legacy of the Alien Autopsy video. However, I rarely see the tape discussed as what it truly is: a highly convincing found footage film directed by a passionate stage magician and brought to life by masterful practical effects work.
That’s why I’d like to invite readers to join me on a deep dive into one of the most infamous broadcasts of all time in an attempt to reevaluate the footage as a fascinating narrative experience rather than a complete hoax.
The TV Special That Convinced Millions It Was Real
Ray Santilli next to Extraterrestrial replica in ‘The Alien Autopsy Scandal’
For starters, regardless of whether or not you believe that there was in fact an extraterrestrial crash in Roswell during the summer of 1947 and that some form of autopsy was performed on the victims, the producers behind the black & white recordings, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield, insist that their video was a “restoration.” Though I’d argue that the proper word is “remake”of genuine footage that was too damaged to air on television. That’s why the duo went on to recruit filmmaker and eccentric magician Spyros Melaris and sculptor/monster designer John Humphreys to bring their version of the autopsy to life and sell it to the highest bidder.
This is where the story of the Alien Autopsy as a narrative experience really begins. Melaris claims that his approach to the faux recording consisted of striving for extreme period accuracy in both shooting equipment and setting while also planting subtle details that would initially seem like mistakes but could later be revealed to actually fit the time period. That being said, the filmmaker was under the impression that the short would be released for free as a PR stunt, with the team later producing and selling an informative documentary chronicling exactly how the footage was faked and commenting on how easy it is to manipulate public perception with a good old-fashioned magic trick.
This obviously isn’t how things went down, and that’s likely the reason why Melaris has since distanced himself from everyone else involved with the project. Yet, no amount of behind-the-scenes drama can undermine the genuine effort that went into making the short as impressive as it is. From the sourcing of real animal organs from a local butcher to make the organic part of the creature more lifelike to the highly detailed sculpt that made use of a hollowed-out underlayer that could be filled with fake blood and assorted viscera, there’s a reason why so many Hollywood specialists are still impressed with the artistry on display here.
Of course, the believability is only half the story, as I think that the best part of the autopsy is how Melaris builds on the existing tension by obscuring certain details and often embracing the chaos of what a real examination of extraterrestrial life could feel like. The camera often goes out of focus at just the right time to make certain effects hit even harder, and we can only speculate as to what the hazmat-suited doctors are gesticulating about during the operation. There’s a real air of mystery to the whole thing that almost makes it feel like a cosmically terrifying, cursed film containing forbidden knowledge that civilians were never meant to see.
So when Fox’s Fact or Fiction brings in the specialists to comment on the film and its otherworldly subject, it’s no surprise that we end up with one of the most memorable mockumentaries of all time – albeit one where the participants are unaware that the footage they’re commenting on is basically a large-scale practical joke. A joke that the network was obviously in on, as many participants claim that the TV special cut out significant portions where guests point out that they believe the footage to be an elaborate hoax.
The Lasting Impact of the Hoax Turned Cultural Event
Regardless, I remember going to bed terrified after watching reruns of the special and thinking about the respected pathologist who claimed that the body was almost certainly inhuman, with even effects maestro Stan Winston commenting on how difficult it would be to recreate some of these visuals through practical puppetry. That’s not even mentioning Jonathan Frakes’ dramatic hyping up of the disturbing imagery as if he was talking about the tape from The Ring, with his spooky demeanor here likely being responsible for his later role as the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction a few years later.
Personally, I’d argue that the Alien Autopsy phenomenon had just as much of an impact on me as a horror fan as The Blair Witch Project, a film that was almost certainly influenced by the success of this immensely popular hoax (to the point where they even produced their own TV special commenting on Heather’s found footage). Even if Fox didn’t intend to produce a narrative feature about the aftermath of the Roswell crash, the end product still holds up remarkably well as a highly entertaining mockumentary exploring the idea that we may not be alone in the universe.
While neither Santilli nor the rest of the production team has ever commented on this, I also think it’s very likely that the idea of a faux Alien Autopsy could have been influenced by Dean Alioto’s The McPherson Tape/UFO Abduction. I’ve already written about how this granddaddy of found footage was co-opted by rogue ufologists who began selling bootlegs of the tape at conventions as if it were real evidence of a close encounter, so it’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that Santilli and company could have heard about this phenomenon and been inspired to come up with their own highly profitable hoax.
At the end of the day, it’s unlikely that the Alien Autopsy film is recreating any real footage from Roswell, but I can still appreciate the short and the accompanying television event as a standalone horror story that still influences the way we see found footage to this very day.
After all, the possibility that something could be real is often much scarier than finding out for sure – and that’s why I think Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction is still worth revisiting three decades down the line.
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