On a stormy night, a mysterious bandaged stranger comes in to an inn in Iping, Sussex. He takes a room and does experiments behind closed doors. The innkeeper tries to throw him out but he's attacked by an invisible force. The police come but he takes off his bandage and disappears. He is Dr. Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) who accidentally discovered invisibility. His fiancée Flora Cranley (Gloria Stuart) and his employer Dr. Cranley (Henry Travers) who is also Flora's father are both concerned. Griffin coerces his assistant Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan) in joining his mad plan to dominate the town.
The special effects are breath-taking especially considering the era it's made. They are almost seamless when the invisible man takes off his bandages. On the only hand, the story is only functional. It's not that scary as a horror. The town folks are too broadly low-brow. The cops are too stupid. Some of it reminds me of Keystone Cops which is a bad thing when the movie is trying to heighten the tension. This should be a lot scarier.
The special effects are breath-taking especially considering the era it's made. They are almost seamless when the invisible man takes off his bandages. On the only hand, the story is only functional. It's not that scary as a horror. The town folks are too broadly low-brow. The cops are too stupid. Some of it reminds me of Keystone Cops which is a bad thing when the movie is trying to heighten the tension. This should be a lot scarier.