A film critic covering Hollywood and international productions of modern horror movies, Gary DeWaard regularly reviews Blumhouse-produced films, a studio that leads the horror genre today. Here, he talks about the latest retelling of H. G. Wells’ classic tale of terror, The Invisible Man.
Gary DeWaard notes that horror movie fans are witnessing a resurgence in the genre thanks to dozens of remakes and continuations in addition to a large pool of original films that have been released within the last five years alone. As a horror buff himself, he is always excited at the chance to see the latest installment in the Blumhouse production studio schedule.
“Blumhouse is the horror production house of the industry right now, raking in billions of dollars from franchises like Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Halloween, and others,” says Gary DeWaard. “Now the team at Blumhouse has taken on The Invisible Man, which, besides being a classic literary work, is also a horror classic movie dating back to the earliest days of cinema.”
The original story of the Invisible Man was written by literary giant H. G. Wells who also penned classics such as War of the Worlds, the Time Machine, and the Island of Dr. Moreau. The story was first published in 1897 and has seen many reiterations of its haunting tale in both literature and film since. The first movie adaptation of Wells’ classic came out in 1933 and brought to life a legendary horror monster alongside notable figures like Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, and the Wolf Man.
Wells’ story focuses on a scientist who successfully turns himself invisible, but without the ability to turn himself back to normal––which brings on a series of unfortunate events that ruins the lives of the people around him. Over the years, Hollywood has produced many films with the same basic premise, most notably Hollow Man starring Kevin Bacon.
The latest Blumhouse production is set to carve out a new and powerful chapter in horror as the story has been altered to focus on a rich and abusive boyfriend who uses his scientific breakthrough to terrorize his ex-wife from beyond the grave.
“It looks like it’ll be a wild ride that takes all the stuff we fear today––things like ghosts, abuse, and corrupted power––while painting a picture using Wells’ original tale,” says Gary DeWaard. “The team that has put the latest remake together is known for quality work, especially on their horrific or dystopian plots. By the trailer alone, this film seems to mark the scariest chapter in the saga to-date.”
The film was written and directed by Leigh Whannell and is said to be a very loose adaptation of both the novel of the same name and a remake of the 1933 film adaptation. The movie stars Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid and Harriet Dyer, and is set to hit theaters on February 28, 2020.
