Review: Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Blu-ray & DVD: Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
When asked to name movies directed by John Carpenter, the usual suspects of The Thing, Escape From New York, Halloween, et al will normally be the main ones to be put forward. I very much doubt that Memoirs of an Invisible Man would be on anyones initial list, which is unfortunate as this Chevy Chase headed comedy/romance/sci-fi movie is a strong entry in his oeuvre.
Nick Halloway (Chevy Chase) is a stockbroker who cares little for the people around him, that is, until he meets Alice Monroe (Daryl Hannah) and a relationship is formed between them.
However, things don’t go as planned and Halloway is caught up in a freak accident where he is made invisible.
Government agent David Jenkins (Sam Neill, in yet another deliciously evil role) tries to keep Halloway’s invisibility quiet, so that he can utilise him for his own nefarious means. This leads to an engaging game of cat and mouse as Halloway tries to evade capture from Jenkins increasingly violent methods.
Tonally, Memoirs of an Invisible Man happily skips the line of the comedy that Chevy Chase is known for, while also delivering some serious insights into the effects of invisibilty.
Most people have at some point imagined what it would be like to be invisible (usually involving some voyeouristic fantasy I should imagine…or is that just me!?), but Carpenter addresses the issues with quite a bit of thought. Trying not to give away your presence by either making a sound, bumping into people, or moving objects would be more problematic than you would first think, and Halloway has to face these issues as he continues his adventure.
Some genuine laughs are accompanied by a solid sci-fi narrative that gives a good twist on the familiar idea of invisibility. All of this is accompanied by some (for the time) groundbreaking visual effects…which are showcased in one of the special features.
If your John Carpenter fix is usually satiated with the usual titles, do yourself a favour and buy this great release from Fabulous Films.
Memoirs of an Invisible Man is released on 1st October 2018 and you can buy it by clicking HERE. ALL money raised by purchasing from Amazon via our website is given back to our listeners and followers in upcoming competition prizes. The more people buy, the bigger our prizes.
Review by Dave (host of 60 Minutes With) from a disc kindly supplied by Fabulous Films.