Classic Film Kid: The Invisible Man Appears (1949)(Review)

Contains Mild Spoilers

Hello everyone, the Classic Film Kid is back with possibly the strangest review I’ve ever done as we take a look at two films that have just been released in the UK for the very first time: The Invisible Man Appears (1949), and The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly (1957). These are two Japanese science fiction horror films that, as I said before, have finally been released to a Western audience and while I can’t say I’m in love with either of them, it was certainly an interesting experience watching something that is so far removed from any genre I’ve covered or been involved in at all.

Essentially they are takes on the core elements of the classic HG Wells novel, The Invisible Man, and although the two films are basically related in name only, they do share certain plot similarities and have a certain atmosphere about them. In both films, various scientists create technology that can turn objects and people invisible and the themes of using technology for villainous purposes or the greater good. In the first film, the invisibility serum is exploited so that a jewel smuggler can continue his heinous crimes, and in The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly, this technology is discovered to be useful against a terrifying new foe. I bet you can’t guess what it is from the title.

Being able to see these films for the first time was amazing, and they do actually have quite a lot of history. The Invisible Man Appears is the earliest surviving Japanese science fiction film ever made, and both films are two of the earliest examples of tokusatsu, a Japanese film genre that has an emphasis on big special effects – it roughly translates into English as “special effects cinema.” Godzilla’s seen as the primary example of this genre, and if you want connections to that, Eiji Tsuburaya worked on the effects for the first film five years before he became one of the co-creators of the original 1954 film. The facts you uncover with a little bit of research. And keep in mind, neither of these films has a Wikipedia page, I had to read the Arrow Films page, an unofficial fan site and a Kim Newman documentary on the special features to get any of that stuff.

With all that said, what did I think of these two films? Let’s just say I did enjoy them but I do wish I’d enjoyed them more. They have their own charm and a certain place in history though I can’t lie that I think my slight disappointment doesn’t come from the films being not tailored for me, as I love science fiction and I love horror so this should be a winning combination. Both films are flawed in terms of plotting and in character, but before I get into those, I do want to talk about what I liked as there is a lot that I found entertaining with these.

First of all, both movies start off very strongly. We are introduced to key characters and settings, as we get a feeling for what’s going on. Both do make different first impressions though – The Invisible Man Appears starts with a relatively chilled conversation between characters, as a scientist explains his new invisibility serum, while The Invisible Man Vs. The Human Fly starts with a murder, which thrusts us right into the plot – investing us straight away.

The first film, in its first 45 minutes or so, had a real sense of paranoia. As the invisible man begins committing murder, many characters become unsure of themselves and their surroundings, as some tense music plays in the background, and I love the atmosphere they created with that. Both films also use a newspaper gimmick, where we see these scary headlines and newsflashes, which makes them feel much more of a widespread threat. It is a little silly and goofy, but in that charming way that most old movies from this time are, and a lot of the time it still works surprisingly well.

It was clear that The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly had more of a budget than the first one. The science lab in which the serum was being manufactured seemed like a prototype of some of the more extravagant Bond villain lairs from the 60s and 70s, and there are some nice attempts to make this one look more cinematic: there’s some cool camerawork from the perspective of both the fly and the invisible man, and some of the locations feel grander and glossier. There’s even a pretty decent-looking train explosion as things get intense in the third act, which genuinely made me jump out of my skin as things go from 0 to 100 really fast!
The second film also plays with the visuals a bit more – there are some obvious and funny attempts at visual humour involving invisible forces moving chairs and fighting other people that keeps you engrossed in the action.

With that said, there is one catch that I think plagues both films: they do get a bit convoluted. I know that there’s probably a creative reason as to why, since it plays with the paranoia aspect I mentioned earlier, but even then I did find it hard to keep up with all of the faces and names after a while. I don’t mean to be offensive with that, but as an English kid trying to watch a Japanese film, it is an unfortunate side-effect that names in an unfamiliar language unfamiliar start to blend together.

Speaking of being a different nationality, something about the plot and the structure of the films didn’t feel like it had as much of a Japanese personality to it. What I mean by that is you look at films like the original Ring, or Studio Ghibli films, and instantly you get a different atmosphere because it’s in a country and a language that’s not your own. Although both of them are set in Japan, it almost feels like they were made for a different market – they are very American. That’s not a bad thing depending on the way you look at it, if the market you’re going for is an international one then it fits the bill, but I would’ve liked to have seen something that could be seen as the roots of Japanese horror and sci-fi, that led to films like the Ring or Godzilla, and not something that was familiar to me. It can be seen as Japanese cinema trying to find its footing with international audiences, so maybe I can allow it.

I also felt like some of the plot developments and themes that were set up, particularly in the first film, didn’t really follow through into an engaging conclusion. The Invisible Man Appears sets up ideas involving technology being used for malicious purposes, consequences of actions, and it seems as if these were largely jettisoned in favour of the big climaxes. And since I’ve already said that the climaxes were where both films drew the short straw, that was a problem that did annoy me a bit.

While I did want to like these more than I did, I still did like them. At their best, both of these movies offer interesting insights into 40s and 50s early Japanese cinema and had some brilliant ideas that that kept me engaged. So, while these films didn’t blow me away, I had a good time with them. The Invisible Man Appears gets a 6/10, and The Invisible Man Appears vs. The Human Fly gets a 7/10.

Thanks for reading The classic film kid’s review of The Invisible Man Appears

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So that’s it for today’s review. This was definitely one of the more interesting reviews I’ve done thus far and I hope it was the same for you too. Doctor Sleep, Buffy, Planet of The Apes are future reviews in the pipeline, but until then this is the Classic Film Kid signing off!