How To Resurrect Universal's Monsters

The Invisible Man

The key with The Invisible Man would be to start from scratch. Who honestly remembers James Whale€™s film, or the comedy portrayals by Christian Slater (in my opinion), Chevy Chaseand Tony Curran? The premise itself is interesting enough, so the key is to build the film around a character we care about, who transcends the basic idea of a man who is invisible. Perhaps have a scientist in the present day who uncovers documents from a disgraced scientist from the Victorian era (again, in keeping with the previous entries, with interesting possibilities for steampunk aesthetic and exploring the industrial revolution), and becoming obsessed with replicating the effects, disregarding the warning from the previous invisible man. Make it about legacy, and you can have some real body horror as he becomes invisible. Someone perfect for this, based on his early works and €˜The Prestige€™ is Christopher Nolan, giving us something innovative, exciting, intimate and thought-provoking. This is less about scaring an audience, and more about them sympathising with the horrific transformation the invisible man is experiencing, and throwing in big ideas, €˜Inception€™-style, about messing with science and trying to play God. Let a pulpy idea transcend into something more cerebral. Someone like Clint Mansell could provide a mournful, hypnotic score to not only complement a Nolan who had a distinctive style capture by David Julyan before the grandiose of The Dark Knight Trilogy, but also represent the delusion and delirium of a man literally losing his identity. But who to play the Invisible Men? I would suggest Bradley Cooper for the present Invisible Man, and Jim Carrey for the past victim. Carrey is a powerful force as a serious actor, and would match both the energy and melancholy of the Victorian time period, whereas Cooper represents modern arrogance and introspection.