Hollow Man (2000)

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin

A brilliant scientist’s discovery renders him invisible, but transforms him into an omnipotent, dangerous megalomaniac.

‘Hollow Man’ felt a bit like the horror version of ‘Flatliners’ (also starring Kevin Bacon), but with much better visuals.

The film revolves around a group of scientists who found a way to make living tissue invisible. Only, they haven’t managed to make it visible again. With a committee demanding results in order not to shut down the project, Sebastian (Kevin Bacon) decides to try the experiment on himself. He is a brilliant scientist and head of the project, and also over-confident.

Off course – no spoilers here, as this is what the movie is about – they succeed in making him invisible, but battles to make him visible again. Sebastian soon grows tired of all the experiments and takes advantage of his disadvantage instead.

Sebastian’s character set-up was well done. From the onset it was clear he has an attitude problem. This manifests later as the story unfolds. The visual effects are groundbreaking. It simply is stunning. The attention to detail is also incredible. This truly is unlike anything I’ve seen before, but unfortunately the film then becomes just another slasher movie. It’s a pity they took that approach, as it started off so promising with its captivating premise.

At least the film has an excellent finale. I actually really enjoyed ‘The Hollow Man’.

Despite critics panning the movie, it was a box office success earning $190 million on a $95 million budget. It also deservedly received an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.

Would I watch it again? Yes.