meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Next Picture Show

#218: Believe It Or Not, Pt. 2 - The Invisible Man (2020)

The Next Picture Show

Filmspotting

Tv & Film, Film History, Film Reviews

4.6 • 858 Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2020

⏱️ 63 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Leigh Whannell’s new take on H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel THE INVISIBLE MAN is a Blumhouse film, so of course there has to be a twist — and in this case, it’s one that makes this version of INVISIBLE MAN less like the many adaptations that preceded it, and more like George Cukor’s 1944 film GASLIGHT, which is similarly focused on a man’s malicious manipulation of a woman at the expense of her own credibility. In this half of our gaslighting double feature, we talk over what makes this new INVISIBLE MAN work as well as it does — primarily Elisabeth Moss’s stellar central performance — before diving into what the two films share in their portrayals of manipulation, madness, and trauma, and how each uses atmosphere and physical space to to amplify their sense of unease and terror. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GASLIGHT, THE INVISIBLE MAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Your Next Picture Show • Scott: Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED • Tasha: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s THE PLATFORM • Keith: William Asher’s NIGHT WARNING, aka BUTCHER, BAKER, NIGHTMARE MAKER Outro music: They Might Be Giants, “I Am Invisible” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, next picture show listeners.

0:02.0

The episode you're about to hear was recorded over two weeks ago when we are not yet affected by the coronavirus.

0:08.6

We recommend that you join us in self-quarantine now and catch up with the invisible man when it becomes available on video.

0:15.7

Thank you.

0:17.8

It's very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present.

0:21.6

You believe that someone out of the past can enter and take possession of a living being?

0:28.3

We may be true with the past, but the past is not through with us.

0:35.8

Welcome back to The Next Picture Show, a movie-the-week podcast devoted to a classic film and the way it shaped our thoughts on a recent release.

0:42.4

I'm Tasha Robinson here again with...

0:44.0

Keith Phipps and Scott Tobias.

0:45.9

Our producer Genevieve Kosky is taking a restorative health break at a local facility after claiming her beloved dog Hugo was invisible and was haunting her.

0:55.2

We're pretty sure that's not true.

0:57.2

In our last episode, we looked back to 1944 and the Oscar-winning stage-derived drama

1:01.8

Gaslight about a husband trying to drive his new wife insane so he can search her house

1:06.3

for the jewels he couldn't find when he murdered her aunt.

1:08.9

This week, we're comparing it to the modern horror, The In about a controlling, abusive husband trying to drive his wife insane as punishment

1:15.6

for leaving him. It's a Blumhouse horror film, so of course there has to be a gimmick, and in this

1:19.9

case, it's that the husband is a pioneering inventor in the field of optics, and he's created a suit

1:24.8

that lets him haunt her invisibly. Everyone else thinks he's dead, but the audience knows he's created a suit that lets him haunt her invisibly. Everyone else thinks he's dead,

1:28.1

but the audience knows he's manipulating her environment, assaulting her protectors, and setting her up

1:32.8

for life in asylum, assuming she even survives. But a couple of late film twists pushes plans

1:38.1

in a new direction. None of this has much to do with H.G. Well's original 1897 novel

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Filmspotting, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Filmspotting and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.