A horror movie. A dumb horror movie. The type of dumb horror movie in which the cookie cutter characters are so stupid that you find yourself cheering when they each meet their miserable end, because the gene pool will be a better place without them. It almost makes the viewer wish the writers could meet the same fate as well, as this thing has more plot holes than lorraine swiss cheese.

Ok, maybe I'm being a little hard on it. But if I am, it is because this is precisely the sort of high budget crap that gives Hollywood a bad rep amongst people with brains and taste. Since I usually make it a point to skip garbage such as this, I must admit that I also take a sort of perverse pleasure in writing a scathing review when the occassional lemon makes it past my filters. It doesn't happen very often. (Especially during years like this, when my movielog is so sparse.)

When it comes to enumerating the deficieciencies, where do I even begin? There are so many. The concept itself, if unoriginal, might at least be interesting if only it were executed with a little more narrative flair. But no. Egotistical reseacher's project to turn living organisms invisible goes bad when he tries the formula on himself. Yawn.

If this movie has one bit of distinctiveness, it is that two of the great scientists who assist on his research team are dumb enough to go along with his unauthorized experiments, at least initially. (One of them is his ex-lover, who is secretly carrying on a relationship with the other researcher. In terms of crappily orchestrated hollywood love triangles, can it get any more generic?)

Dumb dumb dumb. I can't believe I actually bought this piece of crap, even if it was at a bargain close-out sale price. All the headliners are big names, known for making movies that are at least decent, if not outstanding. Paul Verhoeven, Kevin Bacon, Elizebeth Shue.

Oh well. I guess (almost) everybody does a stinker at least once in their career.

On the plus side, at least the effects are fun, though nothing resembling breakthrough. The gorilla's transition from invisible to normal was my favorite. First the veins, the heart, and all the internal organs appear, while the skin and fur remain transparent. Cool, man!

Other than that, what a waste of time. And money. Bah. Anyone want to buy a used DVD off of me? It's great, I swear! What a great salesman I am.