Memoirs of an Invisible Man Blu Ray Review (Scream Factory)

Memoirs of an Invisible Man is a 1992 comedy film directed by John Carpenter (Assault on Precinct 13, Someone’s Watching Me!, Prince of Darkness, & In the Mouth of Madness). Ivan Reitman was the original director but backed out due to creative differences with star Chevy Chase. Warner Bros paid $1.35 million for the film rights in 1986. John Carpenter usually put his name before the title but this time he decided not to do that because he knew he didn’t have complete artistic control over this project. This is one of the few productions where he didn’t write & perform the music. The feature basically had to be shot twice due to it’s extensive special effects work.

Nick Halloway (played by: Chevy Chase from Caddyshack franchise, Fletch franchise, Vacation franchise, & Nothing but Trouble) is a stock analyst who spends most of his life avoiding responsibility & connections with other people. At the Academy Club, his friend George Talbot (played by: Michael McKean from Airheads, This Is Spinal Tap, Clue, & Better Call Saul) introduces him to Alice Monroe (played by: Daryl Hannah from Kill Bill, Splash, Wall Street, & Blade Runner). They make plans for Friday after instantly hitting it off. Nick attends a shareholders’ meeting at Magnascopic Laboratories. He gets bored by Dr. Bernard Wachs (played by: Jim Norton from Straw Dogs, American History X, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, & Hidden Agenda) presentation & decides to leave. A lab technician makes a huge mistake & it ends up turning Nick invisible. CIA operative David Jenkins (played by: Sam Neill from Possession, In the Mouth of Madness, Jurassic Park 1/3, & Event Horizon) finds out about his condition. He convinces his boss Warren Singleton (played by: Stephen Tobolowsky from Memento, Spaceballs, Single White Female, & Groundhog Day) not to notify headquarters so they can take credit for this. Nick flees & ends up getting others in trouble for being involved in this accident. Alice thinks Nick stood her up after not coming through on their date. Nick hides out at George’s remote beach house until unexpected company shows up. George, his wife Ellen (played by: Patricia Heaton from Everybody Loves Raymond, The Middle, Back to You, & Beethoven), Alice, & Richard (played by: Gregory Paul Martin from A Walk in the Clouds & Able Danger) decides to stop by. Nick tells Alice about his odd situation & asks for her help. David Jenkins & his men do anything to track down Nick. They want to use his special talent as a weapon but he wants nothing to do with that. They won’t take no for answer. Can Nick & Alice fight off these relentless agents to get away from all this chaos????

Memoirs of an Invisible Man has kinda been forgotten over the years. It’s not your typical John Carpenter film. He was just a gun for hire on this feature. Usually he had all kinds of jobs on his projects including writing, producing, & doing the music but not with this one. I thought it was great to see the filmmaker do something different compared to his other work. He wasn’t exactly known for comedies but I thought he pulled it off on Memoirs of an Invisible Man. For being 1992, the visual effects were on another level compared to the past. I know seeing them now they might come off as a little dated but you can still appreciate the high quality at the time. This production had a well rounded cast & it really shows here. It’s one of Chevy Chase’s best performances & I think this collaboration with John Carpenter enhanced his acting abilities. He had more range with this role. It’s good to see this get some new life on home video after all these years.

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation. This 1080p (2.35:1) transfer makes it’s U.S. debut from Scream Factory! One thing that you can always say about Warner Bros as a studio is that they take care of their films. For a early 90s catalog title that’s basically been forgotten this looks way better than expected! It’s a huge upgrade from any other previous home video release. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track adds to the excitement when the action hits in this & elevates it’s score. Both picture & sound hold their own on this brand new blu ray release. I am looking forward to more collaborations between Scream Factory & Warner Bros in the future. It also has English SDH subtitles.

Let’s discuss the special features provided by Scream Factory. “How to Become Invisible: The Dawn of Digital F/X” is a little over 4 minutes. Various crew members chat about how digital was new at the time & it shows how some of the effects were made. “Vintage Interviews with Director John Carpenter, Actors Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah” is a little over 5 minutes. They all talk about the project. They chat a little bit about each other & getting to work together. It also has some behind the scenes footage. “Behind the Scenes Footage” is a little over 5 minutes. You get to see the master of horror John Carpenter at work. Lots of footage of him directing Chevy Chase plus various other material. 3 minutes of “Outtakes”. It actually has some decent stuff in here. I wish some of this made the final cut for the film. Last but not least, you get promotional material which includes a Theatrical Trailer & TV Spots. It’s not their best work but it’s definitely worth adding to your John Carpenter or Chevy Chase collection. Recommended, it’s available everywhere right now. Check it out!!!!