Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Length: 1h 45m 18s
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Tagline: Think You're Alone? Think Again.
Plot outline: Elisabeth Shue is Linda Foster, a scientist who is working on a serum to make people invisible. When another scientist tries the serum and becomes invisible his colleagues figure another way to bring him back to the normal world. Summary written by {m_sanchero@hotmail.com} The Hollow Man features Kevin Bacon in the title role as Sebastian Caine, a scientist who discovers a formula for invisibility. After an experiment makes him slowly disappear, Cane begins to go insane, and soon threatens the lives of his fellow researchers. Elizabeth Shue and Josh Brolin star as the targets of Cane's mayhem, along with William Devane, Kim Dickens and Mary Jo Randle. Summary written by Vashti A group of scientists, led by the brilliant yet eccentric twinkle-addicted Caine, are successfully researching invisibility. Having accomplished making animals in / visible, Caine insists on being the next subject for the experiment. Unfortunately, the serum effects not only the external physical nature of the subject, but morphs the internal personality too. And that's when things start to go horribly wrong... Summary written by Filmtwob {webmaster@filmfreak.co.za} After years of experimentation, brilliant but arrogant scientist Sebastian Caine has discovered a way to make matter invisible. Determined to achieve the ultimate breakthrough, Caine pushes his team to move to the next phase - using himself as the subject. The test is a success, but when the process can't be reversed and Caine seems doomed to future without flesh, he begins to show some unexpected side effects of his extraordinary condition. Summary written by Nick Kat
Comment: HOLLOW MAN / (2000) ** (out of four) By Blake French: "It's amazing what you can do when you don't have to look at yourself in the mirror." Sebastian Caine It sure would be wondrous to become invisible; capable of marching around without the disadvantage of being seen by the naked eye. With our current technological revolution, invisibility could be possible in the near future. "Hallow Man," the new suspense thriller from director Paul Verhoeven, looks into that very intriguing possibility, and does so with eye-popping visual effects. Unfortunately the movie losses most of its interest when the concepts become lost in yet another typical slasher movie. The film stars Kevin Bacon as an obscene and egotistical scientist named Sebastian Caine. He uses himself to experiment on a new invisibility formula, it works, and he becomes even more fiendish, sex-crazed, and eventually even murderous. But not without probable cause: his fellow scientists, including Linda McKay (Elisabeth Shue), Matthew Kensington (Josh Brolin), Sarah Kennedy (Kim Dickens), Carter Abbey (Greg Grunberg), Frank Chase (Joey Slotnick), and Janice Walton (Mary Randle), along with a Pentagon official, Dr. Howard Kramer (William Devane), all believe the treatments cause negative reactions in his body. Therefore, in order to eliminate the intentions of halting the project entirely, Caine reverts to grisly serial killer, murdering everyone involved with the scientific studies. I found "Hallow Man" undesirable for numerous reasons, one of them centering on the Kevin Bacon character himself. He starts off as a devilish lunatic and turns into an even more devilish lunatic. If was a more significant change in his character, we may have been more surprised when the film becomes preoccupied with endless amounts of bloodshed and graphic violence. The scientific invisibility concept is just a gimmick to pump new energy into an old retread: the slasher movie. There is some merit here: the killer's intentions are clear, the violence is focused, and the characters are smart in more ways than one. However, the film adds nothing new into the increasingly desperate genre. "Hallow Man" also lacks terror and suspense. Similar to Paul Verhoeven's previous features, like the unquestionably violent but flat "RoboCop," "Total Recall" and "Starship Troopers," there is plenty of violent content in here, but where is the tension? The energy buildup? The suspenseful sequences? They do not exist. There is so much potential in the writer's ideas it's too bad the film does not amount to more than mindless blood and gore. The special effects are outstanding. They can not be nearly described, but must be seen to believe. Is "Hallow Man" worth seeing for the half dozen or so sequences portraying Oscar nominated visual effects? Not really. On a mechanical and technical level this movie is outstanding, I just wish the filmmakers took more time in writing surreal scenes and developing nail-biting suspense than finding remarkable special effects artists.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
Country: USA
Language:
Subtitels: No ()
DVDs: 1
IMDB address
| Actors: | ||
| Elisabeth Shue | as | Linda McKay |
| Kevin Bacon | as | Sebastian Caine |
| Josh Brolin | as | Matthew Kensington |
| Kim Dickens | as | Sarah Kennedy |