Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.
Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Theo Robertson A series of gruesome murders are being varied out and the police are completely puzzled who the murderer is A very simple premise but one that is painfully told in a bizarre manner. In this type of movie the audience should be subjected to an element of suspense and mystery if only to involve some basic interest in the narrative but from the outset the audience are shown who the murderer is even if their motive is unclear Along with the lack of mystery nothing else about the story works well either. The dialogue is constantly expositional where characters refer to things they'd already know about. Okay it's a B movie simply to be shown after the cliffhanger serial and before the main feature but even so the audience should demand a bit more from the film makers
Mark Honhorst Well, the title doesn't make any sense. Aren't all ghosts invisible? Either way, there are no ghosts in this movie, transparent or otherwise. The film is about Charles Kessler (Bela Lugosi) who unknowingly commits a series of murders after his wife seemingly dies in a car accident. This is a fine effort for a cheap Sam Katzman production. Most of the performances are good, and Clarence Muse steals the show as Mr. Kessler's butler, Evans, who gets a decent amount of screen time, lines, and isn't too stereotypical. Muse doesn't portray Evans as the typical "Oh Lawdy" scared black servant that was popular in old dark house horror movies at the time. Something in his facial expressions and delivery gives him a sarcastic and humorous edge. Unfortunately, this isn't one of Lugosi's best performances. He is so expressionless throughout, it's hard to tell when he is or isn't in a trance. However, he still has that certain something that always makes him fun to watch.The story also leaves something to be desired. Unless I missed something, I don't think it ever explains why he killed anyone. I must say though, it does have some artful cinematography and lighting. The scenes where Kessler sees his "dead" wife through the window are expertly shot. Overall, I have to say this is fun rainy day entertainment. If you have a tolerance for low budget 40s horror movies, you just might have a good time watching this one. Also, watch for the scene in which Lugosi has his butler serve him and an empty place for his wife at the dinner table. Definitely the eeriest scene in the film.
bkoganbing Invisible Ghost is yet another example of how Bela Lugosi felt it was necessary to keep working no matter what he was asked to appear in. This one is from Sam Katzman at Monogram Pictures and it definitely shows all the Katzman touches from incoherent story, zero production values, and pedestrian acting.Bela Lugosi is a man who lives with his daughter Pollyanna Young and a staff of various servants. Several years ago his wife Betty Compson ran off with another guy and this unhinged Bela. He believes Compson dead along with her paramour in an automobile accident.Only Compson is still alive unhinged herself and being taken care of by the estate gardener Ernie Adams. Only every now and then she gets out and appears at Bela's window trying to get back in.This is where Lugosi goes off his rocker. One sight of her turns him into homicidal strangler and since he can't reach her he strangles whoever is available. No one catches on, they even arrest John McGuire and send him to the chair for Terry Walker's murder.All I can say is that this is such utter nonsense even Lugosi's most nondiscriminating fans will either laugh or be bored.Not quite Ed Wood, but Invisible Ghost comes close.
mark.waltz Lugosi once again gets to try to instill sincerity into a ridiculous plot. He's a seemingly kindly doctor who becomes a psychotic killer (committing the deeds while in a trance) when he spots his insane missing wife (Betty Compson) whom he adored, but in denial over the fact that she abandoned him for another man. One of his duller Monogram programmers, Lugosi couldn't add life to this by adding his own plasma. Obviously cheap sets (that look like they are about to collapse), a script that even lacks camp, and a dull supporting cast (lead by Polly Ann Young as his unfortunate daughter given a dull romance for a secondary story line) are other flaws. Terry Walker adds some amusement as the humorous maid. Young highly resembles her more popular sister (Loretta) but doesn't have her acting chops. John McGuire has the strange role of Young's boyfriend who got sentenced to death for allegedly killing a jealous girlfriend, then suddenly comes back as the twin nobody knew he had. Veteran black character actor Clarence Muse fortunately avoids stereotypes as the loyal butler who is actually the smartest person in Lugosi's household. Compson, a star of the early 30's, would have been better to have skipped this one. The eerie musical score was also heard in Lugosi's 1932 horror classic, "White Zombie", but seems strangely inappropriate here. The painfully slow pacing destroys this even further.
