The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

Tasty sequel, far from lazy. Falsely imprisoned for fratricide, Geoffrey Radcliffe (Vincent Price) takes a drug to make him invisible and thus escape. But as he sets about trying to clear his name, the side effect of the drug, gradual madness, threatens to usurp his plans. It was never going to be up on the same level as the first film, The Invisible Man (1933), a genuine classic Universal Studio production that does justice to the great H.G. Wells writing. But instead of going for a lazy cash in, this sequel puts its own stamp on the invisible man premise and rounds out as an intelligent story with dashes of humour and sadness placed within. John Fulton's effects work is still amazing for the era, the cast list is boosted by the likes of Cecil Kellaway, Cedric Hardwicke and Nan Grey, while the finale is rewarding and worth waiting for. Faults? A couple, such as the real murderer is revealed too quickly, thus we lose mystery momentum, and director Joe May often lets the pace sag. But these fail to stop the film from achieving its entertaining aims. It hardly constitutes horror as such, but there's good dramatic worth, berserker science and a cast making the material work. 7/10