It’s more time well spent with the Universal Monsters as I dive into the first sequel to 1933’s The Invisible Man.

Vincent Price in one of his earliest performances is Geoffrey Radcliffe, a man imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit. His beloved Helen Manson (Nan Grey) is stunned and refuses to believe he’s guilty. Beside her is their loyal friend, and Helen’s would-be suitor, Richard Cobb (Cedric Hardwicke).

Helen also happens to know Dr. Frank Griffin (John Sutton), the brother of Claude Rains’ Jack Griffin from the original film. He visits Radcliffe in prison, and injects him with the invisibility serum, freeing him from prison so that he can hunt down the real murderer.

But there’s a ticking clock because the serum hasn’t been perfected and will begin to drive him insane unless Griffin can master a cure. Griffin and Helen begin to see how quickly Geoffrey is descending into madness and begin to wonder how much longer he will be the man they knew.

Hot on Radcliffe’s tale is Inspector Sampson of Scotland Yard. He’s played by Cecil Kellaway, who I thought was absolutely delightful in The Mummy’s Hand.

With some solid special effects, good enough to warrant an Oscar nomination, the story is engaging, well-crafted, and plays out as a solid thriller. It’s obvious who the real murderer is, but the story is executed very well, and the effects, the pacing, and the performances really make this one shine.

I didn’t really believe it was Vincent Price at first because it’s not quite the voice I recognize and the world loves. His performance is wonderful, especially as he begins to go mad. The way he rails about humanity, good and evil, he leans into his performance, and it works wonderfully.

As Helen and Griffin realize how far Radcliffe has fallen, we realize that Cobb is a murderer, but Radcliff is in danger of becoming a true monster.

With his innocence proven, despite the violence with which it’s proven, Radcliffe attempts to hold onto his humanity, and seeks out a form of redemption as the film closes, will he find it?

I really quite liked this one. Rains is brilliant in the original film, but this one works almost as well, working to tell a solid story, and filling it with engaging characters. I’m not sure how much that attention to good storytelling will continue, as there are more sequels to come, but I am absolutely loving this exploration of the classic Universal Monsters, there is a reason they are iconic, and this one, especially with that final transformation scene, and fun performances shows why.

Let’s see what’s next, and what monsters and madness wait ahead.