Hollow Man

Hollow Man is a special-effects chiller that had me sitting right on the edge of my seat, and the ending in particular is very effective.

A team of scientists led by Sebastian Caine is working in secret to develop a serum that can make people invisible. Caine is under pressure from the Pentagon, which is funding the research, so even though he has not had time to test the substance sufficiently, he nevertheless insists on being his own guinea pig.

Caine is made invisible, but his colleagues do not manage to make him visible again, and at the same time some rather unfortunate side effects emerge. With lightning speed Dr. Caine becomes totally unpredictable and downright dangerous to those around him. That he also becomes extremely sex-obsessed must surely be down to director Paul Verhoeven. Not entirely undeservedly, he is known for his use of explicit violence and sex, and it gives the film a strongly exploitative feel.

The film's problem is that Caine is a jerk from start to finish, so the change Caine undergoes is not really that dramatic. His slap-worthy attitude also makes it hardly credible that he has actually had a relationship with his likeable colleague Linda McKay, who suddenly finds herself in the danger zone.