Synopsis
A brilliant scientist volunteers to test an experimental invisibility serum, but the procedure leaves him unable to become visible again. As his colleagues search for a cure, his isolation and newfound power fuel an increasingly dangerous descent into paranoia, voyeurism, and violence. Trapped inside a secret laboratory, the research team must stop him before his hidden presence becomes deadly.
Factoids & Trivia
- Released in the United States on August 4, 2000, the film opened at number one and earned approximately $190 million worldwide against a production budget of about $95 million.
- Roughly half of the production budget was devoted to visual effects. Sony Pictures Imageworks and Tippett Studio divided approximately 560 effects shots between them.
- The invisibility sequences required a combination of computer-generated imagery, practical effects, motion-control photography, and extensive compositing. The film's digital human work was considered a major technical achievement for its period.
- The visual effects team received an Academy Award nomination at the 73rd Academy Awards and won the Saturn Award for Best Special Effects.
- The production grew out of an earlier unmade project sometimes referred to as "D.C. Thriller." Its basic suspense premise was later substantially rewritten into the finished film.
- The sound team faced an unusual challenge: much of the central character's on-screen presence had to be communicated through movement, impacts, breathing, and environmental reactions rather than a visible body.