Hollow Man
Encyclopedia
Hollow Man is a 2000 American science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...

 thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...

, Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....

, and Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin
Josh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...

. The film is about a scientist who renders himself invisible
Invisibility
Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...

, a story inspired by H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...

' The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells published in 1897. Wells' novel was originally serialised in Pearson's Weekly in 1897, and published as a novel the same year...

. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Visual Effects
Academy Award for Visual Effects
The Academy Award for Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects.-History of the award:The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects to movies at its inaugural dinner in 1928, presenting a...

 in 2000. The direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...

 sequel Hollow Man 2
Hollow Man 2
Hollow Man 2 is a science fiction thriller film starring Christian Slater, and directed by Claudio Fäh. It was released direct-to-video on May 23, 2006 with the tag line "There's More to Terror Than Meets The Eye". It is the sequel to Hollow Man....

was released in 2006.

Plot

Dr. Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....

), a brilliant but egotistical molecular biologist
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...

, is working on an invisibility
Invisibility
Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...

 serum for the U.S. military, as well as a serum that will return the subject back to visibility. Sebastian has been attempting to perfect the formula for the last 4 years, and he conducts his experiments on animals kept inside a top-secret hidden military lab accessible only to him and his staff. His current project is reversing the invisibility effect on his test subject, a female gorilla named Isabelle. Working late one night on re-configuring the molecular model of the irradiated protein that will restore Isabelle to visibility, he solves the problem and immediately reports his success to the top members of his staff.

Although work on the serum occupies nearly all of his waking hours, Sebastian becomes obsessed with his ex-girlfriend Dr. Linda McKay (Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...

), who is a scientist on his team. Unbeknownst to him, she has become involved with Dr. Matt Kensington (Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin
Josh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...

), another member of their research group. Sebastian and his colleagues, who also include veterinarians Sarah Kennedy (Kim Dickens
Kim Dickens
Kimberly Jan "Kim" Dickens is an American actress and model.-Early life:Dickens was born in Huntsville, Alabama, graduated from that city's Lee High School, and attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in communication...

) and Carter Abbey (Greg Grunberg
Greg Grunberg
Gregory Phillip "Greg" Grunberg is an American television actor. He is best known from starring as Matt Parkman on the NBC television series Heroes. Other notable roles included the characters Sean Blumberg on Felicity and Eric Weiss on Alias , both created and produced by childhood friend J. J...

), and technicians Frank Chase (Joey Slotnick
Joey Slotnick
Joey Slotnick is an American film and television actor.-Biography:Slotnick was born in Chicago, Ill.His film roles include computer industry pioneer Steve Wozniak in the film Pirates of Silicon Valley, and a part in the 1996 blockbuster Twister...

) and Janice Walton (Mary Randle), eventually enable the serum to work on the gorilla. In celebration, the team goes out for a fancy dinner, where Sebastian makes a toast to the greatest research group in the world. To Sebastian, however, it feels like the end as reversion was the last big breakthrough.

Instead of reporting his success to the military, Sebastian inexplicably lies to the oversight committee including his old teacher Dr. Howard Kramer (William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...

), and talks Linda and Matt into lying to the other four and going right into human testing. The subject: Sebastian, himself. Despite a painful shift to transparency, the procedure is successful. After being unconscious for about 17 hours due to shock, Sebastian wakes up in pain, and recoiling from the ambient light, realizing that he can see through his eyelids. He then conducts some clinical tests on himself. But when it comes time to return to visibility after three days, the reversion fails and almost kills him.

The researchers construct a latex mask for the scientist to wear around the lab, crudely approximating a human appearance. During this time, Matt discovers a promising way to make Sebastian visible again. A computer simulation, however, fails. Isolation and virtual imprisonment in the lab begin to wear on Sebastian's patience. Disobeying Carter and his own rules, he heads back to his apartment to grabs some books, CDs and Twinkies to take back to the lab. There, temptation gets the best of him, and he first spies on his neighbor (Rhona Mitra
Rhona Mitra
Rhona Natasha Mitra , sometimes credited as Rona Mitra, is an English actress, model and singer.-Early life:Mitra was born in Paddington, London, England, the daughter of Anthony Mitra, a cosmetic surgeon, and Nora Downey...

), and then rapes her, while fully invisible. Linda shows up at the apartment and finds the mask and clothes, but no Sebastian.

He returns to the lab just as the others were planning to go after him. Linda warns him that if he leaves again, she and Matt will tell Dr. Kramer what they did. Ignoring their threat, he assembles a device that runs a video loop of his heat signature in his quarters; the repeating image fools Frank into believing that Sebastian is still in the lab, when, in fact, he is out spying on Linda and Matt.Sebastian gets furious when both make love by kissing each other & have sex.

Sebastian is furious that Matt and Linda are together, and smashes their bedroom window. The two call Frank, who tells them that Sebastian is still in bed. Meanwhile, an enraged Sebastian returns to the lab, frustrated and angered at the thought of Linda and Matt together. Unable to stand the annoying barking of an invisible dog, Sebastian reassures the dog that he means no harm, then kills it with his bare hands by brutally smashing it against the cage wall. The team soon discover that they have been watching a recording and that Sebastian has been getting out without their knowledge.

Linda and Matt go to Dr. Kramer's house and confess about their experiments with Sebastian. Dr. Kramer is disappointed, and tells them that they are fired from the project. Dr. Kramer then attempts to call the military and inform them about Sebastian, but Sebastian has actually followed Linda and Matt to the house. Sebastian tricks his boss into leaving the house and then drowns him in his own swimming pool.

The next day, Sebastian waits until all of the team is in the lab and then disables the phones and all of the elevator codes except for his own. He removes his clothing and latex mask and, invisible, begins to hunt them all down. Janice falls behind while the team searches for Sebastian and he strangles her with an IV line
Intravenous therapy
Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...

.

Linda, Matt, Sarah, Carter, and Frank learn what Sebastian is up to, realizing that they are the only ones who know what he has become, and therefore he is planning to kill them all. Linda, Sarah, and Frank hide in the lab while Matt and Carter take tranquilizer guns to go hunting for Sebastian in the empty hallways using thermographic imaging goggles. Matt shoots at a heat signature that turns out to be from a steam vent. When Matt turns around, Carter has been yanked into the air by Sebastian, who is on top of a pipe. Matt tries to shoot him, but Sebastian throws Carter down toward a steel bar, which hits his carotid artery
Carotid artery
Carotid artery can refer to:* Common carotid artery* External carotid artery* Internal carotid artery...

, causing massive blood loss. Sebastian almost kills Matt, but Linda drags him to safety.

Sarah and Frank find the barely conscious and severely injured Carter. Sarah runs to the freezer to get blood for a transfusion, despite Frank's wishes. There, Sebastian corners her. She sprays the blood all over the room, rendering him visible. Sebastian tackles her and shoots her with her tranquilizer dart, then breaks her neck.

Linda and Matt find Frank tending to a dying Carter. Carter bleeds to death and the three go to find Sarah. They find her dead in the walk-in freezer. Frank sprays a fire extinguisher to expose Sebastian, but Sebastian comes from behind impales Frank with a crowbar. He then stabs Matt with the hook end, but doesn't hit any organs. Sebastian locks Linda and Matt in the freezer, turns it all the way down and leaves them to freeze to death.

Sebastian puts on his latex mask and clothing, spending much time to ensure he looks near-human. Meanwhile, Linda dresses Matt's wound with duct tape and then works out a way to escape from the freezer. Linda constructs an electromagnet using a defibrilator and other lab equipment, and uses it to open the door. She lights a fire to warm Matt and gathers the parts needed for a flamethrower. Sebastian goes to the lab and creates nitroglycerin to blow up the lab. He puts the nitro in a centrifuge
Centrifuge
A centrifuge is a piece of equipment, generally driven by an electric motor , that puts an object in rotation around a fixed axis, applying a force perpendicular to the axis...

, starts a timer and destroys the keyboard, so it can't be stopped. Just as he is entering the elevator to leave, Linda appears and fires a crude blowtorch at him. His latex and clothes burning away, Sebastian barely manages to escape the flames. Linda uses the flamethrower to start the ceiling sprinklers, partially revealing him. The two fight; just as she is about to lose, Matt appears and hits Sebastian with the crowbar. Sebastian recovers, but while wet and reaching for a circuit box, he is electrocuted. As the electricity courses through his body, Sebastian is rendered partially visible: his muscles, bones, and organs can be seen, but his skin and what's left of his hair remain invisible.

Linda and Matt find the nitro about to explode, and decide to abandon the lab, climbing up the elevator shaft. The lab explodes filling the shaft with fire. The two are almost out when Sebastian appears. He fights with Linda, and kisses her one last time "for old time's sake" before she finally kills him by grabbing the elevator cable and knocking the car loose, sending Sebastian into the inferno below. Eventually, both Linda and Matt emerge from the burning laboratory, and medics whisk them away in an ambulance.

Cast

  • Elisabeth Shue
    Elisabeth Shue
    Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...

     as Linda McKay
  • Kevin Bacon
    Kevin Bacon
    Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....

     as Sebastian Caine/Hollow Man
  • Josh Brolin
    Josh Brolin
    Josh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...

     as Matthew Kensington
  • Kim Dickens
    Kim Dickens
    Kimberly Jan "Kim" Dickens is an American actress and model.-Early life:Dickens was born in Huntsville, Alabama, graduated from that city's Lee High School, and attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in communication...

     as Sarah Kennedy
  • Greg Grunberg
    Greg Grunberg
    Gregory Phillip "Greg" Grunberg is an American television actor. He is best known from starring as Matt Parkman on the NBC television series Heroes. Other notable roles included the characters Sean Blumberg on Felicity and Eric Weiss on Alias , both created and produced by childhood friend J. J...

     as Carter Abbey
  • Joey Slotnick
    Joey Slotnick
    Joey Slotnick is an American film and television actor.-Biography:Slotnick was born in Chicago, Ill.His film roles include computer industry pioneer Steve Wozniak in the film Pirates of Silicon Valley, and a part in the 1996 blockbuster Twister...

     as Frank Chase
  • Mary Randle as Janice Walton
  • William Devane
    William Devane
    William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...

     as Dr. Howard Kramer
  • Rhona Mitra
    Rhona Mitra
    Rhona Natasha Mitra , sometimes credited as Rona Mitra, is an English actress, model and singer.-Early life:Mitra was born in Paddington, London, England, the daughter of Anthony Mitra, a cosmetic surgeon, and Nora Downey...

     as Sebastian's Neighbor

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. One supporter of the film at the time of its release was film critic David Manning
David Manning (fictitious writer)
"David Manning" was a fictitious film critic, created by a marketing executive working for Sony Corporation around July 2000 to give consistently good reviews for releases from Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures...

. In late 2001, however, Manning was revealed to be fictitious, created by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 to fake publicity for the film.

As of October 13, 2008, the movie currently holds a 27% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

, with a 15% from Top Critics and 41% from users. Most critics praised the visual effects employed on making Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....

 invisible, which earned the film a nomination at the 2001 Academy Awards
73rd Academy Awards
The 73rd Academy Awards honored the best films of 2000 and was held on March 25, 2001. It was the last Academy Awards to take place at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium...

.
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