NOTE: The below 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the disc.

ADDITION: Universal 4K UHD (May 2020): Universal transferred Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man to 4K UHD. It features Dolby Vision and HDR10+ - shot with Arri Alexa camera. The opening is very dark - handled expertly by the 3840 X 2160 resolution. We see some use of extensive CGI mostly in the second half of the film. It looked fairly seamless. The 4K UHD looks excellent (as you might expect of a 2020 film production.) There is a blue, occasionally teal-leaning to the scheme. Overall the 4K UHD presentation was up to par with excellent detail in close-ups and deft contrast. All good. 

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 54 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures for Patrons are available HERE.

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsining (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

Universal's 4K UHD 7.1 track offers an incredibly robust and immersive viewing experience with some surprising bass response. Audio effects are generally modest with most of the tension surrounding either spooky silence and the seething sore by accomplished composer Benjamin Wallfisch. This adds another layer of highly effective scariness to the proceedings. There are French and Spanish foreign language DUBs and subtitle options including English and as with all 4K UHD discs, this Universal package is Region 'Free' (Blu-ray too!) playable worldwide. 

Universal's 4K UHD disc has the same supplements as on the included second disc Blu-ray. We get a commentary from writer/director Leigh Whannell who is pretty laid-back and fun discussing his idea to weaponizing audience expectations or knowledge of films against them by varying from commonly used horror tropes, lack of music in the opening - feeling it created more tension, Australian funnel-web spiders, looking for the most North America-appearing locations, houses etc. (it was shot in Australia), how much he loves when the camera goes from out of focus to in-focus and much more. It was decent to indulge as he shared some more intimate production details. There are about a 1/4 hour of deleted scenes that Whannell states, in the commentary, that we should indulge, a short interview with Elisabeth Moss, 11-minutes with a 'Director's Journey' with Leigh Whannell, a short piece with some of the other actors; Harriet Dyer, Aldis Hodge and Michael Dorman. Plus there is a brief, skip-able featurette entitled Timeless Terror. There is a leaflet with access to a digital copy of The Invisible Man 4K UHD for those who wish to indulge.

2020's The Invisible Man is a very good and inventive, modernized take on the H.G. Wells story. Certainly unique advancing beyond Paul Verhoeven's 2000 Hollow Man, which seems pretty sleazy by comparison. I first appreciated the talents of Elisabeth Moss in Top of the Lake (which I highly recommend!) and 2015's Queen of Earth. The Invisible Man is very entertaining with intelligent twists and a genuinely creepy atmosphere. I loved my 4K UHD viewing and we give this a strong endorsement for adopters of the format.

Gary Tooze