The Invisible Maniac – Vinegar Syndrome (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1990
Director: Rif Coogan (Adam Rifkin)
Writers: Matt Devlen, Milo Manara, Tony Markes, Adam Rifkin
Cast: Noel Peters, Shannon Wilsey, Stephanie Blake, Melissa Moore, Jason Logan, Robert R. Ross Jr., Rod Sweitzer, Eric Champnella, Kalei Shallabarger, Gail Lyon, Debra Lamb

Release Date: November 25th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 85 Minutes 45 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $44.98

"Ever since he was a child, Kevin Dornwinkle wanted nothing more than the ability to spy on naked women. Traumatized for life when his prudish mother discovers his bedroom telescope pointed at the window of a nude and nubile neighbor, Kevin puts all his focus onto his other interest: science. Decades later, and now a respected physicist, Dr. Dornwinkle has made his greatest discovery yet: "molecular reorganization serum," which has the power to turn a person invisible. But after a demonstration to his peers fails horribly, the mild mannered doctor suffers a breakdown. Focusing all his efforts on perfecting his serum, and succeeding, the now fully unhinged Dornwinkle gets a job as a high school teacher and embarks on a rampage of molestation and murder..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.75/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

The Invisible Maniac comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 57 GB

Feature: 56.8 GB

The source used for this transfer looks excellent; it is by far and away the best The Invisible Maniac has ever looked on home video. Color saturation, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

The Invisible Maniac comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34.5 GB

Feature: 23.7 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source that was used for the 4K UHD.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and included with this release are removable English SDH. The audio sounds great. Dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD include an audio commentary with screenwriter/director Adam Rifkin, moderated by filmmaker Elijah Drenner, and an audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues!.

Extras on the Blu-ray include the original video trailer (1 minute 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH subtitles), behind-the-scenes footage from the He's Invisible music video production (10 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH subtitles), He's Invisible music video (4 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH subtitles), an archival Rif Coogan (aka Adam Rifkin) interview from the public access TV show Request Video (12 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH subtitles), a deleted scene titled Dream Sequence (13 minutes, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH subtitles), a making-of documentary featuring interviews with Adam Rifkin, executive producer Cassian Elwes, composer Marc David Decker, actress Stephanie Blake, actress Debra Lamb, actor Rod Sweitzer and crew member Dan Povenmire titled Fast, Cheap and Out Of Sight (22 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), an audio commentary with Adam Rifkin, moderated by Elijah Drenner, and an audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues!.

Other extras include reversible cover art and a spot gloss slipcover limited to 6,000 units.

Summary:

Though the use of pseudonyms is not new, the reason behind Adam Rifkin using the alter ego Rif Coogan is arguably the most inspired. Directors are always remembered for their last film, no matter how many successes they have had. And when it comes to a director who is just starting out, sometimes those early efforts are best forgotten. That is why Adam Rifkin came up with the idea of Rif Coogan, an alternate ego that allowed him to practice filmmaking on films that he did not care about.

Shot fast and cheap, The Invisible Maniac was intended to be a "practice" film that would help Adam Rifkin learn his craft as a filmmaker. The result is actually a film that benefits from its limited resources and time restrictions. And to call it a throwaway film would be doing The Invisible Maniac a great disservice.

Though The Invisible Maniac can be seen as a horror film, it has all of the core elements that are synonymous with low-budget horror films. Notably, filming most of what occurs in one location with a small cast It is actually a horror/comedy hybrid that leans heavily towards the latter. And it is for this reason that The Invisible Maniac works so well.

The Invisible Maniac establishes its tone and genre right from the start, with striptease-voyeuristic opening credits. Needless to say, this is just the first of many gratuitous moments of nudity in a film that has an ample amount of T&A. Also, voyeurism plays a large role in the story at hand as various characters sneak looks at naked women, and the killer uses his powers of invisibility to get near women, undress them, and kill them.

The cast is very good, and it is hard not to get caught up in their enthusiasm. The standout performance is by Noel Peters in the role of Kevin Dornwinkle, a scientist who was sent to an insane asylum after killing his colleagues but has since escaped and now works as a science teacher. He delivers a delirious performance that perfectly captures his character's diabolical state of mind. Another performer of note is Shannon Wilsey, who is better known as Savannah for her work in XXX cinema. The Invisible Maniac was one of the few mainstream films she appeared in.

From a production standpoint, The Invisible Maniac is a textbook example of low-budget exploitation cinema. Despite its limited resources, it is a film that far exceeds expectations. It is a very satisfying mix of subversive humor, nudity, and carnage. There is nothing misleading about The Invisible Maniac. Whether it be the synopsis, trailer, or movie poster, it is crystal clear what you're about to see. That said, The Invisible Maniac is a film that plays to a very specific audience.

The Invisible Maniac gets a definitive release from Vinegar Syndrome, which comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer