Sci Fi Day: The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

This film is pure Sci Fi entertainment through and through. It’s another film I hadn’t seen but heard of through the grapevine which successfully managed to exceed any expectations I had prior to watching it. I was in constant awe of the detail captured by a clever use of the camera to convey the contrasts in size, none of it looked tacky or unreal, it was extremely well done.

Grant Williams did a fabulous job playing Scott Carey, a handsome successful businessman whose entire being later metamorphoses into a shrunken man due to a mysterious mist encountered at sea. His attention to detail is gripping as was the rest of the film. The film makes you wonder about the differences between mankind and all other creatures.

We almost empathise with the creatures in the film (yes, even the giant scary spider) because in the grand scheme of things, we all need the bear essentials to survive and the film just shows how much we take for granted and how difficult life must be for creatures like the spider. The film becomes an emblem for the 'survival of the fittest' which includes all species, big and small. It also reminds us that every living organism in this world has significance and for me, thats the most powerful message in the film.

The final spider fight scene was just horrific; I actually felt a shiver as I was watching it- a shiver that films like Arachnophobia didn’t manage achieve quite to this calibre despite it being a great movie. The cat’s paw tearing through the doll house scene was just hilarious- it really made me laugh. The ending was inspiring if a little too unrealistically optimistic for my liking. A great film nevertheless, I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this film until now- really glad I did. As for Eddie Murphy playing the lead on the 2010 remake of The Incredible Shrinking Man, be afraid... be very afraid.

For Ian’s take on The Incredible Shrinking Man click here.