DAILY CALL SHEET: JANUARY 15, 2026

The Invisible Man Returns (1940) Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe is falsely accused of killing his brother and sentenced to death. To help him escape so he can ferret out the true murderer and avoid the electric chair, Radcliffe's pal Dr. Frank Griffin—the brother of the original invisible man—slips Sir Geoffrey some invisibility serum. However, Griffin warns Radcliffe that he has limited time to succeed in his mission as the serum inevitably drives anyone who takes it stark raving mad. The guilty party is soon revealed, but is it too late to prevent another invisible maniac from being set loose on society? A young Vincent Price (sans mustache, which is kind of weird) dons the obligatory sunglasses and bandages in this first sequel to the Universal classic and that, along with some nifty effects for the time period, help make this a pretty satisfying sci-fi romp.

Because life, and by association physical health, are gifts from God, the Church teaches we have a serious moral duty to preserve both of them through reasonable care. However, this is not an absolute duty. Given specific situations, some risks to one's health are morally permissible. Vocational duties like law enforcement, the military, or healthcare goes without saying as they save lives by risking theirs. Living organ donation and medical research are allowable within reason. Normal everyday things like sports and travel are fine, assuming they aren't done recklessly. As for the scenario in The Invisible Man Returns, it probably gets a pass as well as one may endanger their health to save others, or oneself. The key principle in all cases is proportionality: a risk to health or life is allowable if it is proportionate to the good being sought and there is grave reason for the risk.

Virus (1999) A sentient electrical surge from outer space transfers itself to a Russian research vessel and begins turning the crew into killer cyborg slaves. A week later, a down on his luck tugboat captain and his crew come upon the ship and decide to claim it as salvage. The surge has its own plans, though, which include murdering all humans on the face of the planet because it sees us as little more than a virus infecting Earth, and good for little more than spare cyborg parts. Lots of man versus machine violence ensues. Directed by a special effects artist, all the practical cyborg-thingies are definitely cool, and much gooier than the Borg for what that's worth. Unfortunately, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Lee Curtis, and the rest of the human actors are pretty much wasted.

There are a number of fringe philosophical and activist movements that view humanity as something akin to a virus on the planet. Many of these groups are either Antinatalists, who purport that procreation is morally wrong due to the inevitable suffering human existence brings, or Ecofascists, who believe overpopulation has transformed mankind into a destructive cancer on nature. Either way, they are all anti-human life. Pope Francis was having none of such nonsense. In the encyclical Laudato Si', he noted that blaming population growth instead of extreme and selective consumerism is simply refusing to realistically face the issues. The real solution to the problems pointed out by the anti-lifers is responsible stewardship of Earth's resources, not depopulation or extinction.