Plot Summary
Jackson decides it’s time to tell his son about a mysterious pair of glasses he came into possession of while in college. Jackson tells his son of how this pair of glasses reveals the spiritual realm to whomever God has allowed to see it. Jackson recounts how his discovery of the spiritual realm made his faith real to him and helped him to save his family and friends from certain destruction.
Production Quality (1 point)
As a 1997 production, this one is unfortunately not up to par. It’s likely that funding was limited for this ‘educational’ drama, but it makes one wonder if it was justified. Video quality is okay, as is audio quality, yet there are a lot of weird sound effects throughout, as well as strange lighting and wild special effects. The soundtrack is also cheesy, yet sets, locations, and props are mostly fine. Furthermore, this relatively short movie has choppy editing that stunts its development. However, it may have never intended to be a real movie. But if this was the case, why is it marketed like one?
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
Despite its meager origins, Invisible Enemies is actually based on an interesting idea that has potential, yet this story is neither well-constructed nor well-presented. The characters are too one-dimensional due to stiff information-dump dialogue. There is not enough time in this plot to do any real story work; it needs a lot of complexity and development. This film has an overly simplistic portrayal of spirituality and it all culminates in a very cheesy climax that is hard to reconcile. In the end, this was almost like a test idea that really wasn’t ready to be released to the public, but it’s been twenty years now, so here we are.
Acting Quality (1.5 points)
Surprisingly, the acting is the best part of this film, as the cast members post mostly average performances. Some lines seem overly practiced and some emotions tend to be over the top, but on the whole, this is a fine effort. The good thing is that at least this section demonstrates work towards the semblance of a film.
Conclusion
Films like Invisible Enemies are very hard to quantify. They are put out there like a movie, so they are reviewed like a movie. Yet there are many lingering elements that make it an overall odd experience to watch. I feel like more could have been done with this concept beyond a simple ‘educational’ film. But alas, budget constraints are always going to be an issue with independent Christian movies. So once again we have another sub-par film that could have been better.
Final Rating: 3 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 