Cast: Paul Massie, Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee, David Kossoff, Francis de Wolff
Welcome to the first Hammer Horror film review at The Psycho Ward! For those who don't know, Hammer is a British subsidiary of Exclusive Media Group that is very popular for the Christopher Lee Dracula films.
THE PLOT: While it basically follows the same storyline as the version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde we know and love, there are a few differences. For one, all of the characters, except for Jekyll and Hyde, have been replaced with completely original characters. There is a semi-original storyline as well.
Henry Jekyll's (Paul Massie) wife Kitty (Dawn Addams) cheats on him with his friend Paul Allen (Christopher Lee, who hounds money from Jekyll). Ignoring the warnings of his colleague and friend Dr. Ernst Littauer (David Kossoff), Jekyll concocts a chemical potion which he hopes will help him learn the depths of the human mind. Testing the potion on himself, he transforms into Mr. Hyde, a young and handsome, but also murderous and lecherous beast. Soon, Hyde becomes bored with conventional debauchery, and when his eyes catch Kitty, he decides he must have her. When Kitty rejects him, Hyde rapes and murders her, and frames his other self for these crimes. He also passes the time by wooing a snake charmer, but he eventually murders her and uses her snake to kill Paul.
THE REVIEW: While usually I am against using original characters and original storylines to "retell" classics (look at the atrocity that was the 1998 "retelling" of Great Expectations), I have to say that these characters and this storyline work terrifically well here. No wonder; it was directed by Terence Fisher.
The only thing I didn't like was Massie's acting, especially while he was charming Maria, but it occurred throughout the whole film. He was too over-the-top as Hyde, but perfect as Jekyll. Despite the over-the-top acting, his performance as Hyde is probably the most cruel and cunning I've ever seen, and that makes it even more wonderful. Sadly, the over-the-topness has to dock this film's score a bit. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Brilliant twist on the original story, and to be honest, I much prefer Hyde as young and handsome, and not for the reason you may think; if you think about it, it makes a tad bit more sense than the monster we always imagine Hyde to be, because if you look at most murderers and beasts today, aren't they young and handsome?
Watch the full film below:
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