Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2002)

Sadly Over-hyped

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Although I had heard good things about this shot-on-video adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson horror classic, the fact that it was the most recent version I've watched so far, that it was maligned cheapo label Alpha which had released it on DVD and that I had seen Giorgio Albertazzi's superlative TV mini-series JEKYLL (1969) fairly recently, made me postpone this viewing past its Halloween Challenge due date! As it happens, while it may not rank anywhere near the top of the pile in JEKYLL & HYDE movies, it is lively, engaging and innovative enough to earn a respectable placement in that pantheon. Practically a one-man labor of love for writer-producer-designer-director-leading man Mark Redfield, his excellent portrayal of the two facets of the good doctor (but especially his despicable Hyde incarnation) is the film's major asset; also putting in good work is the lovely Elena Torrez as Hyde's prize streetwalker, Robert Leembruggen as Torrez's dethroned pimp and R. Scott Thompson as Jekyll's nemesis, Mordecai Carew. The sets are cleverly effective in a cheaply naïve sort of way but the inherently drab look of DV shooting and the obvious theatrical origins of the whole production work against the film's overall appeal.Rather than making unwieldy comparisons to other superior film versions of the story, it would be more fruitful to dwell on what this film took from them and how it differs from the norm: for example, the setting is moved forward a little to after the Ripper murders like EDGE OF SANITY (1989); Jekyll keeps portraits of his ancestors in his living room (two of them being none other than John Barrymore and Fredric March!); the Hyde make-up here is more akin to Spencer Tracy's "less is more" approach than the overtly simian look of March's Hyde; like Jean-Louis Barrault in Jean Renoir's LE TESTAMENT DU DOCTEUR CORDELIER (1959) and Giorgio Albertazzi's aforementioned Italian TV version, Hyde here dies by his own hand (strangulation) rather than being shot by the police; Jekyll narrates the progress of his experiments into a dictaphone like in the Renoir film, as well as by Udo Kier in Walerian Borowoczyk's DOCTEUR JEKYLL ET LES FEMMES (1981), etc.The fanciful liberties taken with the original text are more of a hit-or-miss affair, however: Hyde turns into Jekyll in front of an insignificant new intern rather than his skeptical rival Dr. Lanyon; Jekyll's fiancée jumps to her death off a balcony when Hyde takes over Jekyll and, as a result, the latter stops calling at her mansion; Jekyll indulges in some unexplained dealings with body snatchers(!) for his experiments; Hyde loses a finger when, in a trigger-happy mood, he despatches Leembruggen; this being set around the turn-of-the-century, Jekyll takes the time to record the outcome of his experiments on film courtesy of a cinematographic device purchased directly from the Lumiere brothers!; a bumbling Scotland Yard Inspector (who even namedrops Arthur Conan Doyle at one stage) aids Jekyll's attorney, Mr. Utterson, in investigating the disappearance of Jekyll and cornering Hyde in his hideout; an eccentric Chinaman is Hyde's landlord in his Soho abode, etc.P.S. Redfield has just completed THE DEATH OF POE and is, apparently, in the pre-production stages of THE CRIMES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE MADNESS OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE TELL-TALE HEART...

I really enjoyed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the acting ability, the set design, costumes, the story!!! Basically everything and I do believe it was done on very little to NO budget which is really impressive. It transfixed you into a different time era and from the first few minutes you know you are hooked. It is not the kind of movie that you feel like you can predict how it will turn out, I was always interested in what would happen next. I would love to work with the director Mark Redfield, I think I could learn a lot from him - he was the most astonishing actor. This movie is a real treat and you melt into the story completely. You will not be disappointed!!!

I love low budget independent films and had high hopes for this one. But this film is static. Never mind the production value, which is very noble for its budget, but the pacing is deadly. Admittedly these folks achieve much with little, but the film fails on the most fundamental level. It's boring. The editing is glacial and the pacing stalls. It should have been 65 minutes. The best thing about the Dr. Jekyll is Mr. Hyde who isn't seen nearly enough. He had the most dramatic potential. Instead we have to suffer through dithering Baltimorean-Brits stammer through endless and tiresome exposition. It feels like a backwater stage play committed to video.Noble efforts by everyone in the production, but a story this tired needed a kick in the pants and funky new low budget technology should have given it a fresh voice. Instead it's just a lame retread.

Although I am a horror fan, I looked upon the arrival of yet another telling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with a certain degree of trepidation. However, I must confess I was pleasantly surprised. This version was shot on video, but the production compensated with the use of nice locations and imaginative sets. The filmmakers were smart to stay away from outdoor daylight exteriors. (Here comes my rant.) Outdoor daylight exteriors are the Achilles heel of the current flood of video features. They always bring the cinematic look of the film down to the level of the evening news. The local evening news at that! When I watch a movie I want images that will transport me somewhere, not ugly reality. That's my major pet peeve about the so-called "video revolution." Up yours, Dogma! (Now back to the review.) The performances were pretty good throughout. Mark Redfield, who also wrote and directed, plays Hyde with a bit of a twinkle in his eye rather than as a straightforward monster. Carl Randolph gives a good understated performance as Jekyll's loyal but suspicious friend. Elena Torrez is sufficiently seductive as the prostitute who tempts Jekyll and brings out the beast in Hyde. J.R. Lyston is also good as the somewhat comic Scotland Yard inspector who finds Hyde's murders almost as destructive to the Yard's image as those blasted stories by that Conan Doyle fellow. The film is more loyal to the Stevenson story than many of its predecessors, but it does update the time to the turn of the last century. This allows for the introduction of the Lumiere Brothers and a novel ending. I caught this film at a horror festival. I look forward to buying a copy.