The Gratuitous B-Movie Column 5.18.09: Issue #60 - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2006)

Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz on 05.18.2009

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (2006)

The Gratuitous B-Movie Column Issue #60: "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (2006)

Hello, everyone, and welcome once again to the internets movie review column that has never eaten a ravioli with cheese in it (because that's just nasty), The Gratuitous B-Movie Column, and I am your host Bryan Kristopowitz. In this issue, issue number sixty, I take a look at the low budget 2006 sleazy horror flick "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," directed by the great John Carl Buechler and starring the even greater Tony Todd, not to mention featuring one of the greatest low budget B-movie casts of all time.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde


"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is yet another cinematic adaptation of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novella, which has been made into a movie about five thousand times (in fact, there's a big budget version involving 50 Cent apparently in the Hollywood pipeline right as I write this). I don't know how close the Buechler version is to the novella (that's what happens when you haven't read the source material before seeing the movie based on said source material), but it gets what I'd call the standard, essential bits of the commonly known story right. The flick features a research scientist, Dr. Henry Jekyll (Tony Todd), who, while in the midst of doing various scientific experiments (in the case of this movie, he's doing research on heart disease that involves using some kind of nanotechnology), ends up "splitting his personality" into his normal self (the "Jekyll" side, if you will) and the dark, disturbing, and evil side of his personality (the "Hyde" side). Dr. Jekyll spends most of the movie fighting off the nasty impulses of his dark alter ego, Edward Hyde, who he sees as an actual person separate from himself until about the middle of the movie.

Now, these nasty, dark, and awful impulses mostly involve Hyde killing hot, young women. That's where the sleaze I described in the opening originates. Hyde (Todd in some pretty gross looking facial make up), when he isn't actually killing those hot, young women, he's making gross advances towards them. Todd plays Hyde like the ultimate douchebag alpha male. It's a brilliant performance on both sides, as Todd imbues Jekyll with a somberness that's sometimes hard to watch (you feel so bad for him, especially at the beginning when he's acting as though Hyde is a separate person and not an extension of himself. He refuses to recognize his own grand self delusion). The Hyde aspect, even in its ultimate evil douchebagness, is fun to watch, even though Hyde is an awful, awful creature.

And when I say "awful creature," I mean awful creature. See, when Hyde isn't Tony Todd in grotesque facial make up, he's Tony Todd (well, I assume it's Tony Todd) in killer ape/gorilla/giant chimpanzee make up. When Hyde is in giant killer chimp mode the movie takes on an aura of impossibility for the remaining characters because there's just no way they can survive. Part of Dr. Jekyll's heart nanotech research involves examining and using various chimps for some reason. I didn't really understand what the point of including that part in the story, but it ends up paying off in a major way at the end. I don't think I've ever been more terrified by a man in ape makeup in my life.

Now, there's another aspect to the story involving the police investigation of the Hyde murders, which isn't as developed as the Jekyll-Hyde personal battle but is great fun to watch because of the people involved. Leading the police investigation into the murders is Detective Karen Utterson (Tracy Scoggins) and Detective Richard Enfield (Stephen Wastell). Karen refuses to carry a gun on the job because of an accident her old partner had on the job (basically, the man's gun went off in his hand and he died from the injuries sustained from that self inflicted accidental shooting), a "professional choice" that annoys her boss, Lt. Hamilton (Peter Jason). Hamilton has allowed Karen some room to work through her personal grief, but he keeps telling her that she's no good to the force if she continues to refuse to carry a weapon. Then there's Arnie Swift (Tim Thomerson!), the medical examiner/head CSI guy, the first to figure out the murdered women were killed by some kind of animal. This is just a great, great cast. They don't get to do all that much (again, the police investigation part of the story isn't as developed as the Jekyll/Hyde part of the story), but it sure is fun to watch them do what they do. Scoggins is her usual great self (hot and smart) as the troubled detective Utterson. Her best scene is her big hooha breakdown explaining why it is she doesn't carry a gun anymore. Wastell, who was also in Buechler's "Miner's Massacre" (you can read my review of that flick here), is great as Karen's bland but interesting anyway partner Richard. He's a great sidekick. Thomerson, who only has a few scenes, is hilarious as the medical examiner Arnie. He stands around the various crime scenes making notes in a composition book (you know, one of those hard cover notebooks school children use, which to me is hysterical. You'd think he'd be using a clipboard instead). I would have loved to see him in at least one more scene, but, hey, anytime you get a movie with Tim Thomerson in it it's going to be a treat, at least when he's on screen.

And then there's the great Vernon Wells (Bennett! Plughead from "The Circuitry Man"!) as Dr. Dennis Lanyon, some kind of rich yahoo/professor and friend of Dr. Jekyll. He doesn't show up until late in the movie (well, more like a little after the middle point of the movie), but when he does he brightens things up considerably. Surprisingly, Wells isn't playing a villain or bad guy here. He's playing a hapless guy that's stuck in an incredibly weird situation. Watching him react to Jekyll's transformation into Hyde during a college opera performance is a thing of B-movie beauty.

The flick does have a few problems. None of these problems make the movie unwatchable or anything; they're just relatively minor quibbles in an otherwise stellar low budget horror movie. There are a few slow moments here and there (not a good situation to be in when your movie is barely ninety minutes), the sound gets a little soft every now and then, and some of the CGI morphing effects aren't as "seamless" as they perhaps should be. Yeah, I know it's a low budget movie and the CGI effects aren't going to be as spectacular and "good" as a bigger budget movie, but it's something you're likely to notice and wonder about afterwards. Again, none of these problems are major issues, but they are issues you should be made aware of before checking it out.

Now, I do have one question about this movie, and it has to do with a special feature I saw on the flick's DVD. The DVD I saw had three TV advertisements on it, one even announcing "Opening today." My question is where the heck did this movie play in an actual movie theatre? Somewhere in Los Angeles? I don't remember seeing a review for it in the "New York Times." Of course, that doesn't mean the Times didn't review the movie and it didn't play in select theatres across the country (I know I would have went to a theatre to see it if it had been playing near me back in 2006). But, again, where the heck did this movie play in theatres?

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is definitely worth a look if you get the chance. It's a fun, sleazy little horror flick with an absolutely outstanding cast. Tony Todd is simply great here. Awesome, awesome stuff. And kudos to John Carl Buechler for making yet another very watchable, low budget B-movie horror flick.

See it.

So what do we have here? A nice little opening montage, some pretty decent low budget pseudo Danny Elfman type music, note taking, liquid pouring, a bunch of chimps, gratuitous Tony Todd, gratuitous Tony Todd injecting something into his neck, gratuitous three hot chicks talking about going to the opera, gratuitous hot blonde chick, gratuitous hot blonde chick walking alone down a dark alley, gratuitous vicious pseudo animal attack involving blood, gore, and entrails, plump ass biting, gratuitous Tim Thomerson, gratuitous Tim Thomerson smelling an entrail, gratuitous Tim Thomerson as a medical examiner, gratuitous Tracy Scoggins, gratuitous Tracy Scoggins, gratuitous Peter Jason, Tony Todd saying "news services," gratuitous flashback where Tony Todd explains a bit of his character's back story, a glove compartment needle stash, gratuitous Tony Todd in nasty makeup, college students talking about stuff, gratuitous Nicholle Tom, a hot librarian that's also an opera singer, a desk chess set, gratuitous talk about post mortem dead body sex abuse, a police station that looks like the sales department of a software firm, gratuitous Vernon Wells, cheek licking, gratuitous low budget Tony Todd CGI transformation, cheek biting, security guard killing, Tony Todd biting off a woman's nose and then saying "Snot bad," file cabinet dominoes, gratuitous Tim Thomerson taking crime scene notes with a school composition book, another montage, glass breaking, gratuitous pseudo zombie woman flashback dream thing, gratuitous Tracy Scoggins wearing a backpack, "opera" singing, gratuitous Tony Todd wearing a top hat and a cape, cane to the face, cane to the chin, heart shot, gratuitous Tony Todd turning into a giant killer chimp/ape/gorilla thing, cop killing, heart removing, gratuitous low budget CGI monster transformation, a surprisingly open ended ending, and a hilariously upbeat and inappropriate end titles song titled "Never Give Up on Yourself."

Best lines: "She needs to get out more. Really," "Oh, Jesus Christ!," "Are you sure you're okay, Doctor?," "That is, like, so cool," "I'm sorry. I just had one of those twisted nightmares," "What the fuck are you doing here?," "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but assholes never hurt me," "Did I ever tell you that your driving really sucks?," "Another animal attack, Arnie?," "Hey, Dennis, you really didn't have to do this," "N-word Hyde!," "Release the beast! Go figure," "Are you insane? I'd rather be insane than completely fucked," "Are you going to kill me? Kill you? No, I'm going to do something much...worse," "What are you looking at?," "What did you do? What the hell did you do?," "Hey! Open the goddamn door!," "Hey! Put the radio down and open the fucking door!," "Dennis, I'm not exactly feeling like myself lately," "Is something the matter, Henry?," "I feel like I'm going to die," "You frickin' animal!," "Henry, what have you done to yourself?," "Fuck you! Really? On our first date?," "How do you like me now?," and "It was for my soul."

Rating: 8.0/10.0

***

Well, I think that'll be about it for this issue. B-movies rule, always remember that. And if there's anything you want to see reviewed here in this column, feel free to offer a comment below or send me an e-mail. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff to watch.

And don't forget to bookmark 411 via the little line below. You'll be glad you did.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

Tony Todd- Dr. Henry Jekyll/Henry Hyde
Tracy Scoggins- Detective Karen Utterson
Stephen Wastell- Detective Richard Enfield
Tim Thomerson- Arnie Swift
Peter Jason- Lt. Hamilton
Vernon Wells- Dr. Dennis Lanyon
Danielle Nicolet- Whitney Weddings
Deborah Shelton- Donna Carew
Judith Shekoni0 Renee
Nicholle Tom- Carla Hodgkiss
Directed by John Carl Buechler
Screenplay by John Carl Buechler, based on the novella "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson
Distributed by Image Entertainment
Rated R for horror violence/gore and language
Runtime- 89 minutes
Buy it here