The potentially potent pairing of Udo Kier and Walerian (The
Beast) Borowczyk is undone by turgid pacing and sloppy screenwriting. Kier stars as Dr. Jekyll, who is throwing an
engagement party in his home. Naturally,
Mr. Hyde crashes the party and starts raping guests (both men and women). While the police comb the area looking for
Hyde, Jekyll’s fiancée (Marina Pierro) catches a glimpse of her hubby to-be
changing personalities. Wanting to be
with her man no matter what, she pleads with him to let her use his potion to
unleash her hidden freaky persona.
The gruesome scenes of Hyde raping unfortunate partygoers
are guaranteed to shock. I mean his dick
is so big it goes through their ass and out their belly. In another memorable scene, Hyde ties up
Patrick Magee and forces him to watch while he has his way with his daughter
(who unlike the other guests is more than eager to participate).
These scenes certainly grab your attention. Too bad the first half hour is so boring. Seriously, nothing happens. Even when Hyde does show up, it's only in
frustrating glimpses.
Fans of Udo are likely to be disappointed by this one,
seeing as he did such a great job as Dracula and Frankenstein in the Andy
Warhol movies. Here, he’s not given a
whole lot to do as Dr. Jekyll. Even
worse is the fact that another actor plays Mr. Hyde. I’m sure he could’ve delivered a great
performance as Hyde, but Borowczyk doesn’t even give him an opportunity to strut
his stuff! It's unfortunate too because
it would’ve been interesting to see what Udo could’ve done with the character. The guy they got to play Hyde... well… let's
just say he's no Udo Kier and leave it at that.
AKA: Bloodlust. AKA:
The Blood of Dr. Jekyll.
AKA: Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde. AKA: The Bloodbath of Dr. Jekyll. AKA:
The Experiment. AKA: Dr. Jekyll and His Women. AKA:
Dr. Jekyll and His Wives.
Excellent review, with everything I need to know, especially the provocative sequences. I'd hate to be watching this with other people in the house who might be easily offended. At least, I can warn anybody around to steer clear. I've seen "The Beast." Share the same sentiments about Spanish filmmaker Jess Franco. I do like the cinematography and the production designs. Conjures up a bit of an atmosphere.
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