The Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Rock 'n Roll Musical

"Jekyll and Hyde" claims to be a rock musical from the "Rocky Horror" school of low-budget cult musicals. Even fans of "Rocky Horror" and its cult-movie ilk ("Shock Treatment," "The Apple") will admit that these kinds of movies aren't "good," per se. The acting isn't the greatest, the film-making is a bit awkward... but still, they have something-- a fun, camp sensibility, an imaginative bizarreness, some catchy songs.

Unfortunately, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" isn't bad in a fun-campy-cult-movie kind of way. It's bad in the "we have absolutely no idea of how to make a movie" kind of way. It's like four buddies in a band--with absolutely no knowledge of or talent for scriptwriting or film-making--pooled together $1000 and roped in their friends to act in the movie version of their song cycle. The results are really only fit to be viewed by their family and friends. A total lack of narrative coherence, hilariously bad dialogue and acting, disposable characters with no motivation, excruciatingly awkward editing and really, really poor cinematography... this movie has almost nothing going for it. It seems almost mean to criticize the particulars, because this is obviously not a film that any professionals were involved with. Ideally, it would never have made it into the video stores in the first place.

I will say that the songs aren't bad. They're reasonably catchy, the musicians seem talented, and the lyrics are standard rock-musical fare. As a mostly-sung stage show (presumably set in 1885 Britain, rather than "present day Los Angeles," justifying songs like "London Fog" that are otherwise totally illogical), "Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" probably wouldn't be so bad. As a really, really ineptly made movie, though, it's godawful. Unless you personally know the filmmakers and are curious what they were up to that one summer, stay away. And if even you do know the filmmakers... you'll probably still be disappointed.

I was truly inspired by this musical. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Rock and Roll Musical is a small independent film that has a great story and wonderful music. It's not to often you see a rock and roll musical with such great musical talent. I understand this film was shot on a very low budget and on weekends. I think any independent film maker would enjoy seeing this film. The songs are great. I was wondering if there is CD with the music? Does anybody have it. It is great stuff. I hope this film is seen by a large audience. It's just great fun! Can't wait to see Bernhoft again. I hope he has something coming out soon! Maybe another horror musical?

If you like THIS....

....you REALLY should check out 1973's "Phantom Of The Paradise" with songs by Paul Williams(!) and directed by Brian De Palma! It predates Rocky Horror, and I actually like it better! Amongst all the great scenes: a trio of performers who sing in a completely different, flavor of the week style every time they take the stage. This includes a Sha Na Na like group, a Beach Boys group, and a musical number that's parodying Alice Cooper - which everyone leaps to the wrong conclusion of being Kiss, without doing the math....

It's Phantom Of The Opera meets Faust meets Picture Of Dorian Gray meets Rock And Roll! A bit dated now a somewhat cheesy even then, it still successfully combines black comedy, romance, Gothic horror, drama, and rock and roll musicals into a package that helped pave the way for BOTH Williams and De Palma's future work, which would immediately follow.

And hey, LEEMAN52 - the 'Alice Cooper Show' ISN'T professional?!? Why in hell's name would he be so emulated then?

This was a tremendously fun ride. It is a special moment when I actually fall into the story line and feel total immersion into the actors portrayal of an alternate world created by the skillful hands of gifted screenwriters and directors. To me, that is what entertainment is really about, the captured experience during the circus ride of sights and sounds a movie provides. I don't know why I didn't discover this flick sooner, I certainly try to keep an eye out for modern interpretations of the classics. This was a fine job interpreting the classic Hyde monster. I felt it was much more believable than the digitized mountainous Hyde's in the Van-Helsing and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen stories. You certainly owe it to yourself to try this more believable version out. The combination of an engaging soundtrack, believable actors, and a gripping version of the storyline kept me immersed throughout. I offer a "job well done" to this crew!!!

I am a horror fan. I am a musical fan. This is the worst film ever made. Its not even a film. It seems an amateur students production from some time back, the miming is 5 seconds out of synch, the camerawork shakes, the budget is totally non existent. Every piece of dialogue sounded as though its coming out of an old cassette or reel to reel player. The sound was totally muffled throughout. You wont find any clips to this on the wwb because the film makers dont want you to see how awful it is. Its disgraceful this is even being considered being classified as a film or has been allowed to carry the Jekyll & Hyde name..I am posting this because (like others) I was tricked by other reviews which are clearly family and friends. I only wish the IMDB would remove the minimum 1 star rating as this is far too generous.