Henry Pride (Bernie Casey) is a successful yet altruistic black doctor who develops a serum that he hopes will cure liver disease; when he tests the formula on himself, he transforms into a white psycho who kills prostitutes and pimps.
Although, at face value, Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde is a trashy example of blaxploitation horror, it does attempt to explore deeper themes that would have resonated with its intended black audience. With Dr. Pride transforming into a bestial white man, the film equates whiteness with power and corruption, a belief understandably held by many in the black urban underclass; it also explores the idea of black guilt over attaining success and status in a predominantly white profession, and likens the doctor's repeated use of his serum to drug addiction, an issue that affects the poor and underprivileged. There's plenty to dig into if you enjoy films with social commentary...
But what about the more 'fun' aspects of the film?
Let's start with the obvious: Mr. Hyde's appearance. White face paint and some light prosthetics work does not convincingly turn a black man into a caucasian, and the scenes in which the transformed Dr. Pride is mistaken for a 'honky' are hilarious. The make-up was created by FX legend Stan Winston, but it is far from his best work.
Mr. Hyde throwing people around like rag dolls: extremely comical, but hugely entertaining.
Silky the pimp: I love a stereotypical pimp and Silky ticks all of the boxes.
The nudity, courtesy of Marie O'Henry as Linda, the hooker with a heart: no exploitation film is complete without gratuitous T&A and Linda's completely naked health checks at the free clinic are about as gratuitous as it gets. If Dr. Pride wasn't so kind and upstanding, I'd be questioning his ethics...
Johnny Pate's funky soundtrack.
The King Kong inspired finalé that sees Mr. Hyde scaling the Watts Towers (one of LA's more unusual landmarks).
Better than Blackenstein and Scream Blacula Scream, but not as enjoyable as Abby or Blacula, this is mid-tier blaxploitation horror that can be commended for addressing social issues along with its escapism. 5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.
