Nel profondo del delirio

A strange and dream-like interpretation of the Jekyll and Hyde story that brings out the themes of sexual fantasy and violence. It's several years since I saw it, but there are still scenes that stick in the mind, like memories of a disturbing nightmare.

Even though I watched the dubbed and censored (about 15 minutes of footage cut out as far as I can tell) version of 'Dr Jekyll and His Women' I was still very impressed by it. Director Borowczyk is best remembered for the infamous art/porn classic 'The Beast' so anyone who has seen that eye-popping oddity will have some idea what they're in for. Exactly what was left out of this cut I don't know, but looking at what Mr Hyde has in his pants it isn't difficult to guess! Cult legend Udo Kier ('Flesh For Frankenstein', 'Blood For Dracula', 'The Story Of O', 'Suspiria', etc.etc.) plays Dr Henry Jekyll, Marina Pierro (Rollin's 'The Living Dead Girl') is his fiancee, and the supporting cast includes the marvelous character actors Howard Vernon (who appeared in innumerable Jess Franco movies, 'Alphaville', 'Delicatessen' and many other cult favourites) and Patrick Magee ('Dementia 13', 'The Masque Of The Red Death', 'The Birthday Party','A Clockwork Orange'). Magee gives a classic performance and almost steals the movie from Kier. Both actors make 'Dr Jekyll and His Women' essential viewing for any fan of the bizarre and "out there". I can't wait to see the complete version of this movie, I'm sure it's amazing! As it is, despite my intense dislike of unnecessarily butchered video cuts, I highly recommend this movie.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981)

** (out of 4)

Walerian Borowczyk's wild, over-the-top sexual fever nightmare has Dr. Jekyll (Udo Kier) and Miss Osbourne (Marina Pierro) having an engagement party but soon the entire thing leads to a disaster when a sexual predator shows up.

THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MISS OSBOURNE isn't the first version of the Jekyll and Hyde story to feature a sexual slant. This film is something that many consider a masterpiece but I'm not going to share that much praise. It's becoming rather clear that I respect Borowczyk a lot more than I actually enjoy his films. This movie here is very slow moving but it's beautiful to look at. It doesn't have anything we haven't seen before yet it has moments that are strong enough to hold your attention.

The biggest issue with this film is the fact that I simply see it as a fake. Porn, art and horror can go together and several directors have done it. Jess Franco and Jean Rollin immediately come to mind and I think both of them didn't try to hide behind any one genre and they would just jump into the material and go for it. I'm not sure why but it always seemed to me that Borowczyk didn't ever go in full steam. I mean, both this film and THE BEAST took familiar stories, added a touch of sex but I wouldn't say either went to the extreme of what they could have.

We basically have a rapist running around the party and, like in THE BEAST, we see an erect penis. Was this meant to be shocking? I guess for some it would have been but to me it was just a silly sequence and nothing that happened was all that shocking. It was well-made and there's no question that the film has a surreal atmosphere and a beautiful image but on the whole there's very little story and it's overly boring. Both Kier and Pierro are good as are the supporting players including Howard Vernon.

I can't believe I had never seen this film before but it would seem so unless I saw some heavily cut version on video, because this viewing was a revelation. Much helped by the musical score and varied conditions of light so loved of the director, this is unworldly from the start, despite its seeming drawing and dining room settings. Things go wrong (or is that rather, right?) from the very beginning as we get the impression of something ghastly going on and the film does not pause, indeed it gathers momentum all the time. As if we too are on the same drug, our perception and involvement changes as we begin to see the transformation of Jekyll through the eyes of his fascinated fiancé. Truly transgressive, this is a magnificent portrayal of repressed desires and the beast within and such is the level of joyous destruction and killing that I shall have to include it in my 'Sadean' list.

This film is, as the other reviewers said, rather like watching a dream. It is interesting to note the subtle changes this film makes on the usual Jekyll/Hyde movie formula: Udo Kier's Dr. Jekyll is not really a benefactor of humanity, but a man who revels in being able to commit horrendous crimes in the guise of his alter ego - actually moving the story closer to R. L. Stevenson's original idea. He preaches a philosophy of going beyond good and evil through science.

Likewise, Hyde commits actually repellent crimes of rape, child abuse, and sadism - making him closer to the idea of "unchained evil" than the more genteel transgressions of other movie Hydes.

Overall - a memorable, beautiful, shocking, film. Well worth seeing.