Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde

Even though I had heard nothing but bad things about this film, I still wanted to see it for myself. This is indeed a bad film. I watched what looked to be a tv quality version of the film but that won't help the fact that the film is pretty bad with no redeeming qualities because overall, it's just a poor film and trying to tie itself to a literary classic (albeit a modern day retelling of that classic). What makes it worse is the fact that Mr. Hyde's makeup is so bad it makes him look "white" and he escapes being captured because he looks like a white man. This is a poor retelling of the classic and an uninspired film overall.

If anyone actually takes this as a serious commentary on race relations, they need counseling. Immediately.

The tale, as you can probably take from the title, is more or less a riff on the "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" storyline, only this time a black doctor's (Casey's) experiments turn him into a rampaging albino-skinned monster!

Pretty thinly-veiled commentary, eh?

The monster attack scenes look like they should be played for laughs. The ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) brothers would have had a field day with this. Indeed, if you watch this, you'll find yourself laughing at every scary and/or racially-motivated moment.

But no, it's played straight and all the sadder. Casey is a good actor, an important actor, even. Unless he was intentionally playing this for laughs, there's just no excuse for such inanity.

The least they could have done was have Casey morph into Leslie Nielsen. Now THERE we would have known where we stood.

One star.

Great; I probably just gave Hollywood an idea for a remake.

This film opens with a socially conscious physician named Dr. Henry Pride (played by Bernie Casey), who strives to alleviate suffering in the inner city of Los Angeles. When he is not assisting those in need of medical attention, he devotes nearly all of his waking hours to working on a cure for liver disease that he hopes to finalize soon. Unfortunately, when he cannot find any willing volunteers for his research, he decides, in a moment of desperation, to use himself as a guinea pig- with disastrous results, as he becomes a homicidal maniac targeting prostitutes living and working nearby. Rather than reveal any more, I will simply say that, although the overall plot has been used numerous times in the past, I found the idea of using it within the framework of a blaxploitation setting to be quite compelling. Admittedly, the low-budget production values did limit the film to some extent; however, it still managed to entertain me for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This film got little coverage in horror books or magazines I collected growing up, and I only became aware of its availability in the internet age. The premise was intriguing, although I assumed it to be more of a comedy and probably cheaply made. As a fan of Crain's Blacula I was pleasantly surprised to discover his involvement-even more so when "Big Skillet" Ji-Tu Cumbuka shows up--playing a straight talking police detective who reminds one of Samuel Jackson. The film does appear cheaper than Blacula and has less dramatic tension--on the other hand it manages to give its central character a bit more depth than one would expect from the Jekyll and Hyde story having been done so many times previously. The scene where Casey tells the prostitute about his childhood and mother is poignant, and makes his request to her all the more chilling since we realize he has some sincere reason to do his research and wont take no for an answer. A mad scientist with a twist.

The makeup by future fx star Stan Winston who had worked with Casey on the TV movie Gargoyles isn't a big deal by today's standards and despite the title he doesn't really look caucasian but more like a Haitian voodoo zombie. Whether Winston was hampered by budget or it was a conscious decision to make him more of a ghoul is an open question.

There are some story lapses and the ending seems rather abrupt and too basic for a story that had established such a dramatic impetus for the main character--but it has a few amusing lines and is probably worth a look for people seeking an alternative drive-in horror film. 6 1/2 out of 10.

Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The black Dr. Henry Pride (Bernie Casey) takes a formula that turns him into an evil white man. Here's another blaxploitation film but this one here is actually pretty good thanks in large part to the very good performance by Casey. The film is over the top in every way possible from the non-stop Kung Fu fighting to the wonderfully funny pimp. The first scene where the evil white guy is about to get jumped by three hoods is priceless.

This film hasn't been officially released but it is out there in bootleg form.