DOCTOR JEKYLL (2023)

I greatly looked forward to the ‘sequel’ rebirth of Hammer Horror into today’s age. It is important to note that those of us who delighted in the Halcyon days of Hammer Studios with the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Sherlock Holmes, The Reptile, The Gorgon, and many others stalking around opulent yet budget-conscious sets with blood, gore, and low-cut necklines may be in for a bit of shock.  Those types of films meaning the ‘Old’ Hammer Studios formula do not work for audiences of today. That is why Joe Stephenson Directed Doctor Jekyll (2023) is pivotal to the new ‘John Gore’ era of horror filmmaking, to that end it does not disappoint new and old on many fronts.

This picture is an underplayed subversive delight of duality on many levels. The level of decadency each person has on one another no matter how different they seem. Many cast themselves as an outsider or overused Alpha person only to find out that you need people to talk to, or simply be in the same room. This is central to understanding Eddie Izzard’s role as Nina Jekyll and the way the action unfolds.

It was a delight to see Hammer’s name on screen in large red print against the Gothic dark background reminiscent of the opening titles from The Brides Of Dracula (1960). While not as over the top as then, it was still a welcome sight knowing that gothic horror was on the menu, Rob (Scott Chambers) is a young, estranged father who has run into some trouble with the law. He has been a guest of His Majesty’s for a time, is on parole, cannot hold a job and wants to see his child. Not of the level of the Kray brothers or Ronald Biggs, Rob ran with a tough crowd of burglars and thugs yet wanted to reform finding no one would hire him. Luckily his older brother Ewan (Morgan Watkins) is loyal, lets him stay with him and even gets him a job interview.

The job turns out to be an estate tending to Nina Jekyll’s food, laundry, clothing, and whims. Rob seems doomed as Jekyll’s maid and controller played by Lindsay Duncan has it in for him. She harasses Rob, warning him if he fails in one task such as pills or an evening meal, he will get the sack. Nina Jekyll turns out to be not demanding, in fact wants to get out of the tyrannical rule of her housekeeper who doesn’t allow her to have sugared cereal. Rob gets her the food and the two embark on doing what they want when the housekeeper is gone. Nina seems to need a friend to talk to as illustrated in a lovely scene with the two playing chess and enjoying large whiskies.

All is not well on the estate as Rob’s criminal life resurfaces, forcing him to make a hard choice regarding his child. Nina Jekyll also has the secret and motive for making the world of the estate just the way she wants.   The film is not a full Gothic horror but brings to mind the Hammer studio’s psychological thrillers, particularly Fear In The Night (1972), and Paranoiac (1963).

Eddie Izzard, who in life, calls himself/herself ‘Gender Fluid’ and is subtly brilliant as Nina Jekyll. One moment over the top, the next controlling almost predatory in her/his affection for Rob. The ending shows that both people were on the fringe of society, and they became dependent on each other no matter what in more ways than one. Complex under the surface as this is not a person dressed running amok but a story of finding the next level of life.

Hammer’s Doctor Jekyll (2023) is not for those of us who viewed the advertising for this film with Izzard in full makeup and wondered if it would be a re-treading of Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde (1971). The Direction, the camera work, and the use of the opulent rooms, corridors and exteriors all have a tinge of that solid homage look of Terence Fisher and Val Guest. Nina Jekyll is first seen in the shadows near a window in the background when she speaks like Christopher Lee’s gliding entrance in Dracula (1958).

John Gore’s Hammer handled this right in choosing this story with hints of today and yesterday in with disaffected young and the theme of the outsider. The horror market is saturated by gore-filled independent, large-budget films and the franchise-making machine and occasional single filmmaker known as Blumhouse. A man in a dress being odd is not frightening, at least for some segment of the population it is a perceived threat, but in the land of Horror, it is not. The dread of difference no matter how much is to be literally stamped out. Hammer has crafted a film that is an excellent start, with a story and enough touchstones with today in mind. Alas, the only thing missing was dear Michael Ripper in a role.

Terry Sherwood