The New Hammer’s New Doctor Jekyll

Is there a scarier name than Jekyll [Island], especially for gold standard advocates? Are you with me, monetary economists? Robert Louis Stevenson’s Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and its various films adaptations are also pretty frightening. The old classic Hammer made a gender-bender-ish version in 1971 with Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde. That tradition continues in the first film from the latest corporate relaunch of the venerable British horror studio, Joe Stephenson’s Doctor Jekyll, which opens today in theaters and on-demand.

Dr. Nina Jekyll is a brilliant research scientist, just like her beloved grandfather, Henry (fittingly portrayed in a flashback by actor Jonathan Hyde). That is right, this is technically a sequel or a re-quel, which is cool. Ordinarily, Dr. Jekyll’s solicitor and confidant Sandra Poole would never allow an ex-con former drug addict like Rob Stevenson (can you guess his middle name?) apply for the position of Jekyll’s live-in care-giver, but somehow his application slipped through the cracks and the good doctor takes a shine to him. Poole is quite adamant about Jekyll taking her meds precisely according to schedule, but the ominous significance is initially lost on Stevenson.

Suddenly, Poole stops coming around, but Jekyll assures him everything is fine, so don’t worry. Nevertheless, Stevenson grows increasingly alarmed when Jekyll’s behavior exhibits marked signs of schizophrenia. On the other hand, he also feels pressure to stay and make the best of things, for the sake of his cancer-stricken daughter Stevenson has not yet been allowed to meet.

New Hammer’s new Doctor Jekyll has been billed as a transexual Jekyll and Hyde, but Dan Kelly-Mulhern’s screenplay so subtly establishes Nina Jekyll’s status as such, it will be lost on many viewers. However, the casting of Eddie Suzy Izzard arguably speaks directly to the point. In the past, Izzard has wisely counseled everyone to just chill out with respect to pronouns, recognizing both he and she are understandable in her case, especially when since she still plays roles of either gender, but in this case, she is indeed a she.

Regardless, Izzard is suitably creepy as both Nina and “Rachel.” She is suitably flamboyant for a modern-day gothic monster, but regardless of identification, she also still has sufficient size to tower over a skinny recovering junkie, like Stevenson. Frankly, this film probably would not work as well had someone else been cast. (That is not to say Martine Beswick was not convincingly lethal as “Sister Hyde.” She just represented a different, femme fatale kind of danger.)

Six Minutes to Midnight: The Augusta Victoria College Intrigue

Augusta Victoria College in Bexhill-on-Sea was the sort of finishing school Oswald Mosley could get behind. Eventually, it became a temporary war hospital, but throughout the 1930s, it specialized in educating the daughters of the National Socialist elite. It sounds like the sort of place British Intelligence should have kept a close eye on, so it is a good thing deep plant [Captain] Thomas Miller has accepted a teaching post there. His teenaged charges might not look dangerous, but the violent fate of his undercover predecessor suggests otherwise in Andy Goddard’s Six Minutes to Midnight, which releases in theaters and on-demand this Friday.

Headmistress Rocholl is not overwhelmed by Miller, but his mother was German, so his Deutsch fluency certainly helps. Initially, Miller’s fellow teacher, Ilse Keller, is far more welcoming, but she also acts considerably more suspiciously. Fortunately, the students are fairly accepting of Miller, despite their general Stepford-like demeanor, with the exception of Gretel, the sensitive outsider.

Goddard and his co-scripting co-stars, Eddie Izzard and Celyn Jones do a nice job of recapturing the vibe of vintage John Buchan thrillers, especially when Miller is falsely suspected of murder and forced to flee across the British countryside. The late 1930’s end-of-appeasement era also adds an intriguing (and uncomfortably timely) dimension to the 39 Steps-like intrigue.