| 1) A non stop assault of hard gore and soft sex, The Adult Version of Jekylland Hide is a concoctionthat would have had Robert Louis Stevenson rolling in his grave, althoughnot necessarily out ofanger. As the ‘Hide’ title tips you off the film’s aspirations lie firmlybelow the belt, in fact evenbefore the opening credits we are privy to a couple on the job. The girlisNurse Debby (Rene Bond)and the lucky guy on top is Dr Chris Leeder (Jack Buddliner). Leeder isengaged to a sweet girlnamed Cynthia- but is guided by murkier motives, he’s after her money andhopes to run off with itand Ms Bond. Hunting for engagement presents in a old curiously shopLeederdiscovers thenotebook of the original Dr Jekyll. Later Leeder returns to the shop in afeverish panic, so much sothat he strangles the owner when he refuses to sell the book to him.Leederbecomes obsessed withthe world of Dr Jekyll and his monstrous alter ego Mr Hide- envisioningJekyll (Buddliner again)transforming into Mr Hide, an animated pasty faced sex killer clad in tophat, cape and cane.Limping around impressive mock Victorian sets Mr Hide is picked up by aprostitute who offers himsome ‘fun’. Unfortunately for the girl, her and Mr Hide’s idea of fun arefar from the same. Soon itsa bareassed Mr Hide chasing the girl around the room with a whip making abloody mess of her.‘You must be barmy’ she tells him surely one of the cinema’s greatunderstatements. Mr Hidefinishes the night with his grotesque partypiece- ramming a red hot pokerinthe girl’s privates.Leeder daydreams more and more about Mr Hide’s sex crimes each one moreviler than the last. Itso consumes his life that he misses his engagement party to experiment onhimself. One sip of DrJekyll’s special brew and the rolly-polly Buddliner is transformed into‘Miss Hide’ (Jane Tsentas)-who makes her entrance in this world when her breasts burst out of Leeder’sshirt. Despite herleggy, blonde appearance Miss Hide is a knife wielding nymphomaniac aslethal as her malecounterpart. By night she prowls LA bars looking for men to pickup,leadingto the films mostinfamous encounter, where Miss Hyde castrates a sailor during some backalley sex, holding thebloody member up for the stunned seaman. Leeder gets sick of reading aboutMr Hide’s sex crimesas well as coming home every night in knickers and a mini skirt, butfearingthe law decides to ‘Hide’out by turning back into the femme fatale. Not even Rene is ultimatelysafefrom Miss Hide’s pawsand ends up dragged to the floor for a unique interpretation of ‘Chrisparticularly wanted us to gettogether’. Under the direction of L Ray Monde (known to his mother as LeeRaymond) and moneyfrom several United Airline pilots- The Adult Version of Jekyll and Hidealways impresses, its brightcomic book like lighting style partially belies its low budget and setboundroots. Only the ficklefinger of obscurity has kept the film from being the notorious of thenotorious. In a typically ‘tender’moment Mr Hide breaks into a girl’s house ties her up, rapes her, thenbeatsher about the head withwhat looks like a soda siphon. Distributed by David F Friedman’s EVIcompany the film wasmoderately successful, but you get the feeling that many venues decision tocut out some of the‘goodies’ seriously weakened the film. Few films were ready and willing togo all out in the sex andhorror stakes as The Adult Version of Jekyll and Hide was, and justly itreally has to be seen intactwith all the scandal and outrage that its content incurs. There isn’t anydeep profound meaning tobe found here- sex and violence is all that The Adult Version of Jekyll andHide is really about.Made at a time when softcore was going down for the count its very much theold guard resorting totried and tested violent shock value to win back an audience. On its ownperverse terms The AdultVersion of Jekyll and Hide is also an equal opportunities film offeringspace for its psycho male andthe allure of the violent sexy female with each of the sexes dishing it outas good as the other. Its alsowell cast, with everyone looking like a character you’d imagine to seestrolling down HollywoodBoulevard in the early Seventies. Buddliner, the most seedy ofprotagonistslooks perfect as bothgigolo Leeder or sex psycho Mr Hide. As Miss Hide, Tsentas is menacing,seductive andappropriately towers over most of the cast. Tsentas appeared in few films-although the hardcoreSacrilege in which she plays a go-go dancing Witch terrorizing a Ray Davieslookalike is well worthseeking out. One of the more famous Hide alumni is legendary cutie ReneBond. Like Tsentas, Bondhad graduated from early hardcore such as the mind boggling Girl in aBasket. Eventually the filmsgot softer and the budgets got bigger as did her breasts thanks to thewonders of implants. TheAdult Version of Jekyll and Hide sees her in all her sex kitten glory,running around the surgery halfnaked teasing the lumbering Mr Buddliner who has all the sex appeal of abigflea’s armpit. Anenduring image from a film that will leave few sleazemongers short changedor with their jawsundropped. The Adult Version of Jekyll and Hide is an exploitation film ineveryway that matters-equal parts eye candy and eye opener.
2) You gotta love '70's porn! Funky music, big mustaches and lots of hairelsewhere, ugly men and women who seemed to be already well over 30 atthe time. It seems that in the '70's age and looks were no requirementsto enter the porn industry. It's funny to see how much the pornindustry has changed. Just compare a '70's movie to a porn movie fromthis decade. The difference is so enormous, that '70's porn look sosoft, friendly and almost innocent as well as simple amateur likelooking, that it becomes often hilarious and entertaining to watch.
I think you could consider this movie to be a very soft-core one. Lot'sof sexual actions are implied in the movie but very little is actuallyshown on screen. It makes the sex seem rather more distracting andboring than arousing and exciting. Basically only breasts are shown inthis movie, which of course doesn't meet up by todays requirements.
Of course in a movie like this the story always becomes secondary but Ido admire how they tried to give the story still a sort of main plotline, even though it makes far form sense all and is way too simple.It's not uncommon for porn movies to mix with well known stories andlegends. This time the story of Jekyll and Hyde is the unlucky victim.Of course the movie doesn't follow the story at all and in this moviefeatures a doctor who by an old book written by Mr. Hyde makes theformula to split his evil and good side. Only problem is that insteadthe good old doctors turn into a woman but hey this doesn't have tomean it's a problem right? Especially not in a simple, amateur likelooking, sleazy '70's porn movie. The story doesn't ever really flowwell and its totally unclear why Hide (the woman side of the doctor)kills all those innocent people. The movie seems to lack a real pointand purpose with it's story but like I said before, I admire theattempt and it distinct this movie from most other '70's genre movies.
The movie is very cheap and amateur like looking with simplecamera-work and scene build up. But I bet the actors (who of course arebad) had fun, with the 'real script' and characters they wereportraying, rather than being in just another straight-forward pornmovie without a storyline in it.
A must-see for the fans of '70's porn movies, which are quite a few.
6/10
3) I seem to be one of the few people who actually likes this film.Obviously we are not talking ‘class’ here but surely one knows prettymuch what to expect from the title and if David Friedman was not too’hands on’ with this one it’s still well worth a look. Sex and nudity(both sexes) all the way through and some surprisingly sharp violencemixed in. Not a lot of time is spent on the ‘changes’, which isprobably just as well with limited budget and the change into a womanis at least different. It of course also gives us yet another lady toget naked. Pity about the silicone on the two leads but it does meanthat the Hide (sic) lady suitably looks a little unreal strokingherself through a man’s shirt as if she can’t quite believe it. Theleading guy, with his stumpy, hairy body, wayward moustache andminuscule penis does well to attract such enthusiastic performancesfrom the ladies and does look fairly menacing in his bad man guise
4) I can tolerate quite a lot of extreme cinema-types (feel free to check someof my other user comments) and detect something good to tell about themalways. But this…this is just weak over the entire line. The adult versionof Jekyll and Hide is a David Friedman production. Friedman often cooperatedwith Hershell Gordon-Lewis who’s known in the cult circuit as one of thepioneers of gore cinema. Their films are too silly, but often veryimaginative and amusing. This film, unfortunately, is yet another story.Friedman simply produced and left the rest up to people I’m not familiarwith. This thing has very little to see with Robert L. Stevenson’s classicnovel and handles about a dumb, ugly doctor who gets obsessed by Dr.Jekyll’s notebook he found in an old bookstore. He fixes the drink andtransforms into a hot, long-legged blond nymph. It’s supposed to be anX-rated HORROR film, but since they didn’t have any budget for horror, theysimply focus on the X-rated sequences. A lot… The nudity (male as well asfemale) is explicit, but never shocking or too perverted. Absolutely nothinghappens that’s worth mentioning except maybe the castration of a well shapedsailor; the only `ouch’ moment in the entire film. Dull, uninteresting and awaste of time. If you do consider watching it, you better keep your fingeron the `fast forward’ button at all times.
5) This movie is not realistic nor shocking init’s violence,example no blood when she cut offthe sailor’s penis!This movie mainly is about T&A.
6) Dr. Chris Leder (Jack Buddliner, who is ugly enough to make ME feelamazingly good about my body) goes to a bookstore with his fiancé,Cynthia (Jennifer Brooks, better know as "that one girl in that flickwhere Elvira shows her hoo-haas). He sees a book he wants but waitstill he's alone to go get it. The store owner isn't selling, so Chrisnaturally strangles him. (i hesitate to say kills because he blinks"after death). He then uses the book to turn himself into MISS Hyde. Apre-breast enhancement, pre-hardcore star, Rene Bond (quite easily theonly redeeming value of the movie) also stars as secretary of Dr. Chrisin this hard soft-core film. This film was hard to sit through & I knowthat ANY movie released on the "Something Weird" label is for acquiredtaste. Do yourself a favor and skip this. See Hammer's "Dr. Jekyll andSister Hyde" instead, which is miles better.
My Grade: D
DVD Extras: Commentary by David F. Friedman; Theatrical trailer;gallery of exploitation art
Eye candy: all the girls get nude at one point in the film
ANTI-Eye candy: Jack Buddliner gets nude (giving the word cocktailweenie a new meaning, frankly I feel sorry for the guy) |