Mary Reilly (1996)

3 / 5
Tagline:  Evil loves innocence.
Directed by:  Stephen Frears
Written by:  Valerie Martin, Christopher Hampton
Actors include:  Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole
Genre:  Horror, Drama
Length:  105 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review:

An overly long retelling of the Jekyll & Hyde story only with big names.  This time it focuses on a servant (Mary of course) who works for Mr. Jekyll and over time she starts to take to him (romantically even).  When Jekyll's assistant shows up she's a little stunned but finds herself charmed him too.  It really takes an interesting story and puts a boring spin on it, in fact this is pretty much a romantic film with some horror elements (not nearly enough to keep most fans happy, myself included).  Pretty much a waste of time, but I guess it could have been worse!

Availability:  On DVD

Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1931)

4 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: Put yourself in her place! The dreaded night when her lover became a madman!
Directed by: Rouben Mamoulian
Written by: Samuel Hoffenstein, Percy Heath
Actors include: Fredric March, Miram Hopkins, Rose Hobart
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Length: 98 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one creative adaptation of the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde tale, I mean it's pretty true to the story and everything, it's just visually a different beast. Sometimes the film is shot from Jekyll's eye view, other shots are from different perspectives, and the way they managed to make the transformation occur is with different colored lights, and it's pretty neat. Even if their version of Mr. Hyde looks rather like a character from Planet of the Apes. This one is also different in that we spend a fair bit of time getting to know the kind and generous Dr. Jekyll before he even gets into his evil debautcherous territory. Jekyll has a fiancee and gee whiz are they happy together, they are going to have a wonderful life...except that Jekyll is obsessed with the duality of man. Of course as the story goes he invents a potion to allow his dark side to roam about. It's not all that dark though his "bad" behavior is far more entertaining then when we are just watching the love story portion. It's even more fun when he can no longer control his transformations. Certainly this is a charming and elegant version of this tale, though I do prefer the version Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920).

Availability:  On DVD

Mad Monster Party? (1967)

4 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: At long last, a Motion Picture with absolutely no cultural value!!
Directed by: Jules Bass
Written by: Len Korobkin, Harvey Kurtzman
Actors include: Boris Karloff, Allen Swift, Gale Garnett
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Animation
Length: 94 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I can't believe I went my entire childhood without ever having watched this, I'd have loved it! Definitely a film for the whole family with musical numbers, many clever little nods to the Universal monsters and an insanely creative production. The concept is that Dr. Frankenstein has invented a new potion that will cause destruction. He's also the head of organization of monsters, so he rounds up all of his monster friends for a mad monster party. He also wants to announce his retirement and his successor! Be prepared to meet adorable versions of The Mummy, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, The Hunchback, The Invisible Man, King Kong, The Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Creature (from the Black Lagoon), Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller. It's all made with the same style as the old Rudolph and Frosty christmas films (which I love) and even by the same people, this is just spooky instead! Even though it is very entertaining there are several jokes that are just too corny to laugh at and a few song and dance numbers that really could have been left out. Still a very visionary and enjoyable Halloween treat that any child should love (and many adults should like it too).

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray