Edge of Sanity

R

1989

1 hr. 26 min.

Horror

List

33%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

31%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Cocaine turns Dr. Jekyll (Anthony Perkins) into nocturnal Mr. Hyde, Victorian London's Jack the Ripper.

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Steve D

I don't know what it is trying to be or why Perkins wanted to be a part of it. All it ends up being is bad.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

jonathan m

Norman Bates meets Himself only this times mothers away

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

When Henry Jekyl was young, he caught his father cheating on his mother in the barn. Caught, he was beaten by his dad as the half nude woman laughed at him, forever intertwining sex with violence and repressed sadomasochistic longings. Welcome to a totally different take on the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Many years later, Dr. Jekyll is experimenting with the human mind, but really he's just mixing ether with cocaine, which drives him insane and transforms him into Mr. Edward Hyde. Actually, it goes even further than that because it turns him into Jack the Ripper, a killer of women of the night who look just like the woman his father slept with all those decades ago. That mix of ether and cocaine also allows him to play master to prostitutes and their clients where they lose their inhibitions and end up murdering one another. Meanwhile, his wife Elisabeth (Glynis Barber) begins to suspect that perhaps her husband has something to do with all the Whitechapel murders. Director Gérard Kikoïne also made the 1989 version of Buried Alive (with Ginger Lynn, Robert Vaughn, Donald Pleasence and John Carradine), Lady Libertine, the Cannon film Master of Dragonard Hill and Love Circles. It's a strange movie, as the costumes and money seem to be modern, yet it's set in the Victorian era. Perkins doesn't make the full makeup transformation as most actors do, but goes wild in the way he carries himself, adding another different killer to his career of odd characters. It's definitely not for everyone — it mixes huge doses of sex with violence, which always seems to upset people — but for those ready for its surreal take on Jack the Ripper and a classic horror novel, there are plenty of rewards to be had. Leonard Maltin said that it was, "Tasteless, pointless, and unpleasant." That's a standing ovation where I come from.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

kevin c

Anthony Perkins plays Dr Jekyll who's experiments turn him into a darker and ironically a paler version of himself that gives into his inner demons that makes him want to kill beautiful women. He targets prostitutes and hangs out in opium dens feeding his desires. Perkins is natural at bringing the creepiness to the screen and is great in this. I really enjoy this take on the Jekyll and Hyde story.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An very interesting take on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story with an very smart casting of Anthony Perkins the first half of the film does work well and does an good job at setting up some of the main characters unfortunately as the film goes it drops its character and story blinding to become a typical slasher and then it just kept slipping for me and film just became a typical you got a guy trying to hide he is murder from his wife and a cop is trying to figure out who the killer is

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Decent take on the Jekyll and Hyde story, I like the ending and the vague attempt at trying to connect it with Jack the Ripper. Perkins plays it a little too over the top though. And what, was this some kind of social commentary on the crack epidemic of the time...?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

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Gérard Kikoïne

Director

Anthony Perkins

Dr. Henry Jekyll

Glynis Barber

Elisabeth Jekyll

Sarah Maur Thorp

Susannah

David Lodge

Underwood

Ben Cole

Johnny

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Budd Wilkins

Slant Magazine

The film is a stylish, albeit gonzo, little shocker that has as much to say about the 1980s as it does the 1880s.

Jun 29, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

One of the worst Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde movies AND one of the worst Jack the Ripper films.

Rated: 1/4

Jul 11, 2022

Full Review

Peter Canavese

Celluloid Dreams

A slasher exploitation picture--but it's too interesting to dismiss. For one, there's a kind of integrity to its taboo-busting pan sexuality.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 27, 2022

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Oct 11, 2005

Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Gorgeous production design. Not so gorgeous any other way

Rated: 3/5

Aug 21, 2002

Full Review

Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

Perkins sleepwalks through a grimy and unpleasant affair.

Rated: 1/5

Jul 25, 2002

Full Review

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Synopsis

Cocaine turns Dr. Jekyll (Anthony Perkins) into nocturnal Mr. Hyde, Victorian London's Jack the Ripper.

Director: Gérard Kikoïne
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 3, 2018

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