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Edge of Sanity

Play trailer Poster for Edge of Sanity R 1989 1h 26m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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33% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 30% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Cocaine turns Dr. Jekyll (Anthony Perkins) into nocturnal Mr. Hyde, Victorian London's Jack the Ripper.
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Edge of Sanity

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (35) audience reviews
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 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 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 Audience Member Anthony Perkins invents crack cocaine and goes psycho once again--Perkins at his lunatic best!! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review andrew k A failed attempt to merge the stories of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Jack the Ripper. An ambitious goal and an actor who probably could have pulled it off, but several parts simply came off as cartoonish. Almost as if they were trying to mix in some Clockwork Orange. Not Perkins' finest. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Edge of Sanity

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Movie Info

Synopsis Cocaine turns Dr. Jekyll (Anthony Perkins) into nocturnal Mr. Hyde, Victorian London's Jack the Ripper.
Director
Gérard Kikoïne
Producer
Edward Simons, Harry Alan Towers
Production Co
Allied Vision, Allied Cine Group Pic II, Hungarofilm
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 3, 2018
Runtime
1h 26m
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