By 1971 when I, Monster was released, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had been put to film many times over.  Some were straight up adaptations, some were loosely based upon the material and others were just inspired by it as they say.  As it is, Amicus decided that the world needed one more version of it, this time starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, a winning duo if ever there were one.  Over the years since this film’s release, that little story by Robert Louis Stevenson would be adapted multiple times more and even transformed into a musical for the stage.  They would all go on to greater or lesser success with a few being quite excellent like the 1941 version of the film and some being not as good like Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde.  I, Monster would fail at the box office despite having two of the biggest horror icons of the time appearing in it, yet when all was said and done, it was not that bad of a movie.

In this particular film, writer Milton Subotsky decided not to use the names Jekyll and Hyde for whatever reason, despite having his story bear similarities to the rest of Stevenson’s work.  This time Dr. Jekyll would be known as Dr. Charles Marlowe while his alter ego Mr. Hyde would be called Edward Blake.  Marlowe would be a psychologist this time around, but would concoct his potions and such in order to help mankind, in the same vein as Jekyll, when he comes to believe that he is on to something with his latest formula.  After a little testing, once upon a poor cat in one scene, Marlowe decides it is time for a human trial and ends up creating Blake.  And just like the original tale, Blake starts to get out of control as he is the personification of Marlowe’s base desires and emotions.  Soon Frederick Utterson, played by Peter Cushing, gets involved and as everyone knows, there can only be one ending possible.

Christopher Le takes on the main role as our Jekyll and Hyde.  He does a good job of playing the prim and proper Marlowe as well as his polar opposite Blake.  Playing Marlowe did not really call upon Lee to extend his talent very far at first, but when it came to Blake, he would take on a quiet menace in his demeanor and coupled with the usual effects which included false teeth and thinning hair, he would cast an eerie visage.  Playing two parts of the same man does indeed require some acting chops and Lee has that in spades and it is towards the end of the film that he really shows us what he can do as Marlowe is tormented by the knowledge of what he has become and what he has done.  Peter Cushing would star opposite the man, like so many times before, as Marlowe’s attorney Frederick Utterson.  Much like Lee, the role would call on Cushing to do very little, yet even so, Cushing was better than most actors of his day and still is, thus his performance was still highly enjoyable to watch.  As evidenced in many films before this, the chemistry between the two men is palpable and they know what to expect from each other and know how to play off of that to deliver the best out of their roles.  It would definitely make this movie all the better for it by having these two men in it.

Directed by Stephen Weeks, the film looked and felt much like Blake’s persona – a little dirty, a little unkempt and even a little shady.  Unlike certain adaptations like The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, this film would not be all bright colours and big, bawdy sets.  Here things are grungy and they look used and abused whether it is the streets, the sets or the people.  Blake’s world is as disheveled as he is.  It is only when Marlowe or Utterson is on screen that things tend to lighten up just a little, but as far as mood goes, the film achieves that gloomy and pensive atmosphere needed to tell this story the way it needed to.

As a horror film, there is little to really frighten anyone.  What is frightening is the fact that there is the possibility that within us all lays another person, one who has no qualms about caving into those primal urges of violence and murder or possibly even worse.  That would come across in the film more than anything and most of that was thanks to Lee and his performance.  Again, there have been many films about Stevenson’s tale of duality and this one, while maybe not the best, is still one that stands up there amongst them.

4 out of 5