Edge of Sanity

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde meets Jack the Ripper with Anthony Perkins

In London, 1888, Dr. Jekyll accidently discovers a form of smoking crack in the Victorian Era and thus his bestial alter ego, Mr. Hyde, goes on murderous excursions in the dead of night with oversexed prostitutes being his preferred prey. Glynis Barber is on hand as his beautiful, trusting wife, Elisabeth.

"Edge of Sanity” (1989) is like a Hammer horror flick updated to the late 80s, mixing "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll" (1960), “Demons of the Mind” (1972) and “The Creeping Flesh” (1973) with “Psycho III” (1986). While it’s superior to “Demons of the Mind,” it’s not quite as good as the other three. You can tell it’s low-budget, but makes up for it with Perkins’ knockout performance and creative artistry in cinematography, lighting, positioning and sets.

Like “The Creeping Flesh” and “Taste the Blood of Dracula” (1970) the movie interestingly explores the contrast of legalism with its counterpart libertinism. Society and religion enact laws that restrain the beast within, which makes everything good on the surface but, underneath, there’s a licentious monster wanting to get out.

The production doesn’t hold back with its depictions of the sadistic and debauched. As such, there’s an excess of sordidness and quite a bit of gore, which is apropos for Mr. Hyde and Jack the Ripper. So this is a very hard R-rated production. If you’re in the mood for a Victorian milieu, black coats, cobblestone streets, alluring women, a ghastly killer and lush colors, “Edge of Sanity” should fill the bill. It’s the precursor to “From Hell” (2001) a dozen years prior, just on a lower budget.

The film runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Budapest, Hungary, with 2nd unit work done in London.

GRADE: B-