After being very disappointed with "The Beast", I had little expectations towards Borowczyk's other entry in the horror genre "Dr. Jekyll and his Women", and ended up being very surprised. It feels like the more serious but neglected younger cousin of Paul Morrisey's "Flesh for Frankenstein" and "Blood for Dracula", which also starred Udo Kier, and took a considerably more violent, erotic and often humorous approach at a classic horror story. While it does have a witty sense of humor, "Dr. Jekyll.." is a darker affair, that actually does seem to try and creep you out. While it isn't a 'terrifying' film, it is genuinely disturbing, haunting and sometimes creepy. The various changes from the source material worked in favor for the film, as it made it more fresh and engaging than other versions of the story. The empashis on Mr. Hyde as a sex maniac is much bigger in this one, as basically all he does is rape members of the high society, men and women alike, to death with a 35 foot, sharp-as-a-knife "organ". Despite the rather "absurd" premise, the subject matter is treated very elegantly and doesn't really come off as exploitive or comical. As a matter of fact, the rape scenes are all quite hard to watch, and unlike "The Beast", are not at all arousing, with gruesome aftermaths. Still, it's also quite beautiful and, as usual for a Borowczyk film, very dreamlike and surreal indeed, with some deliciously otherworldly shots that you'd want to frame and hang on your wall. The film also works as an interesting social commentary on the decadent lives on 19th century high society, as Jekyll and Hyde seem to represent the depraved, monstrous characterstics of the bourgeoisie, hidden behind an elegant, sophisticated facade. As I mentioned before, the film is quite different from the novel. Nevertheless, it manages to capture the novel's atmosphere perfectly, unlike many other more faithful adaptations. Borowczyk pays extreme attention to detail, with everything from set design, costumes to background lounge piano music, just screams "Victorian England". The synthesizer soundtrack by Bernard Parmegiani is subtly used to great effect in creating the fear of the unknown prowling every corner. While the film is slow, it's never really boring. There's an impeding sense of doom that grows with every minute, and each frame has such visual flourishes that it's simply impossible to look away. Last but not least, the film also benefits from a great cast that includes Eurohorror regulars such as Marina Perro and Howard Vernon - Dr. Orloff himself! Though the dubbing is not very good, the actors still manage to give good performances, particularly Pierro and Kier (who, unfortunately, gets the same kind of dubbing as he had in "Suspiria"). Overall, another great, obscure art-house horror gem that deserves more praise and recognition. 10 out of 10
