I Monster

I Monster is an early 70s retelling of the old Jeckyll & Hyde story in which the names have been changed, presumably to protect the innocent.

Produced by UK horror studio Amicus in the early 70s and starring the always intriguing Christopher Lee, It tells the grisly tale of a Dr Marlowe, who discovers a drug that lowers all inhibition, causing rather proper English ladies to divest themselves of their clothing while reducing angry gentlemen to child-like states.

When the good doctor imbibes he is transformed into Edward Blake, a man who's out of control behaviour is causing Marlowe much trouble. The doctor's good friend is on hand to try and help but is horrified when he finds out that Blake and Marlowe (The names being an obvious nod to two giants of British literature) are one and the same and that Marlowe is losing his grip on his devilish alter-ego.

This is an interesting film in that, although not marketed as a Jeckyll & Hyde movie, perhaps because the story has been filmed so many times and the producers feared that potential audiences may have been apathetic about yet another retread, it remains one of the most faithful adaptations available, featuring as it does many of the secondary characters from the novel that are missing in many other versions. Originally a 3-D presentation, unintentional laughs are to be found when characters start waving things in the foreground of the picture for no good reason…