Gérard Kikoïne

Great piece of trashy Euro-sleaze that sees Anthony Perkins as the brilliant but awkwardly shy Victorian doctor, Henry Jekyll. Working late in his lab he accidentally exposes himself to a vaporous alcohol / anaesthetic / cocaine mix and finds himself transformed into the violent, sex-obsessed Jack “The Ripper” Hyde. He quickly finds himself addicted to his new personality-transforming potion and ignoring his beautiful wife Elisabeth (Glynis Barber), his home and his work he takes to a life of drug-fuelled lunacy, debauched sex and prostitute slaying - before the inevitable come-down and tragic ending! Writers J. P. Félix and Ron Raley loosely base their script on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson yarn, but jazz things up by adding a connection to Jack the Ripper and amplifying the gore, sleaze and nudity. Despite that they still manage to squeeze in plenty of interesting and involving dialogue around the meaning of freedom and the loss of inhibition, while drawing allusions and parallels with the modern drug epidemic. Gérard Kikoïne directs with real flair, filling the screen with eccentric design and more than a passing nod to classic German Expressionism. Jekyll’s lab set and Madame Flora's lurid brothel set are particularly interesting and cleverly designed. Equally eccentric is the approach to "Victorian" costuming with the prostitutes, in particular, dolled up as a strange hybrid of mid-eighties Madonna clones and a bunch of Clockwork Orange rejects. On top of all that is a wild colour scheme that is all shocking primary reds and stark, lurid blues. Kikoïne uses that wild design to drive his story and help give an insight into Jekyll’s increasingly drug-addled mind. The acting is good throughout with Anthony Perkins throwing himself into the Jack Hyde role with scenery chewing, “crack-pipe” huffing relish. He overacts manically but this works in tandem with the overall directorial approach making for a riveting performance that holds the disparate elements of the film together perfectly. “Edge of Sanity” is a wonderfully twisted Euro-sleaze gem. It is dark, sinister, twisted and beautifully designed with a colourful expressionistic edge while delivering copious amounts of nudity and sleaze. Great stuff!… (altro)