Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde



Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)

One of the most chilling horror stories is that of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Robert Louis Stephenson in 1886 wrote the novella,"Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

This story was most chilling because in way it was a more feasible werewolf story. Instead of turning into a legendary beast, an ordinary man becomes something dark and malevolent and that kind of instability in human character is one of our greatest fears when making friendships and romantic attachments.

Conditions such as split personalities, bipolar disorder, hormonal shifts, drugs, and schizophrenia are all potential catalysts for such unpredictable behavior. We have all known someone who, on a dime, turned into something we didn't see coming -



Lots of movies have used variations of the theme like "Misery" and "Fatal Attraction." It definitely hits a very vulnerable note to all humans - we really never know someone's capability to handle stress. Daily news is filled with such stories of the nice neighbor who promptly killed his estranged wife, children, and committed suicide, or the serial killer who worked at a children's rec center. Is there anything more horrifying than the potential one human has to use both rage and intelligence to fight us in evil and horrifying manners?

Check out just some of the movies based on the Jekyll/Hyde original story:


Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1990) with Michael Caine


Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) with Spencer Tracy

Comments

  1. My favourite was 'Mary Reilly' with Julia Roberts. Really worth seeing if you haven't seen it. Very creepy, and very accurate depiction of the flip-flopping between Jekyll and Hyde.

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  2. Have to admit that I agree with ToB. I'm not really a fan of Julia Roberts, but John Malkovich does an amazing job in the film.

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