Dr Jekyll is a reclusive scientist researching a way to combat every known disease. When this proves to be too slow, he decides instead to research the elixir of eternal life. Thinking he has the formula, he takes a drink and finds himself transformed into a beautiful woman who he is forced to explain away as his widowed sister Mrs Hyde. When his supply of female body parts is stopped, the Doctor is forced to find his own, causing a series of murders in an area of London known as Whitechapel. His alter ego, proving to be stronger and stronger, also takes murderous steps to protect them both as friends and police start to close in on the truth.

Hammer is a name that is synonymous with technicolour horror and DR JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE is one the lesser titles in the studio's back catalogue, but that doesn't mean that it's not drenched in the claret stuff. There's also flashes of the usual female nudity that the studio used to lure in the younger audience as well and it's all bound together by the usual hysterical feverish pitch of the whole thing.

Sex and blood were Hammer's stock in trade and the erotic power of the vampire was certainly a central plank to its output, but this is the first attempt made to eroticise the Jekyll and Hyde story, made possible by the ludicrous, but fun device of the gender switch. It helps that Martine Beswick has a physical resemblance to Ralph Bates and the tricks used to show the change between the two are simple, but effective, showing that you don't need a huge amount of CGI to achieve an impact.

Sex and blood were Hammer's stock in trade and the erotic power of the vampire was certainly a central plank to its output, but this is the first attempt made to eroticise the Jekyll and Hyde story, made possible by the ludicrous, but fun device of the gender switch. It helps that Martine Beswick has a physical resemblance to Ralph Bates and the tricks used to show the change between the two are simple, but effective, showing that you don't need a huge amount of CGI to achieve an impact.

The horror, of course, has dated. In this day and age of torture porn and graphic realism the cutting away from the point of murder to a spray of blood up the wall seems almost coy and the modern audience isn't going to find much to scare the life out of them.

The plot is total nonsense, almost a sex farce at times with the brother and sister upstairs fancying the two sides of the Jekyll/Hyde split and throwing in the Jack the Ripper link and the presence of Burke and Hare is overegging the pudding, although the blind Hare's presence is one fo the startling images of the film.

Sex and blood were Hammer's stock in trade and the erotic power of the vampire was certainly a central plank to its output, but this is the first attempt made to eroticise the Jekyll and Hyde story, made possible by the ludicrous, but fun device of the gender switch. It helps that Martine Beswick has a physical resemblance to Ralph Bates and the tricks used to show the change between the two are simple, but effective, showing that you don't need a huge amount of CGI to achieve an impact.

Still, Hammer made very few stinkers and this isn't one of them. It's a nostalgic look back at horror of times gone past and it certainly beats the hell out of the recent BBC TV version.

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