By Adam Bloodworth
Hammer Studios, the modern incarnation of the classic British horror brand, looks to rekindle the old magic with a new twist on an old tale. Eddie Izzard stars as Nina Jekyll, a reclusive pharmaceuticals billionaire who hires recently released convict Rob (Scott Chambers) as an unlikely assistant.
Keen to make the job work in order to see his daughter, Rob does his best to tend to the odd whims of his new boss. When she begins to display unusual behaviour at night, his future is threatened by her secret: an alter ego named Rachel Hyde. A kind of sequel to the original Robert Louis Stephenson story, director Joe Stephenson’s film has some interesting ideas and a lot of reverence for the past.
The shot choices, country house setting, and overbearing soundtrack all epitomise the camp of classic of Hammer. There are some contemporary ideas, particularly the notion of Nina’s wealth making her above suspicion, while Rob’s record means he can be manipulated. Eddie Izzard’s casting is both progressive and clever. The genderfluid actor, who prefers she/her pronouns, has often played male roles in the past, but there’s a lot more freedom to her performance as Nina. Watching from the shadows, smoking a cigarette, she throws herself into the foreboding title role with enthusiasm.
It would have been nice to have seen more of her as the off-kilter Hyde, but she enjoys an excellent rapport with Chambers, whose nervous energy is reminiscent of Barry Keoghan. The melodrama ramps up to a frantic pace, resulting in a rushed climax that could have done with ten more minutes to fit everything in. However, it’s a suitably chilling tale that brings new ideas to a classic setting.
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