paulclaassen

'Edge of Sanity' is a retelling of the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde mixed with Jack the Ripper. Anthony Perkins stars as Dr Henry Jekyll, who transforms into the murderous Mr Hyde when an accident occurs in his lab at home.

Scarred by a memory of his childhood when he witnessed his father having sex with a prostitute, he starts killing prostitutes when in Hyde state. Hyde thus becomes Henry's vengeful alter ego. As Dr Jekyll, he is a brilliant doctor married to Elizabeth. When Henry starts going out every night, Elizabeth gets suspicious about his nightly activities. Henry justifies his actions, saying he is attending to a patient who can only see him at night.

It felt as if the film relied too heavily on Anthony Perkins and make-up to make the story work, when in fact it didn't. The film is weird, and many of the scenes played like the director's (threesome) sexual fantasies visualized on screen. Interestingly, most of these scenes involved Henry, a prostitute and another man. Although not a gay movie, Henry often came across as a man with homosexual tendencies. (Not sure whether this was the intent or not, to allow for a different kind of Jekyll and Hyde...).

'Edge of Sanity' is a horror-thriller slasher with erotic elements thrown in the mix. It is one of the lesser interesting versions of Jekyll and Hyde I've seen. Had it not been for Anthony Perkins, this could easily have been just another B-horror.

Set primarily in a theatre, this confined space - and the fact the victims were locked inside - elevated the suspense in this Italian slasher horror.

During rehearsals for a stage play, Alicia sprains her ankle. Although Peter, the director, doesn't want anyone to leave the theatre, Alicia and her friend Betty sneak out to the nearest medical centre for help.

While at the centre, Irving Wallace, a former actor - now insane - who killed several people, escapes from the institution. Alicia and Betty return to the theatre, and is followed by Irving. When a tragedy occurs, ambitious Peter decides to change the murderous character in his play to Irving Wallace, attempting to cash in on the events.

But when they all find themselves locked inside the theatre with no way out, the night becomes a fight for survival as the maniacal masked killer stalks them one by one. The creepy owl mask creates a very different and memorable looking villain. The kill scenes are gory, and it is easy to see why 'Stagefright' became a classic (sort of).

Victor doesn't have all that many friends. He loves making movies, and he loves his dog Sparky. When Sparky is run over and killed by a car, a science experiment compels Victor to test the theory. Combined with his genius mind, and genuine love for Sparky, the experiment is a success and Sparky returns.

When Sparky's 'friend' Edgar blackmails Victor into telling him the secret, he in turn tells his friends. With the upcoming Science Fair, it now becomes a race against time for students to improve on the formula and bring back the dead. Off course, the situation soon spirals out of control when the dead start causing havoc.

The characters look just like characters from Tim Burton's 'The Corpse Bride', and by golly Mr. Rzykruski resembles Vincent Price to perfection! 'Frankenweenie' is a satirical movie, mocking the likes of werewolves, vampires, Van Helsing, Gremlins, The Mummy, Godzilla, and off course Frankenstein. If you're familiar with all these characters and movies, you'll revel in the hilarity of it all. Oh, and that classic Frankenstein ending!! I loved this.