Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype

Oliver Reed plays an ugly (almost monster like) foot doctor who turns into a handsome from a formula created by a fellow scientist (mel welles), but with violent reaction. Lots of funny moments and well-written film that should've been a cult classic. Lots of great supporting stars (which features most of the cast from Griffith's UP FROM THE DEPTH and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS), but character actor Dick Miller steals the scenes as a garbage man who talks to himself (Miller told me Jonathan Haze was supposed to be the other garbage man, but couldn't do it, so Dick had to play other roles like a schizo!). I was surprised Reed did this film at the time, and he did a performance that most people would've never thought he could do. Maybe if this film was released bigger, more people would've saw Reed can do comedy. Recommended.

What's considered one of Cannon Pictures and Oliver Reed's worst movies has ironical casting since Reed, back in his Hammer beginnings, appeared as a pimp-bouncer in their own Dr. Jekyll adaptation...

And in the satirical DR. HECKYL AND MR. HYPE, as a ghoulish-looking yet sweet-natured podiatrist, he alters into the dashing counterpart, an overweight Reed, not all that mainstream-handsome but fitfully formidable, as the best scenes are of the body count nature, killing loose women he dates yet still can't score with...

All the while in love with the film's best attribute in future FLASHDANCE sidekick Sunny Johnson, who seems to like even the ugly side of the friendly doctor, and, had this role been expanded in-between what needed more random murders around her, HYPE could've harbored a neat barrage of deliberately campy, ultra-violent fun...

Unfortunately too much time's spent on the scientific side of things with Reed's horrendously unfunny fellow doctors and a few trailing cops during hard-to-see 11th hour night-shots, punctuating the super low budget that actually looks pretty decent in the daylight, when Reed's double-performance is more visibly sympathetic and involving.

it's obviously not supposed to be "great" movie, but for the hilarious horror/comedy it is, one would take this as it is. a breath of fresh air for the over bloated 70s/80s horror movie market. it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it shouldn't have to. viewing this ridiculous movie for what it is, it is a beautiful depiction of a shitty movie made enjoyable through writing and acting. oliver reed does a magnificent job playing both lead roles, even while switching between the two. looking for a well written movie with unexpected plot twists, it is obviously not going to rate very well. it was 1980, why would you make a super deep movie with every opportunity for criticism? while writing this i would obviously assume it's not to be under the scrutiny of every movie buff this side of the Mississippi. take it for what it is, a ridiculous horror movie with a brand new twist on the old, often retold, story of the doctor that creates more than what he meant to create. great for what it is, and hardly a moment wasted. 8 thumbs up.

..... mixture of spoof, return to the earliest Three Stooges brand of yok-yok comedy, and morality tale. No one could ever believe in Oliver Reed as the traditionally handsome love interest -- so how about an off-beat, chemically alluring (artificial pheromones?) hunk of sleaze? this was written, cast, directed, filmed, and packaged as a Midnight Madness "D" grade flick for T.V. cultists. And very successfully. I get a huge kick out of it on those rare occasions when I have a chance to see it again. One of these days I hope to be able to save a copy of my own -- then I can see it at least once every six or seven months. If you want a real horror flick, though, look somewhere else. And if you only like Acadamy Award selections, DEFINITELY take a pass on this little marvel.

Reading the reviews and seeing how the film has the critics pretty divided, I decided to add my five cents and break a lance for "Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype".

The film is a rather bizarre affair, perhaps best compared to the slapstick-version "Jeckyll and Hyde … Together Again" (another underrated, pretty obscure spoof of Robert Louis Stevensons theme), although it's not quiet as slapstick-fueled and at the same time more anarchistic. If "Jeckyll and Hyde … Together Again" is a variation of "Naked Gun" or "Airplane", "Heckyl and Hype" seems to have climbed straight out of a "Mad"-magazine.

Oliver Reed obviously wasn't a born comedian but he has a rather dry, straight-faced humour that comes natural (which Reed has proved before in his portrayal of Tommy's father in Ken Russell's movie). This makes it much more comfortable than the forced slapstick of many actors who fancy themselves comedians. And of course (in his incantation of Mr. Hype), he isn't the Adonis that the movie makes him out to be; again, it's not the looks but his charm and there is no denying that "Sir Ollie" was a lady's man in his times. In his role as the ill-fated Dr. Heckyl Reed plays it lovable, evoking both sympathy and pity. Even if this type of humour doesn't tickle your funny bone, it remains an obscurity for being one of Reeds few comedic efforts.

Other than that, the movie is filled with weird & whacko characters played by Virgil Frye, Kedrick Wolf or Mel Welles. And, not to forget, the sadly departed Sunny Johnson as Dr. Heckyls love interest is cute like a button. And watch out for Dick Miller, playing a schizophrenic garbage-collector with multiple personalities, stealing all the scenes he's in.

As said: it's not for everybody. The fans of more intellectual comedies and followers of Woody Allen won't get too much out of it and, to mention that too, it's not altogether "politically-correct" – regarding obese women, colored midgets and paediatricians faces like a rubber Halloween-mask – but if you have a connection to that inner-child and a love for the trash-cinema of the 1970's and 80's, you might well give it a try and be pleasantly surprised.

Or maybe not – I still give it 7/10 points and that's based on personal preferences and as a dedicated Oliver Reed fan.