gavin6942 Henry Jekyll (Anthony Perkins) experiments with cocaine, and the experiments have gotten out of control, transforming him into the hideous Jack Hyde. As Hyde he searches the London streets at night for his prey in whorehouses and opium dens.Early in the film, we see a blade against an eye. This is a very impressive effect, clearly looking like a real eye and areal blade. (I mean, it is not "Un Chien Andalou", but what is?) There is one scene with a bath house full of several nude men, one of whom is in a rather suggestive pose. I am surprised this passed the censors. While not sexual, this seemed a bit provocative to me. And what purpose did it serve? Was this just a way of showing the paradoxes and contradictions in Victorian society? Is this an anti-drug film? I would say no, as it is not remotely a realistic portrayal of cocaine addiction. They could have just as easily invented a new drug for the purposes of the film. And yet, they did not do so -- so why single out cocaine?

callanvass This is a wonderfully twisted take, on Jekyll&Hyde, that's an underrated gem,with an imaginative story and an amazing performance from Anthony Perkins!. All the characters are just great, and it's also very sleazy as well, plus Anthony Perkins is simply amazing in this!. This has to be my favorite Jekyll&Hyde movie, and I thought it was very well made and written, plus this is one of Perkin's most underrated movies. Anthony Perkins is at his most bizarre here, and I absolutely loved it! and it does not have your usual type ending for a Jekyll&Hyde/Jack The Ripper type film, plus the makeup on Perkins was really cool. A lot of people complained this was too unpleasant and sleazy, however I disagree completely as it's refreshingly different for a Jekyll&Hyde film,plus this should be higher then 4.6 in my opinion. It also has a lot of creepy atmosphere as well, and the stalking scenes were great, plus the death scenes are very brutal and gory as well!. This is a wonderfully twisted take on Jekyll&Hyde, that's an underrated gem, with an imaginative story and an amazing performance from Anthony Perkins, and I say it's a must see!. The Direction is awesome!. Gérard Kikoïne does an awesome! job here, with excellent camera work, great use of colors, adding lots of creepy atmosphere, using effective stalking sequences, and just keeping the film at a very fast pace.There is tons of blood and violence. We get a nasty eye gash,bloody whip marks,bloody slit throats, slashed throats,bloody stabbings, stabbing in the forehead,bloody corpses,sink full of blood, slashing's,and lots of blood!.The Acting is wonderful!. Anthony Perkins is amazing as always and is amazing here, he is at his most bizarre, was wonderfully intense, had some great lines, played crazy like no one can, and as Hyde he is actually somewhat frightening, as Jekyll he is likable and innocent, and gave two really commanding performances, this is one of his best roles as far as i'm concerned! (Perkins Rules!!!!!!!). Glynis Barber is beautiful and does excellent as the wife, she was very likable, and handled herself very well, I liked her lots. Sarah Maur Thorp is just plain creepy as Susannah, and gave me the creeps, she was very convincing. Rest of the cast do fine. Overall a must see!. **** out of 5

Judexdot1 I've had the unrated version for this, since about the time I started buying tapes. Gerard Kikoine (once a Jess Franco disciple!) really cuts loose with this one, and he brings Anthony Perkins along for the ride! Despite ubiquitous art direction that sacrifices much for the "look" ( the lab has numerous beakers, all filled to the same level, with blue liquid. What it is, I don't know). Perkins really goes off as the respected scientist, who unleashes his inner self through experiments with the new drug, cocaine. He even somehow, apparently creates some sort of Crack, that can be lit with a wooden fireplace match!?! Production values are surprisingly high! Like a friend of mine said, I could almost buy into the idea, that Jack The Ripper was a sexually frustrated scientist experimenting with new drugs. Lush, often restrained, but also often quite gory. Probably more in tune with 70's arty euro-porn, than the history of horror films, this is often quite disturbing, and Perkins is at his best. Almost assured of a better reputation as time goes on. Don't miss, at least once.Pax--Judexdot1--

hippiedj *CONTAINS SPOILERS*Those who have been dogging Edge Of Sanity should have known what they were getting into before they watched this film -- the film summaries on the video packaging alone gave enough warning that this was going to be a twisted story full of perverse material. I for one am not afraid to say I really LIKE this film! I first saw it in an "unrated" edition on VHS back when it was first released on home video in the late 1980s, and I was enthralled. Now, MGM has released it on DVD in what I think is the closest to that unrated version there is, if in fact it is "re-edited" like the notice on IMDb. I wouldn't be surprised if this DVD edition was actually that original unrated version, as many titles have been showing up on MGM DVD in uncut editions with the original MPAA rating on the cover. While experimenting with anesthetics, Dr. Henry Jekyll accidentally inhales fumes from an altered drug. This unleashes not only ability to act out his inhibitions, it unleashes repressed sexual feelings he had experienced as humiliation during his childhood. He then goes on a killing spree, murdering prostitutes in the area (possibly to get back at the woman who laughed and taunted him in his childhood?). He also obsesses over a prostitute named Susannah that looks just like that woman from his past, and rather than kill her he relishes in her similarly shared dark nature when he gets her to inhale the drug. Note that near the ending, Johnny is hanging upside down while Susannah laughs maniacally, mirroring the opening scene. This brings the film full circle. It's a fascinating idea that Henry Jekyll/Jack Hyde is also Jack The Ripper.Yes, Edge Of Sanity is sinister, twisted, perverse, and trashy. It's also lavish, elegant, and beautifully done, and downright intriguing. The cinematography is excellent (the DVD is a vast improvement over the old VHS of Unrated and R versions), the costumes are a wow, and the music score is superb as well as appropriate to the scenes it enhances. A lot of imagination went into this production, and it's unfair to say it's an inappropriate film. I found it to be more disturbing and wickedly fun than the more recent FROM HELL (which was more a CGI visual feast) and more sexually appropriate than the grandiose arthouse T&A of EYES WIDE SHUT. There's a fair amount of sex, nudity (more full frontal male nudity in a bathhouse scene than the topless prostitutes combined), and even a hint of male bisexuality during Hyde's tryst with Susannah and Johnny. It also says a lot about how things haven't changed so much in society's decadence in issues of drugs and sex. The only thing that I found distracting was that during the rooftop scene, the actress playing the prostitute seemed to have breast implants, something I'm sure that is quite wrong in the context of the time the film is taking place!Anthony Perkins chews the scenery well, playing his part of Jack Hyde to the hilt. It would be hard to think of any other actor that could have carried this part so well. Those who adored him in Psycho, Pretty Poison, and Crimes Of Passion will find a lot to love about his role in Edge Of Sanity. For film collectors of the dark and sinister, this is a nice addition and I am happy that MGM has rescued this film from obscurity for a whole new audience to discover as well as make established fans like myself very, very happy.Call it trash if you want to, but it's quality, wicked, ELEGANT trash!