Anthony Andrews as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Charity Bishop

Anthony Andrews’s portrayal of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of his most disturbing and unforgettable performances. Far removed from his charming heroic roles, Andrews brings a chilling intensity to Hyde that transforms the classic Victorian tale into a meditation on sin, conscience, and moral collapse. Rather than relying on gore or spectacle, this adaptation unsettles through uncertainty, forcing the audience to confront the terrifying question at the heart of Robert Louis Stevenson’s story: what happens when evil is indulged instead of restrained?

On a dark and stormy night… well, actually, on a rainy afternoon. I’d been living in the apartment complex for a few months, and my BFF was visiting. As usual, I kept my eyes open for something we both might enjoy. A few days earlier, in the dusty archives of the library, I found The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring none other than our shared favorite obscure British actor, Anthony Andrews.

Usually, I watch things first before sharing them with other people, in case there’s anything in them that might offend the other person. This time, I didn’t. Foolishly, I wanted us to experience it at the same time. So we sat down with our chocolate and bunny slippers, and pushed Play.

Twenty minutes later, we were both approaching trauma. I’m not sure if it was the subtle menace of the film, or that our lovely Anthony could play Mr. Hyde, the monstrous, cruel, callous, brutal murderer with such… well, ease. That charming, sweet baby face that won over our hearts as Sir Percy was now cold, taut, and cruel. And we didn’t know what he would do. Since I hadn’t watched it first, I couldn’t reassure her he wouldn’t rape someone (he doesn’t, but not for a lack of menacing). We kept shrinking smaller and smaller on the couch, fearing he would do something truly unforgiveable… and when it was over, we were both relieved. The horror of not knowing what he would or wouldn’t do seared it into my mind.

The details did not stick with me, but the remembrance of dreading what might happen did. It took me ten years to pluck up the courage to give the film another go… and I experienced the same dread since I’d blocked most of it from my mind. Putting aside the fact that Andrews does full-blown evil well (I’ve seen him do it before, from Moriarty to Murdstone, but never with quite this level of menace), it left me, as usual, with much to think about.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has been a favorite Victorian horror story of mine since I discovered it in my teens. I love stories that ask their audience to think, and Robert Louis Stevenson threw lots of thought-provoking ideas into his book. Dr. Jekyll, in an idealistic desire to eradicate evil, creates a serum he believes will allow him to separate good from evil. Unfortunately, under its influence he becomes the cruel and murderous Mr. Hyde. For a short time, allowing his dark side out is a liberating experience, but after prolonged exposure to Hyde, the antidote that turns him back into Jekyll fails to work, and Jekyll becomes a victim of Hyde’s devouring nature.

The story asks, “Are humans basically good, or evil?” Jekyll believes the former but discovers the latter too late to save himself; he is not good, but an awful man lives inside him, held at bay through his moral conscience and timidity. Christians share this view, although not to that extreme (I doubt there is a murderer in most of us): mankind is evil and if left to their own devices without the check of a conscience, will grow less and less like God, and more and more like our “earthly” father, Satan. The story takes it a step further by asking, if you allow evil into your life, will it overcome the good?

Considering how Hyde first indulges the whims of Jekyll, and at the conclusion has complete control over him, one may suppose yes, this is the case. It’s the same old story told a thousand times over in history. One indulgence of sin leads to another and becomes an all-consuming fire (symbolized in this film by Hyde inside an inferno of his own making, Jekyll throwing himself into hell to save humanity from his evil). Is it any wonder the Bible tells us to turn away from sin? I’m reminded of another morality tale, A.S. Byatt’s Possession, in which the heroine states, “One cannot stand in a fire and not be consumed.”

The reason the story is so disturbing doesn’t lie in its excesses, but in the questions it begs of its audience. Is there a Mr. Hyde lurking in all of us? What would we be at our absolute worst? Who are we truly? It makes me grateful I’ve never had to look in a mirror and see my Mr. Hyde.