The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue Blu-ray Movie Review

Life before internet porn.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 10, 2014

“The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio”

1971’s “The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio” is notable for being one of the rarest VHS releases during the format’s reign during the 1980s and ‘90s. Why collectors would go crazy for such a weirdo piece of work is beyond me, but the game of exclusivity seldom makes sense. Something tells me the treasure hunters that went after the tape never actually sat down and watched it. A softcore oddity that merges chilly sexuality with extreme violence, “The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio” appears to be inspired by the 1886 Robert Louis Stevenson novella, but most likely came into existence after a night of heavy drinking.

The plot, and I’m being generous with that description, concerns the investigative activities of Detective Kinkaid (Donn Greer), who’s been summon to the Florence Nightingale Institute to solve the murder of a nursing student, who was stabbed with a pitchfork while riding a swing, with the killer marking his territory by carving star-shaped wounds on the body. Dr. Cabala (Sebastian Brook) can’t believe the news, offering assistance as his concern for his vulnerable female students grows. Suspects are numerous, including deformed mute Moss (Hump Hardy), with the murders increasing in severity as the hours pass, forcing the staff and the students to have sex with one other as the mysterious figure picks them off one by one.

It’s difficult to understand the point of such a production, with its wild swings in tone leaving the viewer caught between titillation and terror as violence and sex are clumsily braided to pique the curiosity of exploitation fanatics. Director Eric Jeffrey Haims has only a tentative grasp on the material, displaying his inexperience as actors, editing, and cinematography suffer tremendously, making the whole shebang a goofy distraction with terrible technique. Haims makes John Waters look like David Fincher, and “The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio” is a treasure trove of no-budget shenanigans. To simply endure it, one must release any expectation of moviemaking competence before the Blu-ray case is even unwrapped.

While it pursues a serial killer story of sorts, Haims is more interested in undressing his leading ladies. “The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio” doesn’t waste an opportunity to stage a sex scene, offering lascivious upskirt and undressing shots to supplement the carnal activity. Of course, the moments are accompanied by a blend of 1930’s serial scoring and, ahem, calliope music, which doesn’t butter up the parade of flesh at all, but it is hilarious. Also highly amusing are stabs at horror, with the carnage unable to make its intended impression when Haims utilizes obvious mannequins to stand-in for beheaded bodies. In fact, the only thing truly disturbing about the production are moments involving the dissection of a frog -- a gruesome bit of blood and guts Haims returns to twice, just for emphasis, or perhaps he truly believes there’s scientific value to the movie.

“The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio” struggles to be a procedural thriller, a sex extravaganza, and the chiller, always managing to fall flat on its face in a fairly entertaining fashion (the closing shot almost saves the whole thing). It’s clumsy, but its ineptitude is the only reason to keep watching.

“A Clockwork Blue”

Haims returns with 1972’s “A Clockwork Blue,” which removes the urge to scare with the need to tickle, stealing beats from the Looney Tunes collection to fashion a time-travel farce that’s devoid of timing and content. And, for reasons not entirely understood, it’s also screamingly racist. Although it’s much of an improvement over “The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio,” “A Clockwork Blue” does have the advantage of creative growth, with Haims showing improvement with actors and visual proficiency. It’s not much, but anything is better than nothing.

A clumsy assistant to a brilliant scientist who’s about to crack the code on time travel, Homer (Joe E. Tata) acquires a magical watch that facilitates such navigation. Sent through the highlights of history, Homer becomes the Scarlet Pimpernel and pilgrim John Howland, is tasked with painting Anne Boleyn, meets Eric the Red, and tests the patience of Caesar. Falling into trouble during every stop on the tour, Homer narrowly avoids death, using his limited wit to stave off outside curiosity and return to his original year.

“A Clockwork Blue” doesn’t have a budget, but it does feature enough bold colors emerging from backgrounds and costuming to help forget that the whole film takes place on a single set, with cardboard decorations helping to sell specific time periods. It’s not a massive leap in directorial confidence from Haims, but the effort is noticeable, attempting to cough up a cartoon vibe that emphasizes mischief, broad takes, and Tata doing his best Jerry Lewis impression, packaged up in a time travel premise that permits a change of scenery every ten minutes, keeping the movie on the go. At least in theory.

Did I forget to mention the hardcore sex scenes? While working to sell dreadful punchlines and wheezy scenarios, Haims forgets to make the carnal activity exciting, spending a few minutes in every time period observing actresses work with their flaccid co-stars or simply disrobe. If it’s bawdiness Haims was after, he misses the off ramp, instead cruising straight on through to discomfort as the talent looks as though they’re being held at gunpoint, ordered to “make with the whoopee.” If the jokes weren’t bad enough, the titillation factor here ranks somewhere around “Shoah.”

“A Clockwork Blue” is bizarre and relentless with its mediocrity, making it ideal for those who love bad cinema peppered with bad ideas. The largest of which is rampant stereotyping, introduced with a bewildering opening that finds a black man and a Jewish guy in heaven, offered a single wish to make their dreams come true. The black character asks for a million dollars, and proceeds to act as a Greek chorus of sorts, watching Homer’s odyssey on a watermelon television. If you can get past the eye-poppingly insensitive opening five minutes of “A Clockwork Blue,” the rest is a piece of cake.

The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image presentations on both films (1.78:1 aspect ratios) display considerable differences befitting a double feature viewing experience. "Jekyll and Hyde" is in rough shape, with damage, debris, and harsh reel changes, missing an exhaustive restoration process to clean it up in full (and nobody was expecting that). In my opinion, the frayed appearance of the movie adds to the event, giving an unseemly picture a proper presentation, and one that's commendable with color, bringing out what passes for primaries, with hues emerging mostly from costuming and red bloodshed. Considering the source material, some solid blacks and imbalance in grain consistency is to be expected, while detail is acceptable for a softer, low-budget effort. "A Clockwork Blue" looks fresher, with less overt damage and pronounced colors, while sharpness is more available, keeping textures from fabrics and skin open for inspection. It's easily the better looking picture of the pair.

The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 DTS-HD sound mix for both "Jekyll and Hide" and "A Clockwork Blue" are marred a bit by dullness, with the latter film difficult to understand at times as the insistent score steamrolls over the dialogue. Both mixes have their problems, fighting hiss and damage, but all is not lost, with basic elements of performance and sound effects detailed adequately, but never remarkably. Again, chalk it up to the rarity of such titles, with Vinegar Syndrome likely doing the best they could with limited resources.

The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is a no supplementary material on this disc.

The Jekyll and Hyde Portfolio / A Clockwork Blue Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Who could've predicted that a day would come when one could own two works from Eric Jeffrey Haims on Blu-ray? Well, the fine folks at Vinegar Syndrome have made the transition painless with this fine release, presenting those interested in the wilds of cult cinema to take in a fresh view of two movies that look better here than they probably did when initially released.