Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		1.5

The Man with Two Heads Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 5, 2021

Note: This film is available as part of The Dungeon of Andy Milligan.

Lovers of what might be charitably termed Grade Z Cinema have had a number of outstanding releases by a variety of labels over the past few years. Arrow has offered fans surprisingly deluxe-ified (that's a word, I insist) editions of The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast and Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection, among others, while Severin Films has gotten into exploring this decidedly odd nook and/or cranny with releases like Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection. Severin's back with more, um, "masterpieces" with this inventively packaged homage to the late Andy Milligan, a kinda sorta auteur whose professional life had more than its fair share of hurdles, and whose personal life unfortunately ended up not being much better. The 14 films (with one bonus film in HD, Toga Party) aggregated in this set are exploitation outings at their "finest" (?), which means those with more patrician tastes are probably well advised to steer completely clear of this release. Those with grittier sensibilities will find some at times oddly entertaining movies and Severin's usual supply of appealing supplements.

A lot of Andy Milligan's horror outings play like (extremely) low rent versions of Roger Corman films, and in that regard it's kind of interesting to note that Corman never had an "official" hand in making an adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Milligan takes some of the underlying concepts of Robert Louis Stevenson's venerable tale, offering a kindly Dr. Jekyll (Denis DeMarne) who is attempting to separate the dark qualities of the human psyche from its lighter propensities, with, of course, tragedy ensuing. Kind of oddly, and for no discernable reason, Jekyll's alter ego (alter id?) in this version is not named Hyde, but Danny Blood, but he's very much in the Hyde mold, stalking prostitutes and slitting throats.

Milligan might have done better to stick to the source material a bit more closely, and he once again attempts to work in his maybe quasi-muse Berwick Kaler as Jekyll's assistant. The film has the typical Milligan gamut of acting styles, and the same tenuous connection to period costumes and sets. There's a probably unavoidable subtext here for those acquainted with some of Milligan's personal issues, and the film therefore will probably be perceived as downright objectionable to those who champion female empowerment.

The Man with Two Heads Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Man With Two Heads is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Severin's booklet included with this release has the following information on the transfer:

The Man With Two Heads (aka Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Blood) has been scanned and restored in 2K from its uncensored 16mm camera reversal, which reflects Andy Milligan's original director's cut. This version contains numerous extended and deleted scenes that were removed to secure a PG rating. Optical credits bearing Milligan's shooting title Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Blood were never created, so the title sequence has been sourced from one of the only surviving archival 35mm answer prints, held at the American Genre Film Archive. Audio was assembled from two sources: a 35mm optical soundtrack (which had been edited to conform to an MPAA 'R' rating), and the uncesored 16mm mag stripe.

This has an agreeably organic appearance, as do all of the films in the Milligan set, with a nicely gritty accounting of the 16mm source. The palette is fairly robust overall, but does tend to look just slightly faded and, in some selected moments, a bit hazy and blanched, almost as if there were an overlay of milky white. Detail levels can frankly be variable, and the film is understandably beset not just by inherent fuzziness, but by typical Milligan peccadilloes like bizarre framings and lack of accurate focus pulling. This is one of several presentations included in this set that have almost comically mutant levels of hairs stuck in the gate at times (see screenshot 9).

The Man with Two Heads Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Man With Two Heads features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that is more or less perfectly in line with most of the other tracks included in this set, meaning things are passable if hardly optimal. There are spikes and valleys in amplitude which can lead to at least slight issues of intelligibility, and other age related items like background hiss can creep through. But all in all there's no really significant damage to report. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Man with Two Heads Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 2:42)


• Party Sequence Alternate Version (HD; 2:14) comes with some prefatory text explaining the footage's history.


• * Remembering Andy Milligan (SD; 12:49) features reminiscences by set photographer Tom Vozza.

*Guru, the Mad Monk and this film share one disc, and this more generalized supplement is therefore included in both reviews.

The Man with Two Heads Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Milligan's take on the venerable source material is perhaps expectedly ham handed at times, but DeMarne seems to have had a field day playing this part and/or these parts. Video and audio aren't exactly stellar but are not beset with some of the more problematic issues facing some of the other transfers in this set, and the supplements on this disc are fun, for those who are considering making a purchase.