Doctor Jekyll, a brilliant scientist, in his conviction that Chemistry Can Do Anything, has just invented a potion that makes good people bad and bad people good. No more trouble with psychopaths! Being serious about science, he tests the potion on himself.
Predictably, his Shadow Archetype emerges and goes on a spree of smashing innocent arthropods, shouting slightly vile words at random people and generally bothering everyone.
And then, just as he begins to enjoy his new life, the police start looking for him...
An (we use the term, very, very loosely) adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Władysław Sikora and Studio A'yoy, filmed in Zielona Góra doubling for London. Which in the book was doubling for Edinburgh. A shining example of Sikora school of directing ("Just run around a lot").
Tropes! Tropes! Hahaha!:
- Abduction Is Love: Hyde kidnaps Lolita (on stage!), who isn't particularly happy about that.
- All Men Are Perverts: Johann takes the cake.Ann: Johann! What are you doing in my bed?
Johann: (wearing nothing but boxers and gloves) Checking if it's good. - And Another Thing...: Inspector Kowolsky (sic), as befits a Clueless Detective.
- Ate the Spoon: Jekyll's part in Contrast Montage ends with a horrifically mangled spoon.
- Baby Carriage: Just why Hyde steals one is... ah, right. He's evil.
- Baker Street Regular: One is trailing Kowolsky, saying nothing. For some reason. Which is snooping in Jekyll's lab, drinking the potion and becoming a horrible brat.
- Betty and Veronica: Jekyll is engaged to sunny, cute and domestic Ann, while Hyde wantonly seduces a cabaret singer, Lolita. And his infatuation starts bleeding over to Jekyll...Ann: You were undressing her in your mind!
Jekyll: No! I only took off her sweater! - Blatant Lies: When Ann starts suspecting him of something, Jekyll's excuses are lamer than a toppled llama. Also:Jekyll: I am innocent. Or, in any case, I'll confess to nothing.
- Bound and Gagged: Lolita, when kidnapped.
- The Cancan Song: A natural opening to the cabaret scene.
- Can't Take Criticism: Lolita can't stand that anyone dislikes her singing.
- Cigar Chomper: Kowolsky doesn't take his cigar out of his mouth. Ever.
- The Chanteuse: Somewhat low-budget version in Lolita, who would fit in a Western better.
- Contrast Montage: Johann cooking in the kitchen, Jekyll doing science in his lab, using the same gestures (and parsley). Set to merry music.
- Descended Creator: Władysław Sikora acts in all his movies, but has the biggest role (Johann, Jekyll's manservant) here.
- Dope Slap: Ann deals these to amorous Johann without even pausing their conversation.
- Driven to Suicide: A random cabaret patron, presumably by unrequited love for Lolita.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The sign on Jekyll's door says "Henry Jekyll. Human Experimentation".
- Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: "Mrs Brown's kitty is dead! So is her puppy! Who's next?!" A bit later the same newspaper boy shouts news that are actually about Hyde.
- Evil Laugh: Hyde. Also sports Evil Grins.
- Fainting: Ann, after her terrible ordeal with Hyde.
- For Science!: Johann snarkily remarks that Science Is Bad.Jekyll: I'm doing this for the progress, okay?
- Gender Bender: When Ann accidentally drinks Jekyll's potion, she turns into a bloke. This leads to an Unsettling Gender-Reveal when Hyde catches up with her/him.
- The Girl Who Fits This Slipper: Lolita tries to find Hyde by carrying around a shoe he's lost and making people try it on. Then she gets policemen to do this for her.
- Gossip Evolution: People come to a conclusion that Hyde has four arms. Panic ensues.
- Gothic Horror: ...ish. Source material helps.
- Gratuitous English: Hyde's graffiti includes the "f" word. And "No future". And "AC/DC". Vile.
- Gratuitous German: Lolita's song.
- Hand Puppet: The cabaret has an act with a guy inexplicably using these to tell awful jokes. He gets tomatoes thrown at him after the first one.
- Heel Realization: Kind of, when Jekyll realises he's really just a junkie.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: One of the cabaret patrons can throw a cigarette into her own mouth, every single time. Until Lolita gets kidnapped and the cabaret doesn't have any interesting act anymore.
- The Ingenue: Ann. Bit parodied.
- Insult Backfire: Hyde running around, spouting vaguely foul words, encounters a Streetwalker, who's utterly unimpressed.Hyde: Harlot!
Lady of negotiable affect: Yeah. - Jekyll & Hyde: Well, duh.
- Let's Duet: Somewhen, Johann has let Lolita out of the cellar and they're singing together in the ending. They end up Happily Married.
- The Madness Place: Jekyll is only interested in the development of his potion, leading Ann to the conclusion that he stopped loving her.
- Mad Scientist Laboratory: Jekyll's. But antidote to his potion looks like orange juice.
- Makes Just as Much Sense in Context: Johann is stroking a turtle in his first scene. And talking to it. We don't know why.
- Moment Killer: For a random couple. Another example of Hyde's early evilness.
- Mugging the Monster: Three random thugs try to rough up Hyde. They are made short shrift of. But two other, stronger ones succeed.
- No Hero to His Valet: Johann has zero respect for his employer. Then again, his employer is a bit of a Mad Scientist who throws stuff at him.Johann: (to the turtle) See, Jamie. If you work hard at school, you can become insane, too.
- Painting the Medium: When Jekyll is writing in his log, the voiceover slowly halts as his pen runs out of ink.
- Parasol of Prettiness: Ann in the park.
- Poke the Poodle: Hyde assures himself he's evil by (horror!) smashing a mosquito. Then he laughs. And that's just the start of his villainy.Hyde: (chasing a random girl) Ass! Stool! Snot!
- Polly Wants a Microphone: Parodied Trope - the parrot is stuffed, it's Johann screeching in a parrot-ish voice. And Jekyll calls him out on it.
- Produce Pelting: The cabaret "Biedronka" features acts so bad it has to provide the patrons with tomatoes, apparently.
- Professor Guinea Pig: Guess who.Jekyll: I'll drink this now to turn into an ugly, evil man. (proceeds to do so)
Hyde: (hoarsely) I drunk this, but I'm still beautiful. - Reactive Continuous Scream: Johann sees Hyde and screams. Hyde screams. Johann vanishes.
- Schizo Tech: Inspector Kowolsky has a voice recorder in what is supposed to be XIX century. Apparently Rule of Funny allows time travel.
- Screaming Woman: Ann, when she sees Hyde. Because he's holding a spider. Also, the random mother while accosted by him, and her friend at the sight of a policeman.
- Selective Obliviousness: Jekyll knows perfectly well who the "madman" who scared Ann so much was.Jekyll: I have been sleeping. Or pretending.
- Technicolor Science: A little purple, and Jekyll's potion is (of course) green.
- Torches and Pitchforks: A mob of concerned citizens enacts a manhunt for Hyde.
- Wacky Sound Effect: Johann is dusting with a duster, not with a vacuum cleaner (which would be anachronistic!).
- Would Hit a Girl: Hyde's evilness starts out petty, but he does degenerate into this.