Hammer Films has released the first trailer for Doctor Jekyll, its forthcoming adaptation of the classic horror story, starring British comedian Eddie Izzard.
Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the film stars Izzard, 61, as the recluse Doctor Nina Jekyll, who finds friendship in her newly hired help, Rob (Scott Chambers).
The teaser opens as Rob is welcomed into Nina’s isolated mansion.
“Nina Jekyll is excellence incarnate, she demands the same from others,” the house manager informs him. “There are cameras in almost every room. Nina has been resistant to co-existing with staff – until you.”
“I hate you working for Nina Jekyll, all alone up there,” a woman tells Rob, who explains that he “has a daughter and to see her, I need this job”.
“When ex-convict Rob takes the carer position to the infamous Nina Jekyll, little does he know he’s part of an evil master plan devised by her alter ego Rachel Hyde,” an official logline states. “But to what lengths will Rob go to satisfy his client’s weird wishes and his own ambitions for the daughter he has never even seen?”
The movie, which also stars Lindsay Duncan and Simon Callow, is a modern reimagining of the classic, which tells the story of London-based legal practitioner Gabriel John Utterson, who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old friend Dr Henry Jekyll and a murderous criminal Edward Hyde.
Directed by Joe Stephensen, Doctor Jekyll is the first release from the recently resurrected Hammer Film Productions, following the company’s acquisition by theatre and entertainment mogul John Gore.
Doctor Jekyll will have its red carpet premiere on 11 October at London’s Odeon in Leicester Square, before its release in UK cinemas on 27 October.
Izzard, who additionally goes by the name Suzy, is currently on the North American leg of her Remix Comedy Live tour. She will wrap up in Dallas, Texas on 5 November, before embarking on the UK leg of the tour, which starts in Glasgow on 8 November.
