The duality of good and evil in humanity is a subject of both horror and fascination. What happens when fascination overcomes horror and our explorations of humanity's darker side take us too close to that forbidden chasm? Eden's apple takes on a new form as Henry Jekyll develops a formula that miraculously transforms him into the hideous Mr. Hyde. Described by author Robert Louis Stevenson as dwarfish and deformed in appearance, Jekyll's evil side is released from the moral constraints of civilized Victorian England and unleashed on those who blunder across his path. Initially fascinated by the freedom he experiences, Jekyll finds, in time, that he can no longer control the transformation and the evil Mr. Hyde takes over completely.

Filmmakers have portrayed Stevenson's creation in a variety of ways. In one silent version, the actor uses no make-up to accomplish the transformation but relies totally on expressions. In Frederick March's famous portrayal, Hyde resembles a Neanderthal Man, shedding civilization for brute domination. Evil is viewed, in this version, as a buried remnant of humanity's savage past. So who is the real Mr. Hyde? A demon from hell or simply an escaped animal--an unchained id-- following its instincts of self-preservation and domination? Perhaps he's both.