Suzy Eddie Izzard is Doctor Jekyll in atmospheric first trailer for new gothic horror film
Eddie Suzy Izzard as Doctor Jekyll in upcoming horror flick. (Hammer Films)
Comedian, actor and trans activist Eddie Suzy Izzard will star as infamous literary character Doctor Jekyll in a “dark twisted fairytale” re-imagining of the classic horror tale.
The first trailer for the Hammer Horror flick Doctor Jekyll – based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde – stars Izzard as the enigmatic and reclusive Doctor Nina Jekyll/Rachel Hyde, a pharmaceutical industry business tycoon living in a secluded mansion.
The official synopsis reads: “An isolated mansion, a mysterious locked room, creepy corridors, a dusty cellar and a mad doctor… When ex-convict Rob (Scott Chambers) 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.
“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 trailer, set to increasingly suspenseful music, shows a creepy and spine-tingling split performance from Izzard as the stakes are raised higher and higher.
Directed by Joe Stephenson and written by Dan Kelly-Mulhern, the cast also features Simon Callow, Jonathan Hyde, Morgan Watkins and Robyn Cara.
In an interview with Fangoria, Stephenson spoke about the choice to cast Izzard in the beloved horror role, after confirming Dr Nina Jekyll is a trans woman in this adaptation.
“There’ve been over 100 cinematic adaptations of Stevenson’s novella, but there has never been a trans Dr. Jekyll,” Stephenson told the publication.
“There seem to be some assumptions that because Nina is a trans character, we are somehow going to make it about gender. That is not the case; the themes of our film are true to the original work.”
Stephenson is keen to emphasise that Nina is much more than her trans identity.
“I feel like certain demographics need help seeing past people’s gender identity. Nina Jekyll’s trans-ness isn’t everything she is, at all”, he said.
Doctor Jekyll opens in UK cinemas on 27 October, 2023.
