Villian(s)  Deformed man using serum

Actor(s):  Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mike Raven, Richard Hurndall

Brief Description  I, Monster is a 1971 British horror film produced by Amicus Productions and directed by Stephen Weeks. It is a highly faithful yet unique adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic 1886 novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While keeping the core narrative intact, the film implements a creative shift by filtering the story through a Freudian psychological lens and modifying the names of the iconic lead characters.

Plot:
The story takes place in London at the turn of the 20th century. Rather than being a traditional medical doctor or alchemist, Dr. Charles Marlowe is a pioneering psychologist heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud's newly emerging theories on the human mind. At a gentleman's club, Marlowe debates human morality with his friends—lawyer Frederick Utterson, Dr. Lanyon, and Mr. Enfield. Marlowe posits that human nature is split entirely between good and evil and can be physically separated. In his laboratory, Marlowe successfully invents a revolutionary, mind-altering serum designed to strip away human inhibitions, effectively disabling the conscious ego and superego to unleash the raw, primal id. Marlowe begins using his unsuspecting psychiatric patients as human guinea pigs. He injects a prim, repressed female patient, Diane Thomas, who immediately loses her social inhibitions and attempts to sedate and seduce him. He injects an angry male patient, who instantly regresses into a weeping, wretched, and childlike state. Curious about what the serum would do to a person over repeated doses, Marlowe decides to test the serum on himself. The drug strips away his moral conscience and transforms him physically and mentally into a cruel, hedonistic alter ego named Edward Blake.

Blake’s nighttime rampages turn violent. He callously tramples a young girl in an alley and later murders a man named Deane with a gold-topped cane—a weapon stolen from Marlowe's past (implying childhood trauma from an abusive father). To cover up the trampling, Blake flees into Marlowe’s estate and cuts a hush-money check drawn from Marlowe's bank account. Frederick Utterson handles the legal fallout and notices the financial connection. Utterson, entirely unaware of the scientific breakthrough, logically deduces that the mysterious, vile Edward Blake is viciously blackmailing his dear friend Dr. Marlowe. Marlowe eventually realizes he is losing control. The serum has permanently altered his brain chemistry, causing him to transform spontaneously into Blake without injecting the drug. Desperate, he attempts to lock himself away, but his supply of the necessary antidote chemical runs dry. Utterson breaks into Marlowe's quarters to confront Blake and save his friend. Instead, he discovers the horrific truth: Marlowe and Blake are the exact same person. A frantic, violent struggle ensues inside the laboratory. During the fight, a fire breaks out, devouring the laboratory. Blake is fatally wounded and falls to his death. As life leaves his body, the monstrous physical traits fade away, leaving the peaceful, deceased face of Dr. Marlowe for Utterson to mourn.