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Released by: Warner Brothers
Released on: October 18, 2005.
Director: Rolfe Kanefsky
Cast: Gabriella Hall, Blythe Metz, Delpano Willis
Year: 2005
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The Movie:
It's strange how movies that look really terrible for various reasons surprise you, and it's strange how sometimes these movies are a lot like other movies that also look really terrible and manage to surprise you. Case in point, Jacqueline Hyde, which is a version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story with a sexy twist - kinda like Seduction Cinema's Misty Mundae vehicle, Dr. Jekyll And Mrs. Hyde. I'll be honest, I expected both of these low budget boobfests to be nothing more than cheap sexploitation but both times I was proven wrong. Don't mistake me, there is plenty of skin on display and we're not reinventing the wheel here or anything, but like Dr. Jekyll And Mrs. Hyde, Rolfe Kanefsky's movie does manage to tell a reasonably good story in and around some fun sexy set pieces.
A woman named Jackie Hyde spends her days and sometimes her early nights making ends meet working in the thrilling world of telemarketing. She's one of those annoying people who call you up when you least expect it and pester you to buy crap you don't need or take surveys that always somehow manage to turn into sales pitches. At any rate, she hates her job and isn't afraid to show it by the time we're introduced to her.
When her grandfather dies in the strange opening of the film, Jackie gets an inheritence that includes his old house. Soon she moves in, and it doesn't take long before she starts poking around. She discovers that her grandfather was up to a lot more than she first though and when she finds a room full of laboratory gear and test tubes full of strange chemicals, she can't help but try her hand at a little mad science herself. Of course, things get messed up and soon Jackie isn't feeling like her old self any more…in fact, Jackie's starting to feel like whoever she wants to feel as the formula that has made its way into her system gives her the strange ability to turn into anyone she wants to turn into.
From there, it all leads to highjinks! Jackei turns into a few different people - first the young lady who lives next door, then that same young ladies hunky young boyfriend. You can imagine what happens from there. She morphs into a high fashion model whose look she cops out of a magazine, and gets it on with any one and any thing she sets her sites on!
Not just a sex film, Jacqueline Hyde does throw a couple of minor twists at you as the movie works its way to a conclusion. The performances are good enough for what the film asks of its actors and actresses and the direction is at times rather stylish without going too over the top. The focus, however, is definitely on the more risque aspects of the film first and foremost and it does deliver in that regard.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer does a fine job of bringing the film to your home theater in style. The colors look good, the black levels look strong, and there aren't any issues with print damage. Some of the dark scenes do look a bit too dark and as such some of the detail gets a bit muddy at times but other than that, there's really very little to complain about here in terms of the video presentation.
The English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track is pretty good, to be honest. Dialogue is clean, clear and free of any hiss or distortion. Bass response is strong without ever becoming overwhelming and the background music and sound effects levels are properly balanced. Every once in a while there is a bit of wonkiness with some of the directional effects but other than that this is an above average sound mix for a low budget straight to video feature.
Director Rolfe Kanefsky is joined by Gabriella Hall and Blythe Metz for a full length commentary track that covers the origins of the film. While the three partipants definitely could have gone more in depth on certain things and provided more technical details, we still end up with a pretty thorough examination of how it all came together. Kanefsky covers some details as to how he got certain performers on board while the ladies give some interesting anecdotes about their characters and their respective roles.
Up next is a selection of brief deleted scenes (the scenes are brief but they add up to over twenty minutes when it's all said and done), one of which gives some background on the grandfather character from the film, the rest of which more or less show some slightly stronger T&A footage. A quick making of featurette is also included and while it feels rather promotional in spots, there's some cool behind the scenes footage in here that makes it worth a look. Filmographies, a still gallery and a trailer round out the supplements.
The Final Word:
Jacqueline Hyde isn't pretending to be high art and as a sexy thriller with plenty of gratuitous skin on display, it works and it works well. A few nice visuals, a decent performance and an interesting if predictable story make it worth a look.