Dr. Giggles (1992) Universal/Horror RT: 95 minutes Rated R (language, graphic violence, insane medical procedures, some sexual content) Director: Manny Coto Screenplay: Manny Coto and Graeme Whifler Music: Brian May Cinematography: Robert Draper Release date: October 23, 1992 (US) Cast: Larry Drake, Holly Marie Combs, Cliff De Young, Glenn Quinn, Keith Diamond, Richard Bradford, Michelle Johnson, John Vickery, Nancy Fish, Sara Melson, Zoe Trilling, Darin Heames, Deborah Tucker, Doug E. Doug, Denise Barnes. Box Office: $8.4M (US)
Rating: *** ½
Dr. Giggles is one demented horror show! How could I not enjoy it? If you’re already afraid of going to the doctor, I strongly suggest that you not only skip the movie but the review as well. The mere act of reading it will only serve to exacerbate your phobia. That being said, Dr. Giggles is a horror movie in the comedic sense. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all. The viewer is advised to take a similar approach.
The fictional town of Moorehigh has a terrible legacy explained in a nursery rhyme that all the children in town recite. It goes like this: “The town has a doctor and his name is Rendell/ Stay away from his house because he’s the doctor from Hell/ He killed all his patients, every last one/ And cut out their hearts…..purely for fun./ So if you’re from Moorehigh and you get sick/ Fall on your knees and pray you die quick.” In 1957, the town doctor was stoned to death because he and his son were killing patients and removing their hearts in an attempt to bring the doctor’s dead wife back to life. The child disappeared and the house has stood vacant since then. Nobody dares go near it because the rumor is the doctor’s son is still hiding somewhere in it and will kill anybody that dares trespass.
The truth is Evan Rendell Jr. (Drake, Darkman) has resided in a mental institution for many years. The staff has no idea who he is; they call him “Dr. Giggles” for his tendency to giggle as he performs surgical procedures. The bad doctor escapes from the hospital one night after murdering two doctors and returns to Moorehigh. School is out for the summer, but Jennifer (Combs, Charmed) is not happy. Her mother recently died in the hospital after undergoing “routine surgery” and her father (De Young, Shock Treatment) is already with somebody else. Adding insult to injury, Jennifer has just been diagnosed with a heart condition and has to wear a monitor all week which means her activities are severely limited- no alcohol, no drugs and no strenuous activity (i.e. sex). Her boyfriend Max (Quinn, Roseanne) has no idea what’s bothering her and she’s not talking. Not a good way to begin the summer, right?
Meanwhile, Dr. Giggles returns to his childhood home and reopens his father’s practice. He gets off to a great start after killing two trespassing teens looking for a secluded place to party. And so it goes. The doctor wanders around town, killing people in very disturbing ways. You have to give the wacko points for creativity. One lady gets a scope shoved up her nostril and dies when the tip hits her brain. A girl is suffocated with a giant band-aid. Another woman has her stomach pumped with a sharp attachment at the end that mutilates her insides. Somebody gets a thermometer with a blade on the tip shoved into her mouth and out the back of her head. Others get stabbed with scalpels and electrocuted with defibrillator paddles. It’s only a matter of time until Jennifer encounters Dr. Giggles. When he learns of her medical condition, he’s determined to give her a new heart. He has several to choose from. He removes the hearts of every one of his victims. This is one sick flick.
The mad medical maniac cuts a bloody path through the quiet suburban town as a way of avenging the death of his father. The teenagers party and have sex. The police aren’t sure what to do. One of the town’s veteran cops, (Bradford, The Untouchables) knows more than he’s willing to tell his rookie partner (Diamond, Awakenings). He knows the truth about Evan Jr. and how he escaped the wrath of the townspeople 35 years before. It’s been troubling him all these years; now he has to confront an ugly part of the town’s past. There’s also a crazy woman, Elaine Henderson (Fish, The Exorcist III) who calls the police for the slightest thing. They pay little attention when she calls them about something strange happening at the Rendell house. That’s the last phone call she will ever make; the doctor is about to make a house call.
Dr. Giggles is actually a fairly decent movie. It’s a neat throwback to the dopey dead teenager movies of the 80s. The premise of the town doctor as deranged madman is interesting. He has no degree; he learned everything he knows from dear old Dad. In the title role, Drake is quite good. He specializes in one-liners about doctors, using pretty much every joke in the book. In one scene, he contemplates killing a young boy who is so focused on his video game he doesn’t notice this stranger in his house. The doctor decides against it, commenting off-handedly “Terminal.” before making his exit. He also says “Laughter is the best medicine.”, “Check out time.” and “If you think that’s bad, wait until you get my bill.” But my favorite line is when he breaks the fourth wall and asks, “Is there a doctor in the house?” It was funny when Bugs Bunny did it 65 years ago and it’s still funny in this warped context. The doctor is INSANE! That’s my own line; I didn’t borrow it from this movie.
Combs makes a good final girl and leading lady. She’s attractive, but not overly beautiful. She’s smart too. In fact, she might be the smartest kid in town. Her peers do all the usual idiotic things like explore abandoned houses and enter dark places alone. They get drunk and/or stoned and have sex too. Why not, it’s not like some homicidal maniac is running around killing dumb horny teens. It’s nice to see Manny Coto (Cover Up) keeps certain genre traditions alive unlike most of the kids in this movie. The adults aren’t much smarter. Jennifer’s father has no idea why his daughter is so bitter towards his young girlfriend Tamara (Johnson, Blame it on Rio). Uh, it hasn’t been that long since your wife died and you’re already banging somebody else. Figure it out, moron!
All things considered, the cast does an admirable job with a screenplay everybody knows is garbage although the idea of a demented doctor running around with a black bag full of potential murder instruments is pretty cool. It helps that Coto realizes Dr. Giggles is trash and has fun with the material rather than try and dignify it. It follows the same basic formula as every other dead teenager movie since the first Friday the 13th movie hit theaters in 1980. The only difference is that the victims-to-be aren’t running around in the woods; they’re hanging out in their own neighborhood.
It’s best to look at Dr. Giggles as a macabre comedy with a body count. The 90s was a fairly anemic decade for horror, especially dead teenager movies. Sadly, Dr. Giggles only managed a paltry box office gross of $8.4 million. It deserved to do better. I guess audiences didn’t want to see a movie that might affirm their fears of the medical profession. Look out, somewhere there’s a script about a homicidal movie producer who kills the people who don’t like his movies. It almost makes you afraid to ever buy a movie ticket again. Dr. Giggles might not be perfect, but it should please those with a twisted sensibility. Take two bags of popcorn and call me in the morning. Hey look, I made another medical funny!
