– If you think that’s bad, wait until you get my bill.
Evan Rendell (Larry Drake) is a mentally deranged man who manages to escape the mental asylum (a time when mental asylums still existed) and return to his abandoned little rundown mansion on the outskirts of the small town of Moorehigh. We learn that Rendell is the son of the town’s previous doctor, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His father did some pretty shady things to his patients, such as stealing their hearts and such, for reasons I won’t spoil, because there’s actually a fun little twist to the whole thing. But his approach to his patients with zero empathy, sure had its impact on Rendell Jr’s frontal lobe. So in order to continue his father’s legacy, he gets a list of names so he can sneak into the townsfolk’s homes at night to pay them an unexpected doctor visit. Dad would be proud.
And here’s the big question; why the nickname Dr. Giggles? That’s because he giggles in a demented high-pitched note, as if someone tickles his ballsack with the tip of a feather – or getting an unexpected blowjob while standing on a podium, if you take the reference. It’s a pretty distinct kind of giggle that I believe that only Larry Drake could pull off. While it’s pretty gimmicky and goofy at times, it puts an extra flair on his twisted personality, and adds more creep factor to his stone-cold Slavic-like face. The film itself isn’t creepy for one second though, but Larry Drake makes up for an oddly entertaining villain with some cheesy one-liners. He’s maybe best known for being the antagonist, Duran, in the first two Darkman films.
But there’s no slasher without a big group of teens, some meat balloons, or at least a final girl. And since it happens to be the start of the summer break, the timing of Dr. Giggles return couldn’t be more perfect. Here we follow the 19-year-old main protagonist, Jennifer Campbell. She has a serious heart condition that prevents her from living out her final year as a teen to the fullest. Well, thank God that Dr. Giggles is finally in town, which she eventually will get the un-pleasure to meet. Jennifer is played by the Charmed star Holly Marie Combs, who actually was 19 during the filming, and not a 27-year-old pretending to be 19. That’s rare, as most of the teens in slashers, especially from the 1980s, look like they’re in their late 30s. Jennifer Aniston auditioned for the role as the final girl, but luckily she didn’t have to wait for long to make her big film debut in Leprechaun. Let’s have a long, sarcastic giggle for that one.
Although Dr. Giggles was released in 1992, it has the vibe and the standard formula of a 80s slasher. Thus, the film did not perform at the box office as the slasher genre had gone into hiatus with a severe hangover alongside with the hair metal bands. That’s a shame as there could be a fun franchise to develop here. Oh, well. Dr. Giggles is an enjoyable little slasher flick with some great gore, silly humor – and bonkers performance by, again, Larry Drake, who alone makes the film a standout. And while we’re speaking about doctors, also give The Dentist a visit for a check-up, because health is important, you know…
Dr. Giggles is available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and is maybe to be found on Tubi.
Director: Manny Coto
Writers: Manny Coto, Graeme Whifler
Country & year: USA, 1992
Actors: Larry Drake, Holly Marie Combs, Cliff De Young, Glenn Quinn, Keith Diamond, Richard Bradford, Michelle Johnson, John Vickery, Nancy Fish, Sara Melson, Zoe Trilling
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104139/
