User reviews

Not that bad of a schlock 90's slasher. A good way to 'kill' a couple of hours. Larry Drake of 'Darkman' fame, plays the title role and he's great. The rest of the cast features the usual bunch of teenagers. If you like gore and a ton of one liners, this film is for you. The kills are as creative as anything that used to be done in the Friday the 13th series. Some creative set pieces, including a unique chase through a fun house filled with mirrors. Some good creativity here and there amongst some not so great film-making. No horror masterpiece, just some good fun.

Watch this film and call me in the morning. Doctor's orders.

After escaping from his imprisonment at the insane asylum, nameless and murderous schizophrenic inmate nicked named "Dr. Giggles" (Larry Drake) returns to his childhood town of Moorehigh where it's revealed he is actually Evan Rendell Jr., the son of notorious serial killer Dr. Evan Rendell Sr. (William Dennis Hunt) who was killed by a mob of Moorehigh residents after word of his crimes came to light. Deciding the town is "sick", Evan dons his father's doctor attire and tools to "cure" the town as payback for the death of his father. This puts him on a collision course with teenager Jennifer Campbell (Holly Marie Combs), who carries a possible heart defect and soon becomes an obsession of Evan's.

Dr. Giggles is a 1992 slasher film and is notable for being the first ever film production by comic book publisher Dark Horse Comics as part of an initiative by Dark Horse head Mike Richardson to build relationships within the film industry to adapt their stable of comic properties, with a deal eventually signed with Largo Entertainment with Dr. Giggles the first such venture under the deal. While Larry Drake was initially hesitant to take on the role of Dr. Giggles not wanting to get type cast as a "horror" actor, director Manny Coto convinced him by saying it wasn't a traditional horror film comparing it more to a comic book movie with shades of the dark humor of Tales of the Crypt. With the film given distribution by Universal and a prime date on October 24, 1992, Dark Horse and Largo had every intention of turning Dr. Giggles into a new franchise to serve as a successor to the dormant Friday the 13th and Halloween films as well as the recently "ended" Nightmare on Elm Street films with Dark Horse intending to publish prequel comics as well as an adaptation of the film based on the shooting script. Upon release Dr. Giggles opened in 7th place behind several holdovers including Clive Barker's Candyman which had been in release for two weeks and had support of both critics and audiences. While many critics praised Larry Drake as Dr. Giggles, the general consensus was the film itself was very standard slasher fare and did little to differentiate itself from a later era Elm Street film. The film ended up making $8 million against a $7 million budget, and while there was hope for franchise continuance provided home video sales and rentals came through the film ultimately fell by the wayside. Dark Horse would later experience success with The Mask and Timecop a few years later. Dr. Giggles is enjoyable on a purely superficial level, but if you're looking for something that adds to the slasher formula, Dr. Giggles follows established conventions to a "T".

If there is one thing that Dr. Giggles does well, it's definitely in Larry Drake's central performance as the titular character. Drake has always been a reliable character actor and you can tell he's having fun with this performance very much playing into the "comic book" spirit the filmmakers are going with. While the film itself is never all that scary, Drake does create an oddly compelling murderous lunatic who does invite some comparisons to Freddy Kruger, but in a way where it's still very much his own and if he were to play a actual comic book villain like The Joker you could see him fitting nicely into the role especially with his "giggles" that are sometimes a little unsettling. Manny Coto does play into the high camp aspects of the film going for a bright color palette and exaggerated stylish setpieces with one sequence set inside a carnival's Hall of Mirrors a really stylish and fairly intense scene that shows a lot of ambition to it. Outside of Drake's performance and some of the style of the filmmaking, most of the other characters really aren't that interesting as they fall back into well worn slasher archetypes with not much to distinguish themselves to the point I routinely forgot their names. Holly Marie Combs is fine as Jennifer Carpenter, but it's the kind of role anyone could've played with relative ease. The character I resonated the most with was probably Keith Diamond as Officer Joe Reitz, and what Ken Foree was to Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Diamond very much is to this film and if the film had been more centered around him investigating Dr. Giggles' killings that probably would've made for a more engaging experience than following the typical slasher fodder.

Dr. Giggles is pretty standard for the type of slasher film you'd expect to find during this lull in the genre before Scream reinvigorated it not matching the novelty of Candyman or Child's Play but being above the quality of a Leprechaun or Children of the Corn sequel. It's maybe worth a one time viewing for Drake's performance or fans of the genre, but it's not going to be super memorable outside of that.

This was a simple and stupid movie yet it offered a lot of fun to go with it basically because of all the mindless killings and the extremely funny one-liners. Larry Drake is such an awesome actor! It's a shame that this and the first two "Darkman" movies are all he's really been in film-wise. I'm sure he has a great range but yet because of his oddball looks he's typecast as either a sadistic villain or an insane madman which he can carry out perfectly nonetheless. If you're expecting to gain something out of a movie then this probably isn't for you but if you're looking for a slightly comical flick with some scary instances this'll certainly be a good way to kill some time. The supporting cast wasn't great but for a horror movie they were definitely above average. The quotes were great from the doctor himself especially right before he'd off someone. I'm surprised this didn't really catch on and have a cult following because it'd seem like the kind of idea that'd attract people to it. Oh well, still very glad watched it!

Final Verse:

Movies: Well...I wouldn't go that far.

DVD Purchase: Not available as of yet.

Rental: I enjoyed it.

What can I say about a film with the title Dr Giggles. All I can say is that it is not that bad. It is actually well made and the story line is adequate. Though the best thing has to be the different variety of deaths involved. Another good thing is the fact he is not cap handed and tries successfully to kill most people. A pleasant surprise, not a bad film at all!

What a glorious pile of trash. Why can't we have more movies where every single line is a cliche (literally, "the Doctor is In!") or a pun (take your pick) and is acted by one or those "oh THAT guy!" actors -Larry Drake (you know, from Darkman?) and features so many many grisly kills involving all manner of medical equipment and so on?

Well... It'd get tiresome pretty quick. One is enough. And even at 95 minutes it's almost 15 minutes too long (near the end it feels like Coto is biting a bit more than he can chew - spoiler, the pre-Neve Campbell lead finally gets a few lines she can dish out). But Goddamn if this ain't a lot of fun, and a treat if you want a simple low-down mother of a slasher. Special gore and horror effects by way of Kurtmann and Nicotero from KNB help a great deal.

Hmm... How did this all take place in real time (like, how is the amusement park still going on once that thing happens at the Dr's house? I thought it was like 4 AM by that point!) Also, that fun-house mirror sequence is a) the most bats**t homage to The Lady from Shanghai I can remember seeing, and b) trumps anything in Hell Fest.

Look for ADR credit to Cherie Curie

Dr.Giggles is a movie about a crazed doctor who escapes from a mental hospital to take up his practice in his home town. We soon see that his ways of helping people is bumping them off. Especially teenagers, oh, it's Jason goes doctor. What can I say, it's just another slasher movie with different theme. First time I saw it, it was pretty scary, when I see it today I just laugh. There is no scary stuff, no intelligent plot, nothing that really horrifies but you can see this guy killing teenagers with one-liners to it.

Good things with this movie is a) some of the actors is good (Larry Drake in the lead role is pretty good) b) it is Brian Eno that has made the sound. c) we got a lot of murders (and when I say a lot I mean a lot) d) to all murders we get a nice one-liner. e) some of the murders is not nice.

Horror rip-off but at least honest about it (Not like Scream or I know what you did last summer).

A cable tv favorite of mine when I was a young kid this is campy as all hell and at times feels like an overlong episode of Tales from the Crypt which makes sense considering the director did helm an episode of that series. Larry Drake's over-the-top performance is what makes this really worth the watch, that some fun kills and some hilarious early 90s looking teens. Would make a good double feature or triple feature with Brian Yuzna's The Dentist movies as it's about the same quality.

I let myself get talked into seeing this instead of The Last of The Mohicans.....I should have stood my ground. With free movies passes all the way around, we *way* overpaid.

I'm surprised to see this listed under "Horror", but not "Comedy" - although it's neither funny, nor scary. It tries to be a spoof....but doesn't succeed. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and left bored.

Don't waste your time.

The stage curtains open ...

"Dr. Giggles", starring Larry Drake as the psychopathic doctor, is a fun throwback to the classic monster movies of yesteryear with a modern twist. It is clearly over-the-top and doesn't take itself too seriously with campy horror comedy that might even make you omit a giggle or two. Larry Drake was the obvious choice for the infamous doctor, delivering the perfect performance for such a dubious role.

Set against a modern day town with your usual group of teenagers, Dr. Ev.an Rendell, who is our Dr. Giggles, because of his propensity for giggling, has managed to escape an insane asylum and return home. He blames the town for the death of his mother and father, therefore, it needs his special brand of healing. While he gets re-established in his abandoned family home, we follow along with Jennifer, a teen girl, who is dealing with her new step-mother and a health condition. And, as you have guessed, their two paths invariably cross leading to the film's ultimate climactic conclusion.

If you like your horror movies to be serious, dark, ominous and unforgiving, then this movie is not for you. With Dr. Giggles spouting every known one-liner from the medical field or associated with doctors, this is as campy and comedic as they come. This is an absent minded film where all you have to do is check in, sit back and enjoy for 96 minutes. It won't blow you away, but it is entertaining. I saw it when it first came out back in 1992, and I have it in my own personal collection now as well.

I would recommend "Dr. Giggles" at a solid 7 stars out of 10. I don't know if this was ever intended on being a franchise, but even so, as a standalone movie, it delivers what it sets out to do. Don't expect too much, just expect to hear a lot of screaming and giggling.

This was a surprisingly entertaining B-type film with a lot of good lines by "Dr. Giggles" (Larry Drake). "Dr. Giggles" is a mad doctor who has this high-pitched giggle when he kills people, which is frequently.

It sounds hokey, and it is, but it's done with great tongue-in-cheek humor. Actually, that's what I think this is: a takeoff on grisly horror movies. Drake's Ines, mostly doctor clinches, are very funny and his face is strange enough so that he fits the part. The rest of the cast is Hollywood-typical teens.

This movie is well photographed, too and with nice color sand some good camera angles. Nothing outstanding but definitely a "sleeper," something much better than anticipated.

Directed by Manny Coto. Starring Holly Marie Combs, Larry Drake, Glenn Quinn, Richard Bradford, Keith Diamond, Sara Melson, Cliff De Young, John Vickery, Michelle Johnson, Darin Heames, Deborah Tucker, Nancy Fish, Doug E. Doug. (R)

Drake is the whole show here, playing an escaped mental patient known as "Dr. Giggles" (though he never earned a medical license; apparently one can simply "inherit" the title from one's slightly less loony father) who rampages through a small town, picking off lots of young, horny teens and dim-bulb adults. Freddie Krueger-style wisecracks aplenty from the murderous M.D.--its corny sense of humor is about the only thing to set it apart from a hundred slasher flicks before it--but only a couple of the kills are all that creative, and at least one (the giant Band-aid) is ridiculous even by these low standards. Pedestrian direction and an uninspired, by-the-numbers screenplay underpin the negative prognosis for this second-rate slice-'n'-dice effort.

30/100

I rented this movie one night from the B-list video store in town, more or less for lack of anything else to do. I expected it to be really lame, and boring, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually quite good.

A mental patient who believes that he is a doctor escapes the psych- ward, and returns to wreak murderous havoc on the town that he escaped from as a child after the "townsfolk" stoned his demented physician father to death.

Typical of the horror genre, there is the young, innocent heroine, who saves the day, and her not-so-innocent friends who aren't so lucky.

What sets this film apart is that it is original and creative, considering it came out before the Scream flicks. There are some really good, unusual death scenes. Not gory, but unique. It is also very creepy, and it moves fast, and never really drags. Holly Marie Combs is very good in this movie, and you actually care what happens to her character.

Bottom Line: A fun, humorous, creepy film to watch.

I knew this film was garbage when I saw it in the theaters at 11 years old. It's a poor attempt at what could have been a wonderful horror film. The acting isn't horrible. It's the movie as a whole. The corny one liners, the poorly thought out plot, the huge let down of an ending...just bad.

Patient 193- aptly known as Dr. Giggles- has escaped from the mental institution.

Now he's out to seek vengeance on the town that killed his father...by killing off their teenagers.

But not until he gets a chance to perfect the procedure his father died trying to develop- the world's first heart transplant.

Turns out, his mother was dying from a heart ailment. And his father went crazy trying to save her...cutting up his patients, so that he could harvest their hearts for her.

Like father, like son.

Although it starts off pretty cheesy, this is actually a badass film! The kills are creative as hell, there is a fair amount of gore, everyone fights back...even when you least expect it, there are numerous (believable) close calls, a nice little twist (just when you think it's over)...and some great one-liners! This film has it all...and despite it's cheesy nature...it really is a solid 90's slasher.

Much better than I expected it was going to be.

6.5 out of 10.

That was the tagline, wasn't it? Maybe I'm misremembering but I really think that was the tagline not the one listed on the mainsite. Anyways, Dr. Giggles comes at dead end of the initial slasher age that started in the late 70's. They obviously had the formula down pat: the madman with a gimmick (the high pitched giggle fit doctor), the small town setting, the innocent final girl. Total formula played straight down the line. But by the early nineties the slasher genre was DOA (only to rise like a phoenix from the ashes of irony in the form of Scream). As it is, Dr. Giggles is a yeoman's effort. Nothing to ring the dinner bell about, but if you appreciate the genre you could do worse. The dirty old man in me really thought highly of Holly Marie Combs but you know, we were the same age back in '92 so that makes it alright, right? Five decidedly average stars.

Laughter is the best medicine in this early 90s horror film. "Dr. Giggles" is like an updated '50s style mad scientist B-movie. Larry Drake of "Darkman" fame plays Dr. Evan Rendell a sort of third rate Freddy Krueger who spouts off cheesy one liners at every opportunity.

Dr. Rendell escapes from the mental hospital that has been keeping him and goes back to the small town that killed his murderous Doctor father. Out for vengeance he hides out in his families abandoned old house. The story fills in all of the usual horror elements. We follow high school girl Jennifer, played by Holly Marie Combs, who has a faulty heart valve. Jennifer's mother died in the hospital with what was suppose to be a routine operation and now has had to deal with her evil step mother. Keeping with old horror clichés the first kids to feel the wrath of Dr. Giggles were the black characters. Although Officer Reitz the main cop hunting Giggles is black and he survives. Sex and drugs are also off limits it you intend on surviving.

Jennifer eventually becomes the main target of the Doctor and she must fight for her survival not only from him but from her own failing body. The horror films of the early 90s are all pretty bad. Coming off the magical decade that was the 80s, the genre seemed to have run out of gas, until Wes Craven brought it back from the brink with "Scream" in 1996. Although "Silence of the Lambs" is always referred to as a thriller or a drama. It was the best horror movie of that period.

"Dr. Giggles" is very 90's in its fashions, hair styles, and music. It hits every just about every know horror cliché, but is still a sort of cult classic for being so bad. It's cheesy and stupid but still strangely entertaining.

there are not too many good things about this horror movie.one good thing is the performance of Larry drake as the psycho.he really puts his heart into the performance.you can tell he really has fun with the role.the only other good thing is that in the last 25 minutes or so,the movie starts to get good.the last 15 minutes in particular are really good,and there is one scene near the end which is priceless.unfortunately the first 70+ minutes are pretty lame.there really aren't enough positives are enough to make the movie worth watching.that's my opinion. anyway,this movie is part of the Twisted Terror Collection also sold in a box set also entitled The Twisted Terror Collection.there are 5 other horror movies contained in the set.as for this movie itself,i'm afraid it's terminal and the prognosis is not good. 2/10

This movie starts out as an over the top slapstick effort, but then bails out on that and gets surprisingly serious. It's the start of yet another straight-forward slasher, which is pretty unwelcome. Stalk and slash, boring dialogue, more stalk and slash. There isn't much excitement in the plot, but I appreciate the variation in weapons though, that kept the mood lively. The ending isn't too bad either. But throughout I was just wondering who the hell makes a slasher in '92. I don't think people ever cared less. A re-write wouldn't have hurt, perhaps bring in more comedy because this is not really working out. I'm not saying this movie totally blows, there are some cool scenes, but it's so incredibly redundant it can vanish into thin air every second.

Dr Evan Rendell or Dr Giggles from the title wonderfully played by Larry Drake is,along with officer Joe Vickers(Bobby Ray Shafer)from "Psycho Cop" series,one of the funniest psycho killers ever created on film."Dr Giggles" is an enjoyable slasher film filled with gore and black humour.The film is well-directed and acted and is simply fun to watch.It's quite suspenseful at times,and some of the killings are rather unpleasant(like when he castrates one guy)and grotesque.Recommended for horror fans.

Dr. Giggles has all the makings of a slasher classic. The killer's backstory is memorable, his choice of weapons is inspired, and the small town atmosphere is off the charts, but somehow, none of these winning elements come together in any sort of cohesive way, making Dr. Giggles a bit of a silly disappointment.

It's beautifully shot in a colorful, over the top style with tons of inventive camerawork and appealing lighting and the makeup effects we do get to see are top notch. A lot of the gore appears to have been edited which makes it feel like watching a porno without any of the money shots. Larry Drake is great as the titular villain, but Holly Marie Combs gets stuck with a whiny drip of a leading lady to play.