MY CALL: This movie is solid! It’s silly without becoming annoying, very funny with excellent pacing, and it holds up shockingly well. I think I enjoyed it as much in 2024 as I did in 1993, when I saw it via Columbia House VHS Club (for those of you old enough to remember that infomercial deal). MORE MOVIES LIKE Dr. Giggles: For more cheeky “medical horror” movies, consider Re-Animator (1985), Fresh (2022), The Dentist (1996), The Dentist 2 (1998) and Excision (2012).
Folks, welcome to bonkers 90s horror solid gold! This zany flick opens with graphic non-consensual heart surgery in front of an insane asylum audience, severed limb seduction gags, and a criminally insane genius (Larry Drake; Darkman I-II, Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Tales from the Crypt) with an unnerving giggle and a propensity for issuing forceful medical care. Having just escaped his mental health facility, Dr. Giggles returns to his childhood home to live out his dream of being the doctor he promised his father he’d become.
A high schooler with a serious heart condition, Jennifer (Holly Marie Combs) is navigating pressure from her boyfriend, the recent loss of her mother, and dealing with her dad’s (Cliff De Young; The Hunger, The Craft) new girlfriend (Michelle Johnson; Waxwork, Death Becomes Her). Jennifer and her teenage friends (including Zoe Trilling; The Borrower, Night of the Demons 2, Leprechaun 3) are the unwilling patients to be in this medical horror comedy.
For the first 30 minutes, the death scenes are more about the dying than the killing, since Giggles employs sneaky injections (e.g., Doug E. Doug; Eight Legged Freaks) and poison-swapped pills to do some of his dirty work. And although no great spectacle, I enjoyed the nose examination death scene—although it was hardly a death scene and more of just a giggle-worthy gag paired with a silly line. The “take your temperature” death scene gag was likewise simple, but done with feisty execution and another eye-rollingly silly one-liner. The stomach pump scene playfully follows suit, although a tad more conceptually gross.
For the later half of the first hour, the deaths may not be much to talk about on their own. Yet Giggles will assuredly deliver a laughs as he works his way through Jennifer’s friends, one horny teenager at a time. And just like Freddy, Giggles has a special one-liner for everyone, thematic to the kill—a prime example of how style can compensate for a lack of substance. Clearly, Larry Drake had fun with the role, as did the writers and the director. And that’s what makes this movie work so well. Director and co-writer Manny Coto (Monsters, Tales from the Crypt, American Horror Stories) did an excellent job!
Of course, there was at least one great big gore gag: the morgue birth scene! And hold on, the movie gets yet gorier and more wild as it progresses into the third act. Graphic self-surgery, a vein-popping blood pressure-cuff choke-out, a dash of electrocution and latex-worked face mutilation, and a wild finale death scene with the cheesiest line yet of the entire movie!
Whereas the deaths start out less impressive from a purely visual stance, the delivery and villain-driven build up are always pleasurably proficient. When Giggles is on screen, you feel his anticipation and black comic drive. And you never wait more than a few minutes watching this movie before building anticipation to the next Giggle. Truly this movie’s greatest strength is its pacing and its star character.