Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Larry Drake, Holly Marie Combs, Cliff De Young, Glenn Quinn, Keith Diamond ... see more see more... , Richard Bradford , Michelle Johnson , John Vickery , Nancy Fish , Sara Melson , Zoe Trilling , Darin Heames , Deborah Tucker , Doug E. Doug , Denise Barnes , Troy Barron , Jerry Counsil , Patrick Cronin , Pieter Dawson , Mario de Priest , Marianne Doherty , Russ Fast , William Hunt , Britt Magnuson , Nicholas Mastrandea , Joshua Nielsen , Danny Perkin , William Earl Ray , Todd Tolces , Mark C. Vincent , Annie Wanberg , Karen Rea

Jumping fairly late on the slasher-movie bandwagon, this stylish but hollow effort from director Manny Coto stars L.A. Law's Larry Drake as the psychopathic Evan Rendell, who fancies himself a misunde... read more read more...rstood medical genius. In an inventive opening scene, Rendell performs a bit of impromptu surgery on his keepers at the asylum (who had given him the title nickname due to his fits of nervous laughter) and escapes to his hometown to set up his "practice." This medical mania seems to run in the family, as we are shown in flashback: Evan's daddy once butchered several local women in his search for a replacement heart for his wife, and although he was unable to save her, Pops managed to spirit away young Evan and keep him safe (in a very, very nasty hiding place) before being lynched by the locals. Hiding out in the abandoned family home, "Dr. Giggles" begins a random killing spree in town with his bag of medieval-looking surgical instruments... but he finds new purpose when he sees the medical records of young Jennifer (Holly Marie Combs), who is in line for a heart transplant, and vows to "cure" her himself. This film eschews the possibilities of its demented premise, choosing instead to serve up a flavorless hash of '80s slasher clichés (wisecracking killer, stupid teenage victims, virginal heroine, 20-years-later motif, etc.). The only truly inspired moment occurs in flashback, when we discover the actual hiding place the elder Dr. Rendell chose for his son. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Flixster Users

42% liked it

9,760 ratings

Critics

21% liked it

14 critics

R, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Manny Coto

Release Date: October 23, 1992

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: September 22, 1998

Stats: 417 reviews

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (417)


  • November 27, 2009
    Larry Drake, Holly Marie Combs, Cliff DeYoung

    The psychopathic son of a mass-murdering doctor, escapes from his mental institution to seek revenge on the town where his father was caught. The giggling doctor kills his victims with a surgical theme. His goal being to give one ... read moreof the townfolk a heart transplant.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I was young when I first saw this movie, even then it was more of a dark comedy slasher to me. My Lil sis who I made watch it with me begs to differ. It scared her really bad. I loved every minute of it, and she screamed and shielded her eyes through most of it. Definitely a favorite of mine growing up. Although after having my youngest sister watch this movie and Dolly Dearest in the same night got me grounded for a month. =) My sister wouldn't play with any of her dolls for weeks. I'm a great older sister..=)
    Anyways, it's a fun slasher, and isn't to be taken very seriously. Love to see it again. My sister, not so much.. LOL..
  • August 10, 2009
    When I saw this as a kid, boy was I scared out of my wits! lol I would like to watch it again someday. I'll give it 3 stars for scaring me.
  • March 21, 2009
    Apart from the awesomely creepy laughter, this film's nothing special.
  • March 27, 2008
    Photobucket
  • July 30, 2007
    Larry Drake plays a demented Doctor who causes a lot of death. It's violent, but not overly gorey. It's not very suspenseful or scary. It's not very funny either. I didn't see anything special about it.
  • November 5, 2009
    One of my favorite when I was a teen. I watched this movie dozen of
    time.
    This is a twisted and hilarious slasher flix that will make you laugh out.
  • July 15, 2009
    More silly slasher than horror comedy but not utterly terrible. The constant giggling is the most memorable part (except where the "Dr." forgot for a bit while on a murderous rampage). A throwback to the 80's slasher genre with even a bit of backstory as to why he kills and gigg... read moreles while doing so. B-movie (or is it C?) that was worth 1 viewing if you like the April Fool's Day, Prom Night type of flick.
  • July 3, 2009
    I don't know. I guess this movie was bad. Its not scary at all, and I'm not sure if it was supposed to be. The one liners would make Freddy Kruger grown. Characters? The exposition was sloppy and repetitive. But it was far more watchable than a lot of movies of its type. L... read morearry Drake is good, I guess. Lots of doctor jokes. And he kills a girl with a giant band aid, I guess. And he giggles a lot.
  • June 20, 2007
    Very silly but worth a watch.
  • January 7, 2012
    I kind of wanted to like this more than I did, as the whole film has a definite Dark Castle Entertainment feeling to it, in that it's very '90s looking and never really gets all that scary.

    I am happy to have finally seen it, but I don't know that I would return to it very often... read more.

    Rental?

Critic Reviews


John J. Puccio
July 7, 2010
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

It attempts some gallows humor but is largely imitative, shamelessly ripping off every slasher film that went before it. Full Review

David Nusair
March 9, 2010
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

Dopey, absurd fun... Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
July 30, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

The numbing familiarity of everything in the film just makes the cartoonish bits look ridiculous. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
June 14, 2006
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

more one liners than schwarzenegger could dream off

Martin Scribbs
July 5, 2004
Martin Scribbs, Low IQ Canadian

Exposes the darker side of Benny from L.A. Law.

Alex Sandell
October 23, 2003
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum

More proof that the early nineties were horror's low-point.

Luke Y. Thompson
July 30, 2003
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

Larry Drake was born to play a slasher villain!

Fred Topel
July 14, 2003
Fred Topel, About.com

Good potential with the crazy doctor, but it turns into just another slasher movie. The cop breaking up the party is the best scene.

Ken Hanke
August 26, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Amusingly bad horror flick

Scott Weinberg
July 26, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

The slasher stuff isn't half bad, but you have to suffer through comedy material that feels like glass in your brain.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • The Driller Killer
    The Driller Killer (0%)
  • Scream 3
    Scream 3 (0%)
  • H2: Halloween II
    H2: Halloween II (100%)
  • Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
    Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (0%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Dr. Giggles : Watch Free on TV


Dr. Giggles Trivia


  • Which "Charmed" girl starred in the movie Dr. Giggles?  Answer »
  • ***When Larry Drake Played An Escaped Lunatic With A Medical Fixation What Did He Call Himself***  Answer »
  • Dr. Giggles was based on a comic from what comic book publisher?  Answer »
  • When Larry Drake played an escaped lunatic with a medical fixation, what did he call himself?   Answer »

Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for Dr. Giggles. Want to create one?

Video Clips


No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists


Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?