Dr Giggles (1992) - REVIEW

In 1992 the slasher genre was just about dead, if not dead it was definitely on life support.  Because no one really wanted to see those type of horror movies anymore any of them that made it to the theater performed very poor.  There are a few slasher gems throughout the 90's but nothing like the slasher mayhem that the 80's brought us, well until Scream came out in the later 90's.

Evan Rendell (Larry Drake) who is nicknamed Dr Giggles has escaped a mental hospital after leaving a blood trail behind him.  He is off to the town of Moorehigh were he grew up.  His Father was a doctor and he started killing his patients to try and save his wife's heart.  The town killed his Father and now he wants revenge.  Meanwhile, at the local high school it is the last day of school and summer is just beginning.  Not such a happy day for Jennifer (Holly Marie Combs) who has an appt with a doctor to determine whether she needs heart surgery or not.  Jennifer's Mother died from a routine operation so this is a big deal for her.  This town won't be so happy in just a few hours.  A man who thinks he is a doctor is on his way to make their lives a living hell!

Dr Giggles was released into theaters and as my foreboding from above depicts it met with bad review and a not so great profit.  The cast was comprised of mainly little known actors and actresses who were young and at the beginning of their careers except for Larry Drake of course.  The story itself really was not that bad.  I actually like it and there are really not too many plot holes and there is a good amount of humor which I was not expecting when I first saw it as a kid.  Guess the title may have been a giveaway but when you are young stuff like that tends to go over your head.

I really enjoy Dr Giggles and do watch it on a regular basis, at least once a year.  The acting wasn't particularly great but there is alot of sillyness and it was one of the first appearances of Holly Marie Combs who went on to star in Charmed.  The blu ray of it is actually a great transfer.  You can pick it up pretty cheap on Amazon or your local store, probably around 7 bucks or so.  I would rate this 6 stars out of 10.  Stay twisted everyone!

Tales From the Crypt Season 1 1989 - REVIEW

Definately one of the best anthology shows to be made in horror history.  Tales from the Crypt, a comic book in the 50's, was made into a TV series that premiered on HBO on June 10th 1989.  Hosted by a puppet character called The Cryptkeeper and packed with big Hollywood stars.  The Crypt keeper introduced every episode in it's 7 season run that sadly ended in 1996.  While all of the seasons were nothing short of incredible, the first season is the one that got it all started.  A mere 9 years old and I could not get enough of it.  Season one consisted of 6 episodes:

1. The Man Who Was Death - Bill Sadler plays a man who worked for a prison as the executioner.  When the death penalty is abolished, he loses his job.  This did not stop him from taking matters into his own hands and becoming a "shocking" vigilante.

2.  And All Through The House - The ultimate Christmas horror story.  An escaped mental patient (Larry Drake) is on the loose in a little town and everyone is told to stay in their house till he is apprehended.  One particular suburban housewife (Mary Ellen Trainor) did not get that memo.  She has just killed her husband and has problems of her own.

3.  Dig That Cat.... He is Really Dead - A man on the street named Ulric (Joe Pantoliano) is taken in by a doctor and given money to be his experiment.  When Ulric wakes up he learns he had the gland of a cat in him now that will give him 9 lives.  So many possibilities for this condition.

4.  Only Sin Deep - A tale of a young hooker (Lea Thompson) overcoming a would be pimp and killing him.  She try's to pawn his valuables and the broker will not take any of her stuff because it's "hot".  But he does offer her 10,000.00 for her beauty.  Seems the pawn store owner is into Voodoo.

5.  Lover Come Hack To Me - A Nasty tidbit about a newly married couple getting stuck in the middle of nowhere on their wedding night and forced to stay the night in an empty mansion that no one has lived in for a very long time.  Fortunately the bride (Amanda Plummer) knows exactly what she is doing.

6.  Collection Complete  - When a man retires he likes to spend time with the woman he loves and find something to do with himself.  In the case of Jonas (M. Emmet Walsh) he spent so much time working that his wife (Audra Lindley) did not know what to do now that he was home.  Her cats and dogs have kept her company for so long that she does not know how to act with Jonas around.  Until Jonas finds a new hobby that helps with too many animals in the house.


Robert Zemeckis directed so many great episodes of Tales from the Crypt.  He did not direct all of them but he did his fair share.  Including my favorite episode of it's seven season run "And All Through the House".  I am such a sucker for killer Santa's.  Season one was the building block for a long and probably one of the most well known horror series in television history.  Every episode has a new star to showcase and no episode was alike.  Each episode was so well directed and edited thanks to the big budget they had to work with.  And who can forget that handsome devil The Cryptkeeper who was voiced by John Kassir.  To me every aspect about this show is unforgettable.  I celebrate the entire collection and probably watch at least an episode or two on a weekly basis.  Tales from the Darkside  and Creepshow came first but to me no anthology will ever match the wit and sheer horror of Tales.  Stay Twisted Everyone !