Dr. Giggles
Encyclopedia
Dr. Giggles is a 1992 slasher film
directed by Manny Coto
, and starring Larry Drake
as the titular antagonist
and Holly Marie Combs
as the protagonist. The film co-stars Cliff De Young and Glenn Quinn
. It was released on October 23, 1992.
35 years later, the now-adult Evan, Jr. (Larry Drake
) escapes from an insane asylum
by brutally murdering two doctors, and heads back to Moorehigh for revenge.
In the meantime the reputation of the Rendell family has been immortalised in a poem used by local children to keep rhythm when skipping;
This town has a doctor and his name is Rendell
Stay away from his house cause he's the doctor from Hell.
He killed all his patients, every last one,
And cut out their hearts...purely for fun.
So if you're from Moorehigh and you get sick
Fall on your knees and pray you die quick.
In Moorehigh, 19 year old Jennifer Campbell (Holly Marie Combs
), her boyfriend Max Anderson (Glenn Quinn
), and their classmates are all planning their spring break. Jennifer, having lost her mother recently and put out that her father is dating again so soon after her death, is further angered because she has been diagnosed with a heart condition, and is being forced to wear a heart monitor all week long to determine if she needs surgery.
Meanwhile, Dr. Giggles breaks into his father's abandoned home/office and starts going through the doctor's old files, gathering a list of names.
Jennifer's friends decide to start off with a semi-serious expedition into the Rendell house, to search for the bodies that urban legend
says are hidden in the walls. As a prank, two of them are locked in one of the abandoned rooms, and are left behind, becoming Giggles' first victims.
Giggles proceeds to stalk and kill several of the town's residents, through a variety of bizarre methods loosely based on medical treatment (e.g., stabbing a woman through the brain by inserting a scope
into her nostril).
Jennifer comes home from a party and, deciding she's had enough of her heart monitor, dumps it in a fish tank. While she is lying down, two of her friends sneak into another room to have sex, only to be ambushed and killed by Giggles. After Jennifer decides to go back to the party, her father sees the heart monitor and runs out of the house after Jennifer, leaving his girlfriend behind to also be killed by Giggles.
Jennifer returns to a carnival
and finds Max kissing another girl. Distraught, she runs into a house of mirrors. Giggles follows and kills the girl, but Jennifer manages to see him coming and escapes. She finds the police and tells them what has happened, but only two officers believe her story - Reitz and Magruder. Magruder, the elder, tells of how, the night after Dr. Rendell was killed, he came across the body of Rendell's wife and saw the seven year old Evan, Jr. cut his way out of the body with a scalpel, revealing how he escaped the mob all those years ago.
Magruder goes to investigate Jennifer's house, and finds her father there, lying in a pool of blood. Giggles attacks and kills Magruder, but not before Magruder seriously wounds him in the side with a bullet. Reitz arrives soon after, finding his partner dead and Jennifer's father wounded but alive. Meanwhile, Giggles returns to his hideout, performing surgery on himself to remove the bullet.
The traumatic experience has made it necessary for Jennifer to be checked into the hospital for an EEG
. While she is being examined, Giggles appears, killing the doctor and knocking Jennifer unconscious with a syringe full of sedative. Jennifer awakens later to find herself in the operating room beneath the Rendell house, as Giggles tells her that he plans to replace her "broken" heart with one of the ones he took from the bodies of her friends. However, just as she falls unconscious, Reitz and Max burst in. In the struggle, Reitz is killed, but a fire started during the fight ignites a set of oxygen tanks, causing an explosion that destroys the Rendell house (and presumably Giggles with it). Max and Jennifer barely manage to escape.
Jennifer is taken to the hospital, where she is told that the traumatic events of the evening have damaged one of her heart valves, and she is going to need surgery to replace it. While she is being prepped, Giggles reappears, having survived the explosion, and cutting a bloody path through the hospital staff to get to Jennifer. He chases her to a janitor's closet, where she spills a bottle of cleaning fluid onto the floor and hits him with a pair of defibrillator paddles, electrocuting him. She finally kills him by stabbing him through the chest with two of his own instruments. Giggles then breaks the fourth wall
, staring at the camera and asking, "Is there a doctor in the house?" before dying.
Recovering in the hospital, Jennifer is visited by her also-recovering father, and by Max.
that was released in time for the movie. The comic books contain numerous differences from the film, since they were based on earlier drafts of the script.
There were two soundtrack albums released. The first contained songs from the film, while the other featured Brian May's score.
The movie was released on video in 1993 along with a widescreen laserdisc
from MCA-Universal Home Video, followed by a DVD on May 1, 2001. The DVD (the initial, now out-of-print run) and video cassettes fetch prices of up to $90+ on internet auction sites. Warner Bros. released a new DVD of the film on September 25, 2007 as part of their Twisted Terrors Collection box set, however it is not in its Original Aspect Ratio
(OAR) of 2.35:1 but 1.85:1 instead. Only the now out-of-print Laserdisc presents this film in its OAR.
in Los Angeles
.
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
directed by Manny Coto
Manny Coto
Manny Coto is an American writer, director and producer of films and television programs.Coto was the executive producer and showrunner of Star Trek: Enterprise in its final season, and executive producer of four seasons of 24...
, and starring Larry Drake
Larry Drake
Larry Drake is an American actor.Drake was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Lorraine, a homemaker, and Raymond Drake, a drafting engineer for an oil company. Drake is renowned for his portrayal of developmentally disabled Benny Stulwicz on the television show L.A...
as the titular antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
and Holly Marie Combs
Holly Marie Combs
Holly Marie Combs is an American film and television actress and producer whose roles have included a portrayal in Charmed as Piper Halliwell and another in Picket Fences, where she received a Young Artist Award for her role, as Kimberly Brock...
as the protagonist. The film co-stars Cliff De Young and Glenn Quinn
Glenn Quinn
Glenn Martin Christopher Francis Quinn was an Irish actor in television and film, known for playing Mark Healy in the American sitcom Roseanne, and Doyle, a half-demon, on the 1999–2004 television series Angel, a spin-off series of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early life:Quinn...
. It was released on October 23, 1992.
Plot summary
In the quiet neighborhood of the fictional town of Moorehigh in 1957, a simple family physician named Dr. Rendell seemed like a nice enough man, but there was one problem: his patients kept disappearing. After some investigation, the citizens of Moorehigh found out that he and his son, Evan, Jr. (nicknamed "Dr. Giggles" for his hideous laugh), were ripping out patients' hearts in a gory attempt to bring back the doctor's dead wife. The townspeople stoned Dr. Rendell to death, but Evan, Jr. disappeared.35 years later, the now-adult Evan, Jr. (Larry Drake
Larry Drake
Larry Drake is an American actor.Drake was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Lorraine, a homemaker, and Raymond Drake, a drafting engineer for an oil company. Drake is renowned for his portrayal of developmentally disabled Benny Stulwicz on the television show L.A...
) escapes from an insane asylum
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
by brutally murdering two doctors, and heads back to Moorehigh for revenge.
In the meantime the reputation of the Rendell family has been immortalised in a poem used by local children to keep rhythm when skipping;
This town has a doctor and his name is Rendell
Stay away from his house cause he's the doctor from Hell.
He killed all his patients, every last one,
And cut out their hearts...purely for fun.
So if you're from Moorehigh and you get sick
Fall on your knees and pray you die quick.
In Moorehigh, 19 year old Jennifer Campbell (Holly Marie Combs
Holly Marie Combs
Holly Marie Combs is an American film and television actress and producer whose roles have included a portrayal in Charmed as Piper Halliwell and another in Picket Fences, where she received a Young Artist Award for her role, as Kimberly Brock...
), her boyfriend Max Anderson (Glenn Quinn
Glenn Quinn
Glenn Martin Christopher Francis Quinn was an Irish actor in television and film, known for playing Mark Healy in the American sitcom Roseanne, and Doyle, a half-demon, on the 1999–2004 television series Angel, a spin-off series of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early life:Quinn...
), and their classmates are all planning their spring break. Jennifer, having lost her mother recently and put out that her father is dating again so soon after her death, is further angered because she has been diagnosed with a heart condition, and is being forced to wear a heart monitor all week long to determine if she needs surgery.
Meanwhile, Dr. Giggles breaks into his father's abandoned home/office and starts going through the doctor's old files, gathering a list of names.
Jennifer's friends decide to start off with a semi-serious expedition into the Rendell house, to search for the bodies that urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
says are hidden in the walls. As a prank, two of them are locked in one of the abandoned rooms, and are left behind, becoming Giggles' first victims.
Giggles proceeds to stalk and kill several of the town's residents, through a variety of bizarre methods loosely based on medical treatment (e.g., stabbing a woman through the brain by inserting a scope
Scope
The word scope may refer to many different devices or viewing instruments, constructed for many different purposes. It may refer to a telescopic sight, an optical device commonly used on firearms. Other uses of scope or Scopes may refer to:...
into her nostril).
Jennifer comes home from a party and, deciding she's had enough of her heart monitor, dumps it in a fish tank. While she is lying down, two of her friends sneak into another room to have sex, only to be ambushed and killed by Giggles. After Jennifer decides to go back to the party, her father sees the heart monitor and runs out of the house after Jennifer, leaving his girlfriend behind to also be killed by Giggles.
Jennifer returns to a carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
and finds Max kissing another girl. Distraught, she runs into a house of mirrors. Giggles follows and kills the girl, but Jennifer manages to see him coming and escapes. She finds the police and tells them what has happened, but only two officers believe her story - Reitz and Magruder. Magruder, the elder, tells of how, the night after Dr. Rendell was killed, he came across the body of Rendell's wife and saw the seven year old Evan, Jr. cut his way out of the body with a scalpel, revealing how he escaped the mob all those years ago.
Magruder goes to investigate Jennifer's house, and finds her father there, lying in a pool of blood. Giggles attacks and kills Magruder, but not before Magruder seriously wounds him in the side with a bullet. Reitz arrives soon after, finding his partner dead and Jennifer's father wounded but alive. Meanwhile, Giggles returns to his hideout, performing surgery on himself to remove the bullet.
The traumatic experience has made it necessary for Jennifer to be checked into the hospital for an EEG
EEG
EEG commonly refers to electroencephalography, a measurement of the electrical activity of the brain.EEG may also refer to:* Emperor Entertainment Group, a Hong Kong-based entertainment company...
. While she is being examined, Giggles appears, killing the doctor and knocking Jennifer unconscious with a syringe full of sedative. Jennifer awakens later to find herself in the operating room beneath the Rendell house, as Giggles tells her that he plans to replace her "broken" heart with one of the ones he took from the bodies of her friends. However, just as she falls unconscious, Reitz and Max burst in. In the struggle, Reitz is killed, but a fire started during the fight ignites a set of oxygen tanks, causing an explosion that destroys the Rendell house (and presumably Giggles with it). Max and Jennifer barely manage to escape.
Jennifer is taken to the hospital, where she is told that the traumatic events of the evening have damaged one of her heart valves, and she is going to need surgery to replace it. While she is being prepped, Giggles reappears, having survived the explosion, and cutting a bloody path through the hospital staff to get to Jennifer. He chases her to a janitor's closet, where she spills a bottle of cleaning fluid onto the floor and hits him with a pair of defibrillator paddles, electrocuting him. She finally kills him by stabbing him through the chest with two of his own instruments. Giggles then breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
, staring at the camera and asking, "Is there a doctor in the house?" before dying.
Recovering in the hospital, Jennifer is visited by her also-recovering father, and by Max.
Cast
| Actor/Actress Actor An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity... |
Role |
|---|---|
| Larry Drake Larry Drake Larry Drake is an American actor.Drake was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Lorraine, a homemaker, and Raymond Drake, a drafting engineer for an oil company. Drake is renowned for his portrayal of developmentally disabled Benny Stulwicz on the television show L.A... |
Doctor Evan Rendell Jr. (Dr. Giggles) |
| Holly Marie Combs Holly Marie Combs Holly Marie Combs is an American film and television actress and producer whose roles have included a portrayal in Charmed as Piper Halliwell and another in Picket Fences, where she received a Young Artist Award for her role, as Kimberly Brock... |
Jennifer Campbell |
| Cliff De Young | Tom Campbell |
| Glenn Quinn Glenn Quinn Glenn Martin Christopher Francis Quinn was an Irish actor in television and film, known for playing Mark Healy in the American sitcom Roseanne, and Doyle, a half-demon, on the 1999–2004 television series Angel, a spin-off series of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early life:Quinn... |
Max Anderson |
| Keith Diamond Keith Diamond (actor) Keith Diamond is an American actor and voice actor. He is especially known for his roles as Agent J on Men In Black: The Series and as recurring character Greg Clemens on The Drew Carey Show.-Career Summary:Over his career, Diamond has appeared in guest spots on numerous television series, including... |
Officer Joe Reitz |
| Richard Bradford Richard Bradford (actor) Richard Bradford is an American actor, known for his lead role as former CIA agent turned private eye McGill in the British TV adventure series Man in a Suitcase, made by ITC in 1967.... |
Officer Hank Magruder |
| Michelle Johnson Michelle Johnson (actress) Michelle Johnson is an American actress, probably best known for her role in Blame It on Rio.-Career:Director Stanley Donen signed her, as a 17-year-old, to appear as Michael Caine's love interest in the romantic comedy film Blame It on Rio... |
Tamara |
| John Vickery John Vickery John Estill Vickery is an American stage and film actor known for his work in Babylon 5 and Star Trek. Vickery grew up in Oakland, California. He attended the University of California at Davis, where he pursued a degree in mathematics... |
Dr. Chamberlain |
| Nancy Fish | Elaine Henderson |
| Sara Melson | Coreen |
| Zoe Trilling | Normi |
| Darin Heames | Stu |
| Deborah Tucker Deborah Tucker Deborah Tucker is an actress who appeared in U.S. television and film during the late-1980s and early-1990s.Her first credited appearance as an actress was as a cast member of the short-lived television series Living Dolls in September 1989... |
Dianne |
| Doug E. Doug Doug E. Doug Douglas Bourne, better known as Doug E. Doug is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and film director. He started his career at age 17 as a stand-up comedian... |
Trotter |
| Denise Barnes Dee Barnes Denise "Dee" Barnes is an American rapper and former television personality, whose stage name was D Zire, performed in the West Coast hip hop female duo Body & Soul, and hosted an influential radio show on KDAY prior to gaining wider fame as the host of Fox's hip hop show Pump It Up!.Body & Soul's... |
Leigh |
| Nick Joseph Mastrandrea | Young Evan Rendell Jr. |
Merchandise
There was a two issue limited comic book adaptation published by Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
that was released in time for the movie. The comic books contain numerous differences from the film, since they were based on earlier drafts of the script.
There were two soundtrack albums released. The first contained songs from the film, while the other featured Brian May's score.
The movie was released on video in 1993 along with a widescreen laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
from MCA-Universal Home Video, followed by a DVD on May 1, 2001. The DVD (the initial, now out-of-print run) and video cassettes fetch prices of up to $90+ on internet auction sites. Warner Bros. released a new DVD of the film on September 25, 2007 as part of their Twisted Terrors Collection box set, however it is not in its Original Aspect Ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
(OAR) of 2.35:1 but 1.85:1 instead. Only the now out-of-print Laserdisc presents this film in its OAR.
Release
The original release was on October 23, 1992 and the re-release on 12 December 2009 at New Beverly CinemaNew Beverly Cinema
The New Beverly Cinema is a historic movie theater located in Los Angeles, California, United States. Housed in a theater which dates to the 1920s, it is one of the oldest revival houses in the region....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.