Dr. Giggles

In 1957, Evan Rendell flees after his father is lynched for killing multiple patients in his effort to find a replacement heart for his ailing wife. After 35 years, Evan escapes from a mental institution and returns to town for revenge, killing off residents one by one. When Jennifer and her friends break into the Rendell house out of morbid curiosity, Evan notices Jennifer has a heart condition similar to his mother and decides to make her his final victim.

**_Coulda been a contenda in slasher history_** A patient escapes an insane asylum (Larry Drake) and starts to prey upon the unwitting citizens of a town in Northern California. His attacks usually involve various medical or surgical procedures. "Dr. Giggles" (1992) had everything for a slasher franchise on the level of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” but the flick needed tweaked to flesh out more entertainment. As it is, it’s still a worthwhile obscure slasher with several amusing factors and exceptional cinematography, especially the night woods and old house sequences, marked by a greenish hue (which would influence future movies). Petite Zoe Trilling stands out in the female cast as Normi, Coreen’s bestie, but she’s way underused. Sara Melson has a beefier role as the aforementioned Coreen, and is another highlight. Deborah Tucker is worth a mention as Dianne while Holly Marie Combs is decent as the main protagonist, but kinda meh. She would soon go on to television stardom with the series Charmed. I thought it was a mistake to make Glenn Quinn’s Max so frivolously unfaithful. After all, isn’t the viewer supposed to like the protagonist and root for him/her. It runs about 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot in Portland, Oregon. GRADE: B-