DR. RICTUS

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-