The doctor is in… sane.
That’s right, Dr. Giggles was discharged to home video today back in 1993, after an October 23rd, 1992 theatrical procedure.
I have a special chamber in my heart for pre-Scream 90’s slashers. They tried so very hard to find relevance after the genre had proverbially jumped the shark at the end of the 80’s. By this point in horror history, the bigger boogeymen were being ‘killed’ off for spare parts and the video store shelves were about to be littered with Leprechaun and Children of the Corn sequels. Things were grim on the slasher scene but thankfully we had the odd gems like Popcorn, Candyman, Skinner or the early Puppet Master entries keeping things on life support for us die hards.
One Dark Horse that kept the party going was this mad medical maniac starring THE Larry Drake. Unfortunately at the time of its original release, it mostly served as a critical reminder that the genre belonged in the morgue – and to be honest, I pretty much dismissed it as malpractice. But time heals all wounds.
I’ve since gotten a few house calls from this flick and I’ve learned to appreciate its level of care, the slick try-hard vibe’s grown on me like penesillin on bread.