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A madman who believes he's a doctor comes to the town where his crazy father was killed, and soon begins murdering people and becoming infatuated with a teenage girl who has a heart condition.

Director:

Manny Coto
1 win & 2 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Larry Drake ... Doctor Evan Rendell
Holly Marie Combs ... Jennifer Campbell
Cliff De Young ... Tom Campbell
Glenn Quinn ... Max Anderson
Keith Diamond ... Officer Joe Reitz
Richard Bradford ... Officer Hank Magruder
Michelle Johnson ... Tamara
John Vickery ... Dr. Chamberlain
Nancy Fish ... Elaine Henderson
Sara Melson ... Coreen
Zoe Trilling ... Normi
Darin Heames ... Stu
Deborah Tucker ... Dianne
Doug E. Doug ... Trotter
Denise Barnes Denise Barnes ... Leigh
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Storyline

The psychopathic son of a mass-murdering doctor, escapes from his mental institution to seek revenge on the town where his father was caught. The giggling doctor kills his victims with a surgical theme. His goal being to give one of the townfolk a heart transplant. Written by Rob Hartill

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

A new prescription for terror. See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence and gore, and for language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

On episode #72 of Killer POV podcast, the director, Manny Coto, revealed that the MPAA told him he had a lot of work to do on the film before they could give it an R rating. They had to cut out a lot of the gore because the MPAA was particularly harsh on them since horror films faced heavy censorship in the early 1990s. See more »

Goofs

As a student of medical studies, even though he's insane, Dr. Giggles should know that hearts are only viable for transplant for about six hours. And that's under optimal storage conditions, not a pile of organs stored in a bucket. See more »

Quotes

Officer Hank Magruder: You owe me 35 years of sleep, you sick son of a bitch.
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Alternate Versions

The German VHS version was cut by just under 4 mins. to secure the FSK-18 rating. This cut version still found its way onto the notorious "Index for Youth Endangering Media" (BPjM) from 1994-2016. In November 2017 Dr. Giggles was officially released on DVD and Blu-Ray, featuring the same cut version as previously on VHS. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Skull & Bones (2007) See more »

Soundtracks

Real Today
Written by Nick Fowler
Performed by Tonto Tonto
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User Reviews

Very dated, but entertaining and creepy
28 September 2003 | by Nympho3278See all my reviews

I rented this movie one night from the B-list video store in town, more or less for lack of anything else to do. I expected it to be really lame, and boring, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually quite good.

A mental patient who believes that he is a doctor escapes the psych- ward, and returns to wreak murderous havoc on the town that he escaped from as a child after the "townsfolk" stoned his demented physician father to death.

Typical of the horror genre, there is the young, innocent heroine, who saves the day, and her not-so-innocent friends who aren't so lucky.

What sets this film apart is that it is original and creative, considering it came out before the Scream flicks. There are some really good, unusual death scenes. Not gory, but unique. It is also very creepy, and it moves fast, and never really drags. Holly Marie Combs is very good in this movie, and you actually care what happens to her character.

Bottom Line: A fun, humorous, creepy film to watch.


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Details

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1992 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Doctor Giggles See more »

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

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Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,714,815, 25 October 1992

Gross USA:

$8,403,433

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,403,433
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »

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