Wuchakk

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-

A college-age musician/writer rents a house to get some work done, but his girlfriend insists on throwing a sorority party with guest frat boys. Things go awry, however, when a succubus crashes the party.

"Dreamaniac" (1986) was the director's first real film and originally called "Succubus," but this changed after the success of "A Nightmare on Elm Street," which explains the tagline: 'You don't have to live on Elm Street to have a nightmare.' While it opens with a dark dream and there are surreal moments reminiscent of that popular film & franchise, it's at heart a cabin-in-the-woods slasher with the variation of a succubus as the antagonist.

The problem is that it's too one-note. The entire movie takes place in this house, mostly at night, which can be explained by the budget of $60,000 (equivalent to $176,000 today, factoring inflation). In other words, the production didn't have the funds for multiple locations. So, the events in the house had better be interesting enough to maintain the viewer's interest, but that's hardly the case.

The 80's ambiance is great, though, and the gore's well done, if that's your thang. Plus, there are several good-lookin' females, such as Kim McKamy as Pat (aka Ashlyn Gere), Sylvia Summers as Lily and Linda Watts as Jan (aka Linda Denise Martin), not to mention a couple of amusingly obnoxious ones, like Cynthia Crass as Francis. But the flick's strapped with too much male nudity (which is unsurprising given the director's orientation). The few positives simply aren't enough to make it worth the time. Speaking of which...

It runs 1 hour, 22 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: C-/D+

A couple in Los Angeles want to take their relationship to the next level so the man introduces the woman (Ginger Lynn) to an odd group with which he's involved. This gets her in trouble with the police in which she's assigned a defense attorney that allows her to stay at his manor (Wings Hauser). Ken Abraham (aka Ken Hill) is on hand as a studio guy who warms up to her and assists.

"Mind, Body & Soul" (1992) is a comic booky crime thriller with occultic horror on a TV budget and a 'B' or 'C' level of proficiency. The producer/writer/director (Rick Sloane) tries to make up for this with plenty of female breasts on display. The story reflects the Satanic Panic that started in America in the 80s and spread in the 90s. There's even a reference to heavy metal fans influenced by the deviltry in their music to (supposedly) commit a particularly grisly crime.

The flick's entertaining enough for what it is, but it's brought down by plastic sets, hammy acting, a lack of artistry and predictableness. Concerning the hammy acting, the main actors aren't so bad, like Ginger Lynn, but some go over-the-top, like the security guard at the prison.

A good example of a movie of this sort having a sense of artistry is "Gargoyles" from two decades prior. In other words, a production team can be strapped with a low budget, but that doesn't mean they can't utilize their strengths to make a worthy 'B' flick with a sense of artistry. As for the "predictableness," when you meet a certain character, you'll know exactly who he's going to turn out to be.

Aside from the star, brunette Toni Alessandrini works well as Priestess Tura in the female department.

In some ways, it's comparable to "Howling IV: The Original Nightmare" from four years prior, just not as 'good.' In other words, as dubious as that one might be in its entertaining way, this one's not up to that level.

It runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was in Los Angeles.

GRADE: C-