As we roll closer to Halloween I’ve decided to up my game and do three double bill reviews. I’ve picked movies that won’t require me to be too verbose in my analysis, but should still be fun. First up is a 1992 Doctor Double Bill. That is I am review the comedy horror Doctor Giggles and the fantasy horror Doctor Mordrid both from 1992. The coincidences don’t stop there though as they both star an actor named Combs. They aren’t related but if you watched TV in the 1990’s you probably recognise them both.

Dr. Giggles (1992)

First up is the horror comedy slasher film “Dr. Giggles” from 1992. Directed by Manny Coto and written by Coto and Graeme Whifler. While Coto may not be the most recognizable name as a director, he has become a regular writer for horror television over the years. His credits include Dexter, American Horror Story and the Exorcist TV series. One instantly recognizable name from the 1990’s in Holly Marie Combs (One of the stars of the TV series “Charmed”) and Dr. Giggles was her first staring role in a feature film. Slashers though are more about the killer than the final girl and here we have Larry Drake playing the titular villain. Larry previously played the villainous “Durant” from the movie “Darkman” (1990).

Thirty Five years after a killing spree by Dr. Evan Rendell resulted in him being shot dead by police, his unhinged son (Drake) has escaped from an asylum and returned to the town of Moorehigh to continue his fathers work. He becomes increasingly obsessed with Jennifer Campbell (Combs), a young woman with problematic heart. The original cause of Dr. Rendell’s killing spree was that his wife’s heart was failing and he became obsessed with giving her a transplant (By killing people and cutting out their hearts). Now his son wants to replace Campbell’s heart and will kill anyone else that gets in his way.

Open Up And Say Arrrrrgh

Slasher movies swarmed the 1980’s, so by the time 1992 rolled around we’d seen pretty much everything. It wasn’t until 1996 when “Scream” added a layer of polish and a big touch of meta-references that the genre started to feel relevant again. With that in mind you can see why this film had mostly negative reviews when it came out. However, we’re a long way from the 80’s now and slashers that don’t try and drop twists, subvert expectations or be self referential suddenly feel sort of fresh.

It helps that Dr. Giggles brings a lot of personality to the table courtesy of Larry Drake’s performance. The methods of killing and the medical puns make him a memorable antagonist. It also helps to have Hollie Marie Combs as the final girl. As well as being a generally good actress, few people feel quite as wholesome as Hollie. That works well for a final girl as it makes you automatically sympathetic. The rest of the cast are somewhat below average and don’t offer anything memorable. They aren’t so bad as to take you out of the movie and most of them are just there for the kill count so this is fine.

The Last Laugh

This is a formulaic yet fun slasher movie. The villain is memorable and has a distinct personality. The final girl is actually a good and recognizable actress (Who achieved fame later) and plays the part well. The kills all fit the theme and there’s even a few good visuals along the way. Against that is a paper thin plot with more than a few holes. That doesn’t get too in the way with a comedy horror slasher so this narrowly earns a 6/10. High than I expected to give this! If you like slashers and/or comedy horror I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Doctor Mordrid (1992)

In the early 1990’s Charles Band’s Full Moon Entertainment became quite ambitious. In 1990 they released the movie “Robot Jox”, not a great movie but ahead of it’s time for what it tried to achieve on a modest budget. Marvel meanwhile was not in a great place with it’s movies. It wouldn’t be until 1998’s “Blade” that they started the journey to the modern era of superhero movies. Instead their most recent movies were Dolph Lundgren’s “Punisher” (1989) and 1986’s Howard The Duck. Not movies that set the world on fire. So no shock they were willing to give Band the rights to make a “Doctor Strange” movie. Sadly (Or luckily) those rights expired while this film was in pre-production and Band decided to simply change the names and move forward with it.

Anton Mordrid (Jerffrey Combs) is a wizard tasked by a being called “The Monitor” to protect the Earth from an evil Wizard called Kabal (Brian Thompson). Kabal needs to acquire the philosophers stone and a number of alchemical elements to unleash his minions from the fourth dimension. Mordrid befriends and is assisted by Samantha Hunt (Yvette Nipar), a research consultant to the police. As Kabal gets closer to his goal, Mordrid is suspected by the police of committing the crimes and he must escape custody and meet his nemesis for a final showdown at the Cosmopolitan Museum.

Master Of The Dark Arts

This is one of those horror adjacent movies, simply because it involves dark magic. In truth it’s no more a horror than Charmed or Buffy the Vampire slayer. Brian Thompson, who plays the evil antagonist “Kabal” was a regular on both of those shows and honestly I wouldn’t have been surprised to see the Shannen Doherty or Sarah Michelle Gellar turn up. Brian has one of those combinations of faces and voices that make him perfect villain material. His acting ability was never quite enough to raise him to a higher level and so he became type cast. For a cheap horror though, he’s perfectly adequate. Jeffrey Combs however is actually a much better actor than his long run of low budget horrors and TV shows would suggest. Any time he turns up in a movie like this, the quality raises.

Despite the budget this is a well put together movie with a mostly higher quality level of acting than you may expect. But in typical Charles Band style that is only true of the main characters. Once you reach the bit parts the acting quality drops right down. Again though, not really any worse than an episode of Charmed. Most aspects of this movie are reasonable. They just about get away with the effects at the end of the movie, which were obviously minimized for the sake of the budget. The big problem is the script. It is 50% generic and 50% plain bad. The climax felt sort of random and unearned as did the relationship between the main characters.

It’s A Kind Of Magic

This is film that could have been a lot better even with the special effects limitations of the day. Effectively being a Doctor Strange movie, we have a raw concept we know can work. We have an excellent protagonist, a good leading lady and a villain that slips into the role like a comfy pair of shoes. But then we have a plot that doesn’t seem to have any plans for how to tell a story with these very fine ingredients. The movie is on the short side at a mere 74 minutes, so it’s no surprise it feels like it was just about to get into its stride when BAM it’s over. As a result, the best I can give this is a 5/10. This is basically a TV movie. If you want to see Jeffrey Combs at his best, check out “Re-Animator” (1985) instead. If you are curious about the Doctor Strange movie that never happened it may be worth watching, otherwise give it a pass.

So this is one I have been looking forward to for a long time. Those that know me, know that I have a keen interesting in Norse Mythology, legends, stories and history. I wouldn’t claim to be an expert on the topic but I probably know more than most viewers of this film do and I know enough to be picky about accuracy with the genre (For example I never got on with the TV show “Vikings”). So I greeted the news of this movies production with both excitement and trepidation. T

he trailer however looked fantastic and the movies director, Richard Eggers has a reputation for painstaking historical accuracy, so I ended up cautiously optimistic. I am happy to say the movie far surpassed my expectations.

Outrageous Fortune.

Interestingly this movie probably only happened due to a chance meeting between Eggers and Icelandic singer Bjork of all people. To some that may seem strange, but the singer was always very passionate about her homeland and it’s history so I’m not surprised that some of that enthusiasm rubbed off on Eggers.

The key player though is actually Bjork’s long time musical collaborator Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (Aka “Sjón”), who was introduced to Eggers via Bjork. It seems the two hit it off and Sjón ended up co-writer of the movie. The final piece of the puzzle was actor Alexander Skarsgård who had himself been seeking a viking themed project for a while, so when he met up with Eggers to discuss possibly working together the discussion quickly turned to making a Viking Epic.

Though This Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In’t.

Fans of Shakespeare may find the plot of the film familiar since it’s source is the legend of Amleth as written by Saxo Grammaticus, the same source as Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. However while the stories may share a similar synopsis they are very different in execution. The goal here was to create a film that reflected the tone of the Icelandic Sagas and in my opinion the succeeded in that goal. It’s worth noting though that it isn’t the kind of story telling modern audiences are used to and as such a lot of the mainstream movie goers may find this not to their pallett.

Joining Skarsgård’s “Amleth” is Anya Taylor-Joy as “Olga” an enslaved Slavic Sorceress. Anya had worked with Eggers previously on The Witch and is definitely a name to watch in the future (Indeed she has been cast as the new “Furiosa” for the Mad Max spin off of the same name). Claes Bang, who played Dracula in the BBC’s 2020 adaptation of that story take on the role as primary antagonist “Fjölnir”, Amleth’s treacherous uncle. Nicole Kidman plays Amleth’s mother “Gudrún” and with supporting roles are Ethan Hawke (as Amleth’s father) and Willem Dafoe (as a Heimir the Fool). Dafoe, is obviously a favourite of Eggers and rightly so (and is earmarked to play Count Orlock is Eggers proposed Nosferatu remake, a role he is perfectly suited for having already sort of played the character in “Shadow of the Vampire”).

One May Smile, And Smile, And Be A Villain.

For those unfamiliar with Norse legends the movie may seem dark and more than a little subversive. But those that are familiar know exactly what to expect. Much like with one of my other passions Film Noir, there is a major thread of fatalism within these epic tales and the characters tend to be deeply flawed. These stories are not the traditional heroes journey instead each one is more of a tragedy.

There are stories such as “Njáls saga” that tells of multi-generational blood fueds in which ultimately no one wins. Then there is Egil’s saga about a family who would often be so consumed with rage they would kill their own allies and are often portrayed as cruel and selfish. The expectations of a saga are that things will end badly, that destiny is unavoidable and that life is unrelentingly cruel. The Northman delivers this in spades.

There Is Nothing Either Good Or Bad But Thinking Makes It So.

Amleth is a character driven almost entirely by his sense of an inescapable fate, one which he only briefly tries to flee from but ultimately fails. The betrayal he suffers early in the movie has more to it than it first seems and the depth of that betrayal goes further than expected. In his journey to vengeance he loses everything but his desire for vengeance… at least for the most part. He does find some redemption through his relationship with Olga and ultimately tries to make things right for at least someone if not for himself and those tied in to his vengeance.

Like many of the saga’s this story isn’t about glorifying violence but instead an examination of the darker side of human nature, the cruelty of the age in which it was set and the complexity of the people that had to live in that time. This was a very conscious decision from Sjon and Eggers and it’s one that improves the film but may potentially put off viewers unfamiliar with this kind of storytelling. Then again earlier seasons of Game of Thrones weren’t that different to this, but that series was a soap opera by comparison. Here you don’t always know the motivations behind a betrayal. There’s no long walks in a garden discussing it. It just happens.

For Who Would Bear The Whips And Scorns Of Time.

The authenticity doesn’t end with the story though. Eggers is somewhat obsessed with accuracy and that paid off well with his previous two movies “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse”. The amount of effort that went into finding the perfect locations and building accurate sets perhaps go some way to explain this films high budget. Carvings built in India and sent over form the basis of temples, entire towns built out of northing to convert coastal Ireland into the land of the Rus in Eastern Europe and of course the variosu sets in Iceland itself.

The rain in Ireland was relentless but this was only to the benefit of this production. Mud was everywhere and some of the most impressive sets were built only to burn to the ground. No expense was spared and it shows in the end result. This is a beautiful looking movie and when the journey moves to Iceland it does a great job of selling the unique marvel of that countries landscapes. Where Ice and Fire walk hand in hand and you can believe the giants of Niflheim and Muspelheim could arrive at any time to crush mankind.

To Thine Own Self Be True.

Speaking of Norse mythology, it is worth noting that Eggers masterfully works the mystical into the gritty realism of the movie. The director seems to enjoy presenting a fantasy but in such a way that you know it is in the perception of his characters and not necessarily something physically happening. This is most notable with Amleths battle with the Draugr (Undead) that guards the sword of the same name. We see the scene twice, one baring more fantastical elements and the other more realistic.

We also see Olga through Amleths eyes as a great Valkyrie ready to take him to Vallhalla. Perhaps the best element though is one where the myth crosses most into the real world and that is in the path of the Berserkers and Ulfhednar. Amleth seems to be a hybrid of the two and he and his fellow warriors channel their rage making them ferocious and unstoppable in battle. This is done brilliantly and believably, showing the rituals and concoction they use to go into rage before battle.

To Sleep, Perchance To Dream.

As for the acting, the boy playing young Amleth and a few of the minor roles were unconvincing in places, but it didn’t take anything from the movie and the kid was compelling enough when he needed to be. All the major parts however were performed convincingly. Skarsgård puts in a career best performance here and it really was the role he was destined for. I also want to give special credit to Bang and Kidman, both excelled in their roles. Kidman’s part doesn’t really come into it’s own until late in the movie, but when it reaches that point her performance was explosive. Bang meanwhile managed to really humanize the movies the movies primary antagonist.

Avante Garde composers Sebastian Gainsborough (A.K.A. “Vessel”) and Robin Carolan (of Tri Angle Records) provide an effectively ominous soundtrack that fits thematically providing a constant dark tension while also reminding us of the Norse setting. At at it’s weakest it sounds like Skyrim (Which is itself a pretty good soundtrack) at it’s best it’s up there with the soundtracks of the top fantasy/historic epics. It may not be in the running for the best soundtrack ever but it is definitely a positive for this movie.

What Dreams May Come.

Overall this is a superb movie. Eggers obsession with authenticity gels well with Sjón’s deep knowledge and SkaaSkarsgård’s passion. You simply won’t find a more authentic representation of the sagas. This is what the writers of those sagas would have pictured them as. You can almost smell the blood and feel the heat of the fires. It is beautiful, brutal and passionate.

Sadly though between the movies very high budget and what seems like generally poor distribution and marketing the movie is almost certainly going to end up a major bomb. I can only hope that it earns the respect it deserves retrospectively, like such past financial failures as “Blade Runner” and “The Thing” (Also two of my favourite movies). This movie won’t be for everyone, but for me it’s a 8.5/10.

Tag: fantasy

1992 Horror Double Bill