An outrageously over-the-top black comedy, this is Brian Yuzna at his absolute best. THE DENTIST is quite simply one of the most wince-inducing films ever made, and also one of the best blends of horror and comedy there is. It might be a little too strange and extreme for some tastes, but there's no denying the originality and spirit prevalent in this film. Written by long-term Yuzna collaborator Stuart Gordon, this film chronicles the mental breakdown of a once-respected man, and has a twist ending which harks back to the one in THE CREEPING FLESH.This isn't a perfect film by any means, but Yuzna has been making horror films for a long time and he knows exactly how to extract the most from his rather limited budgets. You won't believe that this is a low budget film, as the camera-work, acting, and effects are all pretty good. And then, of course, there's that sick humour that Yuzna is famed for, and he doesn't disappoint here either. Lots of people get killed in lots of different ways, from an unlucky pool cleaner who suffers one of the bloodiest stabbings imaginable, to Earl Boen, a taxman who gets a clamp rammed into his mouth and opened very wide indeed. Close-up scenes showing teeth being extracted, drilled and abused in various ways are very hard to watch and it's frequently tempting to look away.Corbin Bernsen is excellent as the lead; physically he's very menacing, yet he also hooks us with his performance in a way that we can understand why he does what he does in the film. In Bernsen's eyes, everybody deserves to be killed, and it's not surprising seeing as the rest of the cast is populated by stubborn, pushy, selfish people who really do deserve just what they eventually get. Linda Hoffman goes through an excruciating transformation from a beautiful woman to something much worse, while it's good to see DAWN OF THE DEAD's Ken Foree back on screen again, even if it is only in the wasted role of a detective.THE DENTIST is a creative, imaginative film which never takes itself too seriously. I mean, how many films have a dentist surgery as their chief location? A low-budget gem of a movie, this is eminently rewatchable and rewarding viewing, and I had a lot of fun with it. One of the most enjoyable films I've seen of the past few years.

I was just surfing the web and found this movie and I soon rented it on my pad for the weekend. I finished it today, and I thought "Oh, my God!" In a GOOD way! What I MAINLY liked about this movie is the actual storyline. I prefer a Mystery/Horror movie to a Horror/Horror movie.It actually DID convince me to be scared of my dentist, but I laughed at myself after that. I did have a book with my while I watched it so that I could cover up any shots that were TOO gore. By gore, I mean close-ups of bloody mouths, such as when Dr. Feinstone stabs Jodi in the gum and blood sprays everywhere, and we see Brooke with her tongue cut out. AND when he 'tortures' Mr. Goldblum. And in one scene, Dr. Feinstone strangles Jessica to death and gave Karan a needle, and the air bubble travels to her brain and kills her. I had to cover the screen for THAT, too. There's also a lot of swearing in this movie, "Whore" is used loads, so is "Shit" and "Fucking". Well, Sarah reminds me of myself, the fact that she had her braces off. I got MINE off a month ago and NOW a have a plate.Overall, FOR CHILDREN? Almost CERTAINLY not. The VERY STRONG gore and violent scenes are VERY LIKELY to scare children and possibly some teenagers.

"The Dentist" is exactly what I was hoping it would be. A so-bad-its-good kind of film and it was! Hugely entertaining from the opening with the whole OCD sort of thing, i don't know if it was meant to be funny in places but it just was. The whole on-going joke with the braces and stuff was just hilarious! The acting was very midge, over the top and panto-landish. The directing was even worse! Wow, I don't think I've seen so many bad shot-types since "William and Kate:The Movie" but it all added to the camp fun of it all.As for the story and film itself, it was hugely entertaining, with an exciting finale, and some funny/inexpensive death scenes. If you're a die-hard horror fan, you should be able top see the funny side of it.

This would have been so much fun to see in a theater, back in 1996. There is a guilty pleasure corner of my movie taste which really appreciates really well done shocker movies."The Dentist" is panned sometimes probably because people usually have strong feelings over dental matters. Maybe the ADA launched a campaign against it, since dentists report they have to apologize for this movie and for "The Marathon Man" (which only has one scene comparable to the many in "The Dentist").It's amazing to note that according to the trivia page, the movie was shot in 21 days. Of course, post production can take longer than movie shooting sometimes and the editing for "The Dentist" is picture perfect. The quick cuts heighten the tension so much that in the scene where the Dentist "takes care" of his wife there's only two quick cuts showing what is happening. The rest is left to our very fertile imaginations! Corbin Bernsen was a good choice for the role since he has lots of experience playing psychologically "off" characters and he completely sold the obsessive compulsive aspects of the dentist.For me the pacing of the movie was just right. The film makers reveal the wife's naughtiness in just the right way. All of the characters in the dental office look like they are actual people working in a real office. There's lots of tension while they are dealing with impatient people awaiting the dentist's arrival. Meanwhile the dentist is off on the cusp of a huge psychotic breakdown! Unlike so many movies of this genre, the script is very very tight. All the victims fall into the dentist's trap in very calculated ways. Two law enforcement types even get involved in a little subplot that ends up creating a shocker of a showdown near the end.Definitely not for the faint of heart or the dental-phobic but a real roller coaster ride and heavily recommended for fans of intelligent gorefests.