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Most horror films aim to play on fears that are already there, either by metaphor or literal images. It’s therefore a surprise that it took so long for someone to make a horror film involving the Dentist, one of the few things many people are genuinely afraid of from childhood to adulthood. In fact the fear is usually intensified the older we get as we experience tooth extractions, drilling for fillings and cavities. The sound of the drill alone is enough to send chills down many peoples spine.

It was, therefore, with great interest that I found a movie quite simply called “The Dentist”, even more interested when I discovered it was directed by Brian Yuzna. For the uninitiated, Yuzna made his name with involvement in Stuart Gordon’s seminal “Re-Animator” and went on to direct the sequel. He also directed classic gore movie “Society”, dealing with the fear of alienation and not fitting in, not a director to make a film that works only on one level. He has a reputation of making disgusting films appealing through a broader context that finds resonance with the viewer.It’s fair to say the film doesn’t disappoint on the shock value. Yuzna gets a huge amount of mileage from the deep rooted (if you’ll pardon the pun!) fear of vulnerability you get from being in the dentist’s chair, a feeling of helplessness as you put your trust in a man or woman who’s just millimetres from administering mind-numbing pain. What would happen if that person were insane? Find out by renting the movie!


Corbin Bernson plays the titular role ever so well, conveying the caring and passive manner of a dentist one minute to raving psychopath the next. The plot’s a little thin as Bernson’s character, who it’s implied is a control freak with Compulsive-Obsessive Disorder, discovers his wife is having an affair with the pool cleaner. He sees decay everywhere and has to clean it up, including a particularly nasty scene with a tax inspector that will have you all covering your eyes. That’s where Yuzna brings in his second level, once again making his comment on the class system, decaying the further away from perfection society gets.

The direction is excellent with nice camera angles and effective gore scenes that really get inside the mouth and under the skin in more ways than one. Not that it’s without its artistic merit, one shot involving the dentist’s reaction seen through his tooth mirror inside a little boy’s mouth is inspired. Whether it will put you off going to the dentist is dependant on your susceptibility to horror movies and any current reservations you may have about the tooth doctor.

It’s worth saying there’s a sequel as well that in many ways is a better movie. Featuring the same director and two cast members, it details the dentist’s escape from an insane asylum and his desperate to re-integrate himself into a small town society. This is more of a character study than the first movie as Bernson’s character struggles to keep his alter-ego at bay, even taking up dentistry again just to prove he can do it (and further the plot and gore effects to include a little self-harming), resulting in the movie being more restrained in the gore and shock department.Some may find the films a little cheap, admittedly the soundtrack sounds dated, though with Yuzna’s capacity for including dollops of humour in his films, this could be intentional. Also the characters occasionally do stupid things, especially the young girl with the braces who would surely have chosen another dentist after witnessing his first episode, but where would the horror industry be without stupid characters? Exactly! I’ll be back soon with more ramblings, until then…


“Beware the moon and stay on the path…”