DR. SAVILLE’S HORROR SHOW *** USA 2022 Dir: Kevin R. Phipps. 98 mins
Waking up in his torture dungeon, Michael (Michael Hanelin) is continuously tortured and tormented by the savage Dr. Saville (Allen Valor) mutilating him for a past indiscretion. While these events take place, the doctor begins telling him several scary stories to speed up the process: a bride determined to lose weight before her wedding is given a tapeworm implant that can’t be satiated, a heartbroken man getting through a break-up receives a supposedly-perfect replacement with murderous tendencies, and a loving father tries to protect his daughter from a zombie apocalypse that may or may not be taking place.
Overall, “Dr. Saville’s Horror Show” was a generally fun and likable anthology despite some flaws. For the most part, it’s the segments within the film that are quite fun, especially the first two which have some great setups and resolutions that play out quite well. The first segment ‘Consume,’ involving a woman who gets an experiment tapeworm ingested into her for a weight-loss treatment, has some great build-up with the purpose behind it being gradually revealed over time and generating some fantastic moments here with the side-effects coming out in full force. The second story ‘It’s Complicated,’ about a lonely man who gets a female companion that turns deadly, is pure cheesy fun with their relationship starting things out before turning into a silly monster movie filled with several impressive creature action once her true self comes out that provides some cheesy gore. ‘Break,’ the third story, has a lot to like with the father/daughter relationship during the zombie apocalypse that comes into play, but a reveal about what’s going on and the ability to tie it all together with the previous entries comes off quite clumsy and somewhat underwhelming. That’s nothing compared to the wrap-around which is genuinely abysmal and barely has anything going for it. The torture porn dynamics at play here are truly bottom of the barrel material that its interest is sapped before even starting and the finale bringing it all together is just pitiful and lame with the whole purpose of their interaction makes the introduction of the filmed segments feel awkward and shoehorned in to make this even worse.
Review by Don Anelli
DR. SAVILLE’S HORROR SHOW is available on Amazon Prime Video in the USA