The Dentist

Plot

Dr. Alan Feinstone, a Los Angeles dentist, secretly suffers from extreme obsessive–compulsive disorder and a preoccupation with cleanliness and perfection. On his wedding anniversary, he discovers his wife Brooke is having an affair with the poolman, Matt. After the encounter, Alan retrieves his pistol and follows Matt to the home of Paula Roberts, a friend of Brooke's. Alan invents a story about a surprise party and watches Paula invite Matt inside; when Paula's dog attacks him, Alan shoots it in self-defense.

He then drives to work. At his practice, Alan hallucinates that a child patient has rotten teeth and accidentally stabs him. Detective Gibbs investigates the dog's death. Alan's next patient is beauty queen April Reign; he hallucinates she is his wife, fondles her while she is unconscious, and attempts to strangle her.

Her manager Steve Landers realizes what happened, punches Alan, and threatens a lawsuit. Alan sends his staff and patients home, including teenager Sarah. That night, Brooke meets Alan at his practice; he sedates her, pulls out her teeth, and cuts off her tongue. Matt discovers Brooke alive but sedated, and Alan stabs him to death.

Sarah and Paula wait for Alan at his practice. When Paula praises Matt's work, Alan aggressively drills into her tooth. His assistant Jessica questions him, and he fires her; when she threatens to expose him with April's pantyhose, Alan kills her.

Production

Producer Mark Amin conceived the idea of a slasher film about a dentist during a lunch with Brian Yuzna. Brent V. Friedman wrote an initial script about an alien orthodontist, which Amin rejected because he wanted no fantastical or paranormal elements, focusing instead on the fear of sitting in a dental chair. Stuart Gordon and Dennis Paoli pitched the project to producer Pierre David and wrote a treatment in which the dentist, Dr. Alan Feinstone, was described as fastidious, a clean freak, and very neurotic, and which included the opening scene of Alan discovering his wife's affair with the poolman.

Amin felt the finished script needed to be extended over two days, so Charles Finch rewrote it to begin with Alan in a psychiatric hospital as an unreliable narrator, allowing events to be seen from the dentist's perspective. Gordon was initially set to direct but was replaced by Yuzna, who also drew the film's storyboards. For accuracy in dentistry and to understand Alan's psychology, the filmmakers visited actual dentist offices and asked staff if a dentist could do something absolutely crazy; the staff described dentists as crazier than one could think, saying they are a king in their office.

Filming

The kill scenes were influenced by Alfred Hitchcock's films. Principal photography ran from September 25, 1995 to October 21, 1995, shot by Dennis Maloney (later replaced by Levie Isaacks) on a budget of $700,000 in 18-20 days. The slightly overexposed photography was intended to give a crisp texture, differentiating it from other horror films that were dark and smoky, and to articulate Alan's obsession with cleanliness. Initially set to be shot in Montreal, filming locations included 115 North 1st Street, 1500 East Ave, San Fernando Boulevard in Burbank, Pasadena City College in Pasadena, and a residential home and Front Street Studios in Los Angeles.

Release

The Dentist debuted on HBO on October 18, 1996, as a direct-to-television release. By January 2023, Rotten Tomatoes showed 0% positive reviews from seven critics, with an average score of 2.9 out of 10. Allmovie described it as a mediocre horror-comedy centered on dental fear, offering nothing new beyond graphic images of mutilated mouths and unsettling references to oral sex. Alan Jones of the Radio Times called it both gruesome and riotously funny.

TV Guide gave it two out of four stars, noting that its excessive Grand Guignol style might alienate viewers who wish the creators, likened to Sam Raimi and Stuart Gordon, had shown more restraint. Anthony C. Ferrante won Best Special Effects at the 1996 Fantafestival for his work on the film. The movie also took home the Jury Grand Prize at the 1996 Sweden Fantastic Film Festival and was nominated for Best Film at the 1996 Fantasporto. Vidmark Entertainment put out a VHS version on December 31, 1996, followed by a Lionsgate DVD on October 21, 1998.

In January 2023, Vestron Video released the film on Blu-ray for the first time as part of their Collector's Series, pairing it with its sequel in a two-disc set.