“So sad… how it can only be ruined… the rest of your life can only spoil what we’ve made… the idea that every second they’re just… rotting away. Can you live with that? I don’t think you can” – Dr. Alan Feinstone

Dr. Alan Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) is a dentist who enjoys the finer things in life like music and art. One morning his world starts to decay when he finds out his wife is cheating on him with the pool man. Unable to cope his slowly loses his mind leading him to commit unspeakable acts on his patients.

The Dentist is the brainchild of Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna who both rose to fame with their collaboration of the film Re-Animator. The Dentist is a black comedy/horror hybrid that doesn’t miss a beat as the film exploits to the fullest all of our fears of going to the dentist. Yuzna direction is spot on as he effortlessly mixes sexuality and violence with the films more over the top moments. The body count is high and the death scenes are all gruesomely done. The film is beautifully photographed and all the deaths are stylishly done.

A film like the Dentist will fail or succeed if the right person is not chosen to play the role of Dr. Alan Feinstone. Initially the choice of Corbin Bernsen as the insane dentist Dr. Alan Feinstone doesn’t make sense that is until you start to watch the film and very quickly his performance reels you in. Corbin Bernsen brilliantly walks the fine line where he comes close to going over the top with his performance and every time you think he is about to make the leap he reels himself back in. The rest of the cast are all more then adequate as they all complement each others performances very well.  Overall The Dentist is Brian Yuzna’s most polished film as a director to date.

The DVD:

The Dentist is presented in an anamorphic widescreen that preserves the films original aspect ratio. The image looks clean, detailed and sharp. Colors look nicely saturated and vibrant. Overall this transfer looks pretty good considering that this DVD was released during the near the beginning of the DVD format.

This release comes with one audio option a Dolby Digital Stereo audio mix in English. There are no problems with hiss, distortion or any other sound defects. Dialog is clear and music and effects sound evenly balanced. Removable Spanish and French subtitles have been included.

Extras for this release include the films original trailer, a bio/filmography for Corbin Bernsen, and filmographies for Linda Hoffman & Ken Foree.

The Dentist is another solid horror film from director/producer Brian Yuzna. Unfortunately this DVD is lacks any substantial extras and the audio/video presentation while good can still be improved upon. For now this DVD release while far from definitive will have to do tell a better release comes along.