The Body Shop

In answer to Aschepler from Arizona's knowledge of Pat Patterson and the Dr. Gore movie, the trailers were not from the 50s and 60s nude movies. They were B Movies made around the same time of Dr. Gore. How do I know this? I was in one of his movies and I knew Mr. Patterson. He liked magic and was a great fan of Houdini. On a wall in his office hung an autographed picture of Houdini. He was a gentle man who loved magic and movies.

His movies are fun to watch and they go back to a time before computerization, when we were more easily entertained and less demanding. Creativity (good or bad) was alive and well then.

Towards the 2nd half of the film we see the good doctor in love with his creation. I was feeling quite torn about a girl at the time and could almost understand why the doctor felt such strung emotions. Sure, perhaps he goes to far when he puts a cleaver through Igor's hump in a jealous rage, but that's what he did.

Yes this movie is gorey and that's the real strong point. Watch this film if you are into amputations and operations that pretty young girls will not survive.

Sorry, but this movie is too slow paced to make my bad movie night recommendation list. J.G. Patterson, who stars in the movie, does a great job with the gore, although there doesn't seem to be enough of it...especially if you are into that genre.

The variation I saw included a 10-minute introduction by H.G. Lewis who praises Patterson for his acting and directing experience. Unfortunately, the movie does not live up to what is promised.

Fortunately, the color and sound have been preserved, unlike many movies from the late 60s and early 70s that have become faded and trashed.

Like many movies of this genre, the enjoyable parts are the mismatched pieces of editing, makeup and the horrid acting.

It definitely has the influence of Lewis, but stops short. If the pace could have been picked up, the movie just might be worth rating a 5.

Now if Patterson could have mixed in a little gratuitous sex, ALA Harry Novak, it might have made my "B" list. Make sure to watch out for the beach makeout scene...

Ron Jaffe Orlando, Florida

The lines in the title of this review are the first lines in this film's theme song, a wonderfully demented parody of the (in my opinion horrible) song "My favorite things" from "The Sound of Music". And this fun little detail isn't the only aspect that makes "The Body Shop" aka. "Doctor Gore" (1973) recommendable to my fellow Gore/Trash fans. The film, which was created almost entirely by J.G. Patterson Jr., who served as producer, writer, director and leading man as the eponymous Dr. Gore, is crap, no doubt, but it is also beyond doubt that it is amusing, and that everyone involved, probably Patterson especially, was aware that they were not exactly making a masterpiece.

Dr. Brandon (Patterson) a famous but totally insane plastic surgeon, looses his beloved wife Anitra, a model, in an accident. Along with his hunchbacked assistant Greg (Roy Mehaffey), he henceforth kidnaps beautiful young women in order to build himself a new, perfect wife out of their body-parts...

"Doctor Gore" is doubtlessly a film of the 'so bad it's good kind', but it is also has qualities beyond the usual ridiculous trashiness. Mad science has always been one of my absolute favorite Horror topics, and, as a matter of fact, it is also one of the coolest topics for ridiculous Gore Trash flicks. Obviously shot on a minimal budget, "Doctor Gore" pays some homage to the "Frankenstein" films, especially James Whale's masterpiece "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), and resembles the look of the early Troma / Herschell Gordon Lewis Gore flicks such as "Blood Feast" (1963) - only that this looks a lot cheaper and crappier. Obviously J.G. Patterson's motive was not merely to make a fun gore flick: Being a rather ugly, weird-looking fellow, his role of Dr. Brandon gave Patterson the opportunity to make out with a couple of hot, scarcely dressed young women (who would later end up as body-part donors in Dr. Brandon's laboratory).

Most of the gore is actually pretty well-made regarding the obviously tiny budget. The dialogue includes some extremely hilarious lines ("Get that, it might be the door... and put a coat on so they don't see you're a hunchback."). Besides the aforementioned theme song, "Doctor Gore" also includes a wonderfully crappy appearance by a country band called 'Bill Hicks and the Rainbows' - my new favorite band, NOT. For the rest of the film, I kept wondering whether Bill Hicks and Roy Mehaffey, who plays the hunchbacked assistant, are twins or even the same person - the two look exactly the same, and having two unrelated obese, red-bearded guys looking this weird in one film would be a huge coincidence. Other than J.G. Patterson, most of the cast members never did any other films. This is the first film I've seen out of the few by Patterson. Sadly, the man died of cancer in 1975.

Overall, "Doctor Gore" is a film that certainly isn't for everyone. As a matter of fact, it is total crap. But it is also amusing, and recommendable to my fellow fans of weirdness and cheap camp stuff. Dictionaries should show a screenshot from this film under 'trash flick'.

I believe that if you are a fan of films such as the A.I.P. classic "How To Make A Monster", Hammer Films' various Frankenstein pictures, and the gore films of the immortal Herschell Gordon Lewis then "The Body Shop" (A.K.A. "Dr. Gore") should be right up your alley.

This is not a movie that will not be enjoyed by film snobs, and deserves the respect of those of us who truly enjoy underground gems beyond thinking that they're "so bad, they're good". But rather, their beauty and enjoyment lie in the fact that they are less than perfect. You can feel the passion he had for for films and film making in J.G. "Pat" Patterson's single directorial effort "The Body Shop". Many people will groan and I'm sure laugh a few times while watching this film, but those of you who truly sit down to watch it, not to "try and watch it" (if you're entering with that attitude it's best to avoid these type of films altogether and stick to the latest big budget Hollywood star vehicles) and laugh ALONG with it will have quite a memorable and fun ride ahead of you.

SIDE NOTE: If you have ever wondered what Funny-man Louie Anderson would look like with a beard just check out the character of "Bill Hicks" of the films band "Bill Hicks and the Rainbow" who preforms "A Heart Dies Every Minute".