The Dentist

"It's been six months. Time for your check-up!"

1996 1h 32m EN

😐

5.5

MID

★5.5TMDB · 345

ThrillerHorror

Synopsis

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Dr. Alan Feinstone has everything: a beautiful wife and a successful career in dentistry. However, when he discovers his wife's affair, he realizes that behind every clean, white surface lies the stench of decay.

“It's been six months. Time for your check-up!”

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Cast

Corbin Bernsen
Dr. Alan Feinstone
Linda Hoffman
Brooke Feinstone
Michael Stadvec
Matt
Ken Foree
Detective Gibbs
Tony Noakes
Detective Sunshine
Molly Hagan
Jessica
Christa Sauls
April Reign
Lise Simms
Paula Roberts

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brian Yuzna
Writers: Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon, Charles Finch
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Dentist Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brian Yuzna, shot by Levie Isaacks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alan Howarth. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christopher Roth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Corbin Bernsen and Linda Hoffman and Michael Stadvec carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It's been six months. Time for your check-up!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brian Yuzna directs. Levie Isaacks behind the camera. Alan Howarth scores. Christopher Roth cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "The Dentist Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Brian Yuzna, shot by Levie Isaacks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alan Howarth. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Christopher Roth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Corbin Bernsen and Linda Hoffman and Michael Stadvec carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It's been six months. Time for your check-up!".
9IMDB entry: tt0116075 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "trauma", "victim", "surprise", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: Levie Isaacks
Original score: Alan Howarth
Editing: Christopher Roth
Production design: William V. Ryder
Costume design: Warden Neil
Makeup / hair: Christopher Allen Nelson
Sound: Dennis Patterson
Stunt coordinator: Kurt Bryant
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $700,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Dentist (1996)

Part of

The Dentist Collection

The Dentist is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon, and Charles Finch. It stars Corbin Bernsen, Linda Hoffman and Ken Foree. It was followed by a sequel, The Dentist 2, in 1998.

Also by

Brian Yuzna

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What people are saying

JPV8522023-02-19
★ 6/10
Not the movie to watch before visiting the dentist. Not the strongest script but the horror elements were great and Corbin Bersen was a lot of fun, a stark contrast to his roles on L.A. Law and Psych. 3.0/5
Dr Nostromo2026-05-23
★ 4/10
45/100 A prominent dentist begins to lose his mind when we sees his wife cavorting with the pool man and proceeds to take it out on his patients. Corbin Bernsen always makes a good psycho and he was the highlight of the film. However, the script didn't really give him much to work with nor did it provide any personality, banter, humor or wit to anyone else making the whole film rather flat and lifeless. The cringe worthy scenes were quite often hampered by bad make-up presenting them more as freakishly grotesque than realistic. Not a great effort. -- DrNostromo.com