The Body Shop (1972) User Reviews

"Sugar and spice, and everything nice - that's what little girls are made of. But as they get bigger, they take on a figure, and some are much nicer than others..."

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 5/10 · 3 March 2010]

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'.

The Wizard Of Bore and The Bore-Bore Girls

[Tromafreak · 3/10 · 7 July 2009]

Ouch!! What a mess we have here. Not so much of a mess as a painfully dull, half-assed excuse for exploitation. Brought to you by the one and only, J. G. "Pat" Patterson, yeah, the same one from Moonshine Mountain. Doctor Gore, formerly known as The Body Shop, is, I guess, somewhat inspired by Frankenstein, and God knows what else. The Late Mr. Patterson also stars in this joke, as a heartbroken scientist/plastic surgeon, who has recently lost his wife in a car accident, and is driven insane from grief, to the point that it becomes clear that the next step is to slaughter countless females, then maybe rob a few graves for body parts, in order to "put together" the perfect mate. It won't be easy, but thank goodness his pal Gregg the hunchback is available to lend a hand, and to offer moral support.

If proof was ever needed that some peoples goals are not meant to be accomplished, here it is, gang. This Patterson hayseed obviously never had any business directing anything, much less, following in the footsteps of good ol' H. G. as a master of gore. I've never seen a gore movie that just flat-out refuses to give the viewer a single reason to keep watching. Even the gore is boring. Almost remotely humorous at times, but impossible to tell whether it's intentional or not. I pick "not".

Shot in Charolotte, North Carolina (home of the California Axe Massacre), on, most likely, a 3-digit budget, by a guy, as untalented as he may have been, who probably had an appreciation for drive-in trash, so, maybe we should give good ol' J. G. a break, I mean, he tried (I assume) which is more that can be said for most, and this movie is better than any of the big-budget super-hero garbage the theaters put out these days, although, I realize that isn't saying much. Besides, Doctor Gore is quite the improvement over Patterson's previous failure, The Electic Chair, so it's slightly possible he would have improved his craft in time, had he not died, so maybe it's not all that terrible, especially compared to the other movie on the DVD, How To Make A Doll, so what the hell, check it out. 4/10

independent gore

[Edible Fetus · 4/10 · 26 January 2000]

I own this movie. And it is terribly hard to find. It is a unique low budget little gore flick about a doctor seeking the perfect companion. It has the really humourous low budget feel to it, and the gore is suprisingly good for what appears to be a $500 budget. The director is claimed to be the master of gore. I wouldn't go that far, but maybe in his time he was. Overall 6/10 on the gore chart.

Don't be fooled!

[HSauer · 2/10 · 16 March 2003]

A couple of clarifying comments are in order. Herschell Gordon Lewis contributed a brief introduction to the video release of DOCTOR GORE (aka THE BODY SHOP), wherein he touched upon his collaborative efforts with J.G. "Pat" Patterson, director and star of DOCTOR GORE. Patterson concocted the "gore effects" for THE GRUESOME TWOSOME and a few other Lewis movies in the late 60s. Lewis remarks that whereas 2,000 MANIACS was a "five gallon" film (referring to the amount of stage blood required), the Lewis-Patterson productions were "fifteen gallon" pictures. Lewis does not describe DOCTOR GORE as a "fifteen gallon" film -- he's only talking about the films he & Patterson made together. Lewis has confessed (elsewhere) that his introduction to DOCTOR GORE was improvised before he'd even seen Patterson's film! So take it with a grain of salt.

This may be an "unfinished" film, but like some unfinished novels it does have an "ending." It's just missing some connective tissue.

Patterson has definite stage presence & a dry sense of humor, helping to make this simplistic show somewhat more watchable than it should be. There's an extremely bare-bones plot -- even BLOOD FEAST is more complex -- and a gratingly repetitive musical score by William Girdler. A bit of nudity & lots of skin. The entire middle section of the film involves the construction of a "perfect woman;" this is concentrated gore for the bloodthirsty, and laughable.

Patterson the director is in way over his head, but he tries hard to tell his story creatively, if it's possible to use Frankenstein clichés creatively. But the best reason to see this film (on Something Weird's DVD, if possible) is that it features a perfect Nashville weeper, Bill Hicks' "A Heart Dies Every Minute." Ain't it the truth!

I love this movie, I just can't help it.

[shiftlive · 15 December 2003]

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".

No!! Patterson made yet another movie!! The Electric Chair.

[c-f-eller · 1/10 · 7 January 2007]

One of the commenter's is wrong. This is not the only Pat Patterson film and he didn't die two years after this was made. He shot a film called the "Electric Chair" in Pineville, NC. He shot this a few years after Doctor Gore. Patterson died in the late 70's. I know this because he used my house and he left a cat there!! It sucked also. This was a big deal when the movie came out. No independent horror films were being made in NC. This movie didn't help matters. Patterson used to do gore effects for H. G. Lewis. He was also good at magic. His gore scenes in Body shop were actually well done. The film was shot in a building that also housed a 7/11. You can actually see the tops of the walls in some scenes. The budget was less that $20,000 and the script looked like a child wrote it. Only Patterson could understand it. Still...it's entertainment and it's a classic.

A movie that's not quite a movie...but see it anyhow

[InjunNose · 2/10 · 6 October 2014]

It's not just the fact that "The Body Shop", shot in 1973 and released on videocassette in the 1980s as "Doctor Gore", is badly made: it's that the film has a strangely larval quality, as though it came out of the oven too soon. (The notoriously awful "The Mummy and the Curse of the Jackals", which likewise was released to the home video market in the '80s, induces a similar sensation in the viewer.) Director J.G. "Pat" Patterson--who had worked with goremeister Herschell Gordon Lewis as an associate producer or assistant director on films like "Moonshine Mountain" and "The Gruesome Twosome", and handled the makeup effects in William Girdler's "Three on a Meathook"--takes center stage as Dr. Don Brandon, a plastic surgeon who comes unglued after the death of his young, beautiful wife. Determined to create a new woman who is physically identical to his departed Anitra, Brandon seduces and brutally murders a number of attractive ladies. Then he expertly stitches together their most desirable body parts with the help of his hunchbacked assistant Gregory (why does a plastic surgeon have a hunchbacked assistant and live in a gloomy castle?), animating the finished product with electricity. So yes, the movie is astoundingly terrible--and unintentionally funny--even by gore flick standards, but there are a couple of points of interest for horror cinema obscurists. The first is the potency of Patterson's gore effects: they're much more graphic than the ones he devised for "Three on a Meathook", sometimes jarringly so. Patterson was competent neither as a director nor as an actor, but he certainly deserves more credit as a makeup effects artist. The second is the introduction that Herschell Gordon Lewis filmed for the VHS release of "Doctor Gore", which is included among the bonus features on Something Weird's DVD edition of "The Body Shop". Lewis talks about the early days of the gore film phenomenon and kindly, if extemporaneously, eulogizes his late partner in crime (though he later admitted that he hadn't actually seen Patterson's movie when he filmed the intro). J.G. Patterson's contemporaries remember him as a nice guy, and he suffered the nice guy's traditional fate: he was shortchanged, ripped off and died without accolades. If Lewis-style carnage is your thing, you owe it to yourself--and to Patterson's memory--to see "The Body Shop".

Doctor Bore

[movieman_kev · 1/10 · 11 May 2005]

After the wife of a plastic surgeon dies, he gets his hunchbacked assistant to help him bring her back to life with various parts of other nubile, young, girls. This film wants to be a Hersel Gordon Lewis-type romp, but fails miserably. The acting is beyond bad, the gore effects atrocious (no, not in the good way), the plot almost none-existent and no fun to be had. Skip it. You want to know how incompetent it is? At one point you can actually see a movie slateboard quite obviously.

Eye Candy: Candy Furr gets topless and again in a flashback

My Grade: F

DVD Extras: Commentary with Jeffrey Hogue and Cynthia Soroka, A second feature "How to make a Doll"; Alternate Title sequence with Hershel Gordon Lewis intro; 2 shorts ("Quest of the Perfect Woman" and "Maniac Hospital"); Cover art gallery with music by the Dead Elvi; Trailers for "Dr. Black Mr. Hyde", "Boots and the Preacher"; "The Doctor and the Playgirls", "the Gruesome Twosome"; "Wizard of Gore"; "Awful Dr Orlof"; "Wacky world of Doctor Morgus"; "Proffessor Lust", "Monstrosity"; "Fanny Hill meets Dr. Erotico"; and "I, Marquis DeSade"

Easter Eggs: Theatrical Trailer; a scene from "Just for the Hell of It"; and a trailer for "Axe"

Horrible and horribly funny at the same time

[jem-cox · 1/10 · 23 August 2005]

My friends and I have watched this so many time I have lost count. This is worth seeing for those in the right frame of mind, meaning that this is not so much a good horror film as a film to lampoon for its funny quotes and bad effects. This film is best watched with other like minded individuals so you have someone to laugh with.

You'll laugh as Greg leaps and shuffles around the lab, petting his pet rabbit, while his hunchback shifts from right to left on his back. "Greg, stop clowning!", scolds Dr. Brandon. You'll laugh as J.G. Patterson gives hand signals to direct Greg to the other side of the operating table, while his hand is in the shot. And you'll probably chuckle when you realize that the final woman has none of the features he used to construct her with.

'Do you wanna haul my ashes?' 'Right on, baby!'

[Weirdling_Wolf · 7/10 · 25 March 2024]

I dig rudimentary gore FX, shrill organ themes, monosyllabic red-headed hunchbacks, evilly bubbling vats of acid, and spazzy-looking mad scientists with bravura comb-overs, so the goofball gruesome, Dr. Gore is, like a no-brainer, dude! For me, this enjoyably cheapnis precursor to Frankenhooker has much to recommend it to sleaze-ridden seekers of vintage trash. It's only a movie, but I still don't like how comb-over played Greg the hunchback for a sucker, douchey move, bro! Lacking the bravura blood-letting of gorefather Herschell Gordon Lewis, there's a kooky, can-do Ed Wood quality that proves irresistible, and the bodaciously body shopped blonde is one deadly hot mama!!!!

'Do you wanna haul my ashes?' 'Right on, baby!'

director's juvenile fantasy come to life

[McQualude · 1/10 · 2 November 2002]

Nothing but the director's juvenile fantasy come to life. This 'movie' is nothing more than an excuse for the director/actor to play kissy face with an attractive young woman who would otherwise never give him the time of day.

The plot is simple, the direction is nonexistent and the movie drags while the actor/director/writer/narrator narrates. Don't be fooled by the 'X' rating, there is no nudity and minimal gore.

J.G."Pat" Patterson is Dr. Gore in this campy 70s "lost film"

[kennywest1 · 8/10 · 2 March 2001]

If your looking for a very funny and weird 70's horror movie, try to locate a copy of "Dr. Gore". J.G."Pat" Patterson pretends to be Dr. Frankenstien in this homegrown gore-flick with the help of his hunchback,cigar-smoking, bearded helper, "Greg". His goal is to create a perfect woman from parts he manages to cut off unwilling subjects. I love all the cheap laboratory effects(including wrapping a woman in Reynolds Wrap, then setting the stage alive with fireworks),and I can recommend this movie to anyone who loves cheap cinema and Herschell Gordon Lewis who tells about J.G. Patterson in the preface of the film.

Makes Roger Corman Look Like Walt Disney

[forrest-adam · 1/10 · 27 October 2005]

Before I saw this movie I believed there were two kinds of bad cinema. (1) Your average, completely uninspired fare (i.e. "Constantine"), and (2) the work that is charmingly bad, or so-bad-it's good (a la "Manos The Hands of Fate"). Now that I've seen "Dr. Gore" I know there is a third kind of bad movie: the utter crap sandwich. That will be irrevocably tattooed on your memory. A work that is mind-bendingly execrable. Anathema.

I have hated certain films before, but I've never hated a film so much that my loathing reached its thresh-hold and became SELF loathing! Have you seen a movie that not only makes you regret losing the hour you spent watching it, but makes you grieve for another hour after that? Mystery Science Theatre disciples beware, this is soul-sucking cinema. Go Rent "Circle of Iron" or "The Killer Shrews" instead.

Pat Patterson and his movies

[suziesnowbird · 22 February 2006]

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.

Don and Greg make a mate.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 28 January 2022]

The Body Shop is, as its AKA Doctor Gore suggests, a splatter movie. As such, I didn't necessarily expect a great plot, but I had hoped for more than a tired mashup of Frankenstein and Les Yeux Sans Visage. Whenever mad doctor Don Brandon (played by the film's director J. G. Patterson Jr.) is busily hacking up young women for spare parts so he can build his ideal mate, the film is reasonably fun, but everything in between is really dull.

Dr. Brandon decides to build his perfect woman after his beautiful young wife dies in a car crash. Using hypnotic powers, he seduces his pretty victims and takes them to his lab where, with the help of his loyal hunchback assistant Greg (Roy Mehaffey), he removes the best body parts, disposing of the rest in an acid bath (standard kit for any mad doctor). The removal of limbs and organs is good old-fashioned messy fun in the same vein as H. G. Lewis (Patterson Jr. Previously helped on some of the Godfather of Gore's movies and provided effects for drive-in favourite Three On A Meathook), but the rest of the film feels like an excuse for the director to cosy up to some sexy cuties who are way out of his league.

The script is terrible and makes little sense: if the doctor has such incredible mind control over hot women, why does he go to such great lengths to build a mate? Admittedly, she's a babe, but the women who provide the body parts aren't exactly munters. Why not go to Hollywood and hypnotise some A-list actresses?

The acting is diabolical: according to IMDb's trivia, the only trained actor in the whole shebang was Roy Mehaffey and he doesn't say a word. The worst performance comes from the guy who plays an inquisitive cop, who stumbles awkwardly through his lines, and then disappears for the rest of the movie, no doubt hiding in shame.

As for the direction and editing, it's par for the course: so sloppy that we are treated to an entire song by the most lifeless band in the world, a really boring montage of romantic moments between the doc and his mate, and the most obvious accidental inclusion of a clapperboard in the history of film.

In the hilarious final act, the doctor's woman, having been trained to be a subservient sex slave, throws herself at any man she encounters, including Greg, which results in the jealous doctor attacking the hunchback with acid and a machete and then dumping his body in the acid bath. Then, while the doctor is out, Brandon's babe runs off with a truck driver; as a result, the doctor loses what marbles he still had and is locked up in an asylum.

3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

Terrible in an amazing way

[steveassault · 4/10 · 15 August 2020]

Gory, boring, poorly made, sleep inducing, and laughable. This is what I thought years ago when I rented and watched Body Shop. It was difficult to sit through. It was poorly made and acted. It was incredibly stupid. My friend fell asleep while we watched it (in the middle of the day). Now most people would think this is a condemnation but no, this is a recommendation. If you want dated, cheesy, gory, stupidity this will be right up your alley. Movies like this are magical in a strange way. It was a guy who wanted to make a movie and he did his best but it came out terrible but you get some boobs and gore along the way. They just don't make stuff like this anymore. They TRY to make movies that are "bad" but modern "bad" movies are just too well made and try too hard to be like this. The guy who made this for real did the best he could to make a film... and it shows. I love that. Total trash yet totally awesome!

ENNNNNNNNNDDDDDD!!!

[nhlgumby · 2/10 · 7 June 2002]

**Spoiler* It gives away the very irrelevant ending**

At the beginning of this movie, there was a brief intro to the world of gore by the master of gore movies, H.G. Lewis. He talked about how this movie was lost, and then found years after the director's death. He also talked about how gore movies were measured by the amount of stage blood used in it. Blood Feast was a 2 galloner, 10,000 Maniacs was a 5 galloner. But, then he goes and claims that Dr. Gore was a 15 galloner. I want to know where half of the 15 gallons went. Watching the movie, I saw very little near 15 gallons. Agreed, there was a fairly large amount of blood, but no where near 15 gallons. Some of the dismemberment scenes were definitely pretty gory and realistic, strings of flesh and all, but I wouldn't say 15 gallons.

"END!!! ENNNNNNNNNDDDDDD!!!" Does that sound familiar? That's what you should have been saying near the last half of this movie. After the Igor character was tossed into the acid bath, the movie slowed to a painful crawl. There was no coherent end, as it didn't fit into anything the 90 minutes before it provided. She drove off in a van with a total stranger, BIG DEAL! That's what happens when you keep an individual (I won't say person, because she doesn't qualify as a person) very innocent about the world around her. The doctor teaches the girl that a man is to be loved, so every man she meets, she loves.

Even though H.G. Lewis told us at the beginning of the movie that we may not like the acting, the directing, or even the gore... I will go with choices A and B. BOTH WERE TERRIBLE!! It was enough to give me bad dreams of cut editing and people with shifty eyes as they talk to one person. But, I made it through the movie, and came out stronger. Too bad I couldn't say the same after finishing ROBO C.H.I.C.

This was a BAD movie. I can usually take my doses of vinegar in good stride, but every once in a while, you get a movie that bites back. I think this movie took off an arm or a leg (haha... *sigh*) Admitted, I did enjoy the stare down scenes, where the good doctor stared at his future victims and opened his eyes REALLY wide and just stared. It was VERY similar to Fuad Ramseys in Blood Feast when he stared at that lady in his catering shop, and did not use his power after that. I guess this movie picks up where Fuad's powers left off.

*Final Judgement* The movie should have stayed lost. Good day

-Scott-

A dull movie ruined by a poor final reel

[Blairpac · 2/10 · 17 December 2002]

I know this movie is a low-budget horror movie intended for those in favor of shocks and "inexpensive" gore, but even considering that, this movie is just too dull, filled with an incoherent plot, along with awful music, and obvious signs that this movie was never finished.

Without giving any spoilers, I'll just say that by the final reel, things are wrapped up with no explantion at all, either by film or narration. The girl Anitra is real attractive, but yet that is not a good enough reason to enjoy this movie.

If you are a fan of those gore movies from the 60's and 70's, then you should watch it, but be warned that it does not even reach to the usual plateau of these kinds of movies.

A movie that begs to be MST3K'd..

[Croc O'Dile · 1/10 · 14 April 1999]

Ah yes, it's yet another retelling of the classic, "sociopathic murderous doctor creates female Frankenstein and falls in love".

From the same director who brought you such timeless classics as "10,000 Maniacs" (no, not the group) and "Blood Feast", this "unfinished" film virtually cries out for the MST3K treatment. The doctor's assistant even has overtones of Torgo from the classic "Manos: The Hands Of Fate". I don't know if the graphic, if fake-looking violence or the frequent stretches of dialogue-free tedium could have scared the crew off, though.

The main reasons to bother sitting through this movie are for the hysterical 'hypnosis' scene, the laughably serious ending and the rock-bottom production values. I actually watched all of the credits after this movie, for the same reasons you're inclined to slow down your car when you pass a serious traffic accident. That and the sheer genius of the end theme that sounds like a watered down "My Favorite Things" played on a toy piano. Goblin this ain't.

One of the best gore films ever made!

[GordonFly · 3 January 2002]

This film breaks no new ground, it's pretty much an updated version of 'Frankenstein'. It concerns a doctor who's wife has died, and he is now determned to create the perfect woman. He goes out to find females he deems to have the perfect parts he needs, hypnotises them, and takes them back to his lab where he proceeds to cut off the desired parts for his jigsaw puzzle with the aid of his hunchbacked assistant.

I've always loved gore, and films like this are my cup of tea! I don't know about any of you, but gore films with dismemberment are my favorites, and this is one of the best! I'm surprised to hear alot of people say that the gore effects in this film are phony looking, I disagree, they are quite realistic, and I love them for it. I especially love the secretary victim scene, the good doctor, or in this case not so good doctor, proceeds to cut off her arms with a scalpel as she watches, and then good ol Herscall cuts to a close up of her mutilated shoulder.

I love the technique for showing the severed limbs in the film, most of the time it's just an actress with her hand, or arm, sticking out of a hole cut into the table. Not a new technique to be sure, but it's very effective here.

I would love to pick this one up, but alas it's all but impossible to track down. Oh well, here's hoping for a dvd release.

Hayseed Frankenstein Opus

[Katterfelto · 17 June 2004]

During the audio commentary on Anchor Bay's DVD of "Dracula, Prince of Darkness," actress Barbara Shelley praises the charm of the "hand-crafted" special effects, observing that modern CGI effects are so perfect as to be unreal. She cites the theory of the "flaw in the rose," which says that the minor imperfections of a thing actually make it more beautiful.

Sort of like Scarlett Johansson's nose.

The theory also explains why low-budget indie horror films (particularly those from the 60s and 70s) are so entertaining. The lousy camera-work, amateurish acting and crummy production values serve to highlight the occasional flashes of brilliance, and nowhere is that more evident than in "Doctor Gore," a hayseed Frankenstein opus shot in the foothills of North Carolina.

Originally released as "The Body Shop," the film was produced and directed by J.G. "Pat" Patterson, who also starred in the film. A former TV horror host from Charlotte, North Carolina, Patterson had appeared in a supporting role in Herschell Gordon Lewis's "Moonshine Mountain" (1964), and had served as production assistant on several other Lewis films including the lighthearted sci-fi comedy, "How To Make A Doll" (1969). A year before "Doctor Gore," Patterson had written and directed "The Electric Chair" (1972), an obscure death-penalty shocker that played almost exclusively at drive-in theaters in Georgia and North Carolina.

Filmed near Asheville, North Carolina, "Doctor Gore" tells the story of "famous scientist and plastic surgeon, Dr. Don Brandon," who, after losing his wife in a car accident, sets about getting a new mate with the help of his inarticulate hunchbacked assistant, Greg. That's right, Greg.

It takes chutzpah for a director/producer to cast himself as the lead in a horror movie, especially when he looks like Don Knotts and sounds like Pa Kettle, which Patterson does. With his white short-sleeved smock and perpetually hangdog expression, he looks more like the town barber than a mad scientist. Cary Grant he ain't. Neither is he a spring chicken, and the scenes of him smooching and rolling around with nubile twenty-year olds are almost disturbing. Patterson does have spooky eyes, though, which helps because it allows him to use hypnotism as the device by which Brandon is able to get the little hotties to ignore the bad comb-over and thirty-year age difference.

Our aging Lothario's dilemma is that none of the girls quite pass muster. One has the right arms but the wrong legs, which is a problem for a man of discriminating tastes. So Brandon decides to create his ideal woman from scratch, to which end he sets about murdering and grave-robbing in search of the perfect parts.

The first of many astounding scenes occurs early on, when the doctor attempts to reanimate a girl's corpse using aluminum foil, alligator clips, and duct tape. Yup, duct tape. (A thousand-and-one uses, that stuff!) Of course, things go awry as they always do in such movies, and Brandon (a chain-smoking Patterson, with the ever-present cigarette dangling out of his mouth) dashes around flipping switches amid a shower of bottle-rocket sparks, like something out of a poor man's Peter Cushing Frankenstein film. Which is really what this is.

In all fairness, the laboratory sequences aren't bad. The lighting and photography almost aspires to the level of a Hammer film--but not quite--and the gore effects are surprisingly effective. Moreover, several scenes were shot at historic Seeley's Castle near Asheville, a fortress-like structure that looks so impressive, the footage could've been swiped from an Italian Gothic horror film.

Unfortunately, it's all downhill from there. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

In the scene in which Brandon brings his patchwork bride to life ("Anitra," played by statuesque cutie Jenny Driggers), Patterson made the critical discovery that Driggers couldn't act. She was so awful, in fact, that Patterson expunged almost all of her dialog in favor of a hilariously sappy voice-over. Till this point the film is fairly lucid, however it rapidly descends to a level of incoherence that suggests the director either died or ran out of money. Amazingly, neither was the case. After a surreal montage of previous scenes--set to the mournful strains of country singer Bill Hicks's "A Heart dies every Minute"--the film ends with the bikini-clad Anitra hitching a ride from some guy in a beat-up van while hubby sits in jail, mad as a baboon. It's not clear how he got there, but be sure and watch for the slate-board sticking through the bars.

"Doctor Gore" is hardly what would be called a "critic's picture," but neither does it sink to the level of an Andy Milligan film, and it's actually a more polished production than most anything by Ted Mikels, Ray Steckler, or H.G. Lewis. Moreover, it's got lots of pretty girls, and some flourishes of genuine lunatic humor. "Doctor Gore" wasn't meant to be taken seriously. Patterson was kidding the genre, only nobody got the joke.

Not a movie for film snobs, however drive-in movie aficionados will eat it up.

Funny, and touching if you are in a weird mood

[horrorbargainbin · 29 August 2002]

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.

No H.G. Lewis, but it tries real hard

[ronjaffe · 20 March 2004]

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

Low Budget Drive-In Camp

[Michael_Elliott · 12 January 2016]

The Body Shop (1972)

** (out of 4)

Dr. Brandon (J.G. Patterson, Jr.) loses his beautiful wife so he decides to build another one with the help of his hunchback. Soon the two are kidnapping women and chopping them up for their parts.

Also known as DOCTOR GORE, this film is pretty much a mixture of FRANKENSTEIN, EYES WITHOUT A FACE and THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF. This film is best remembered for features some gore but it's doubtful there's enough to keep most people entertained. I think it's best that you don't take this film too serious and just enjoy it's low-budget charm and sometimes gore.

Director Patterson, Jr., also cast himself in the lead and for the most part his performance is bad yet it's good enough for this type of movie. I thought the best thing that can be said about the film is that whenever it goes for some humor it usually works. I will gladly admit that I found myself laughing several times including the scene where the hunchback needs help getting his lab coat on.

Again, the film is mainly known for some of its gore but in all honesty there's really not too much here. There's more bloody in those early Herschell Gordon Lewis pictures but there are still some memorable moments here. The film goes on a tad bit too long and there's a long "romance" sequence that really goes on too long. Throw in a weird sequence with a country singer and another weird one with a sheriff and THE BODY SHOP is just campy enough to be slightly entertaining.