source: Scalpel

Robert Lansing acts his balls off this movie. I went through his movies and they're all TV movies pretty much would've like to see him in more motion pictures.

First, there was Vertigo...then, there was Eyes Without A Face...and now, there is Scalpel... A plastic surgeon has become estranged from his daughter, after murdering his wife, and his daughter's long time boyfriend. By his own admission, he does the devil's work...changing the ugly, maimed, and deformed, into the beautiful. Though, clearly...he indulges in more gruesome aspects of the job. The motives behind his actions are to secure his father's fortune. As he knows his father had written him out of his will and left everything to his daughter. Thus, he needs to keep her close, so that he could cash in on the inheritance he feels is rightfully his. . But this only acts to push her away. So, having lost his daughter, when his father dies, he must come up with a new plan. Which comes to fruition when he finds a battered * hobbling down the street. Her face has been destroyed...so he recreates it in the likeness of his daughter. Planning to use the woman, as his daughter's doppelganger, in order to trick his father's estate into handing over the money. Little did he suspect, though, that his daughter would discover his plot...and return to try and foil it. In a twist of fate, the two women start to work together, figuring he would resort to try and eliminate one of them. Leaving them with only one option. To fashion a scheme of their own...and turn the tables on him... When you sell your soul to the devil...there's always a price to pay...and the time to pay it always comes before you think it will. Just ask the not-so-good doctor...he's living proof. Because he's now trapped in one hell of a bad trip...from which he'll never escape. As the two women become the beneficiaries of everything he so desired to possess. Such being the cost of playing games with the devil, on his terms. Judith Chapman does an excellent job in both roles as Heather (his daughter) and Jane (the *). And despite it's budget, VHS-quality format...the film is actually much better than one would suspect. With a storyline that takes inspiration from, the aforementioned films, and then combining that with the plot from De Palma's Sisters. Though all with an air of originality. The whole thing was shot in Atlanta and Covington, Georgia...incorporating lots of beautiful scenery, and some great locations. Exceeding all expectations I had going in. It's definitely worth a watch. 7 out of 10.

As the world turns for Jane (Judith Chapman), so will the days of her lives, keeping her young and rich and reckless. The veteran soap actress plays a dual role, first Heather, an heiress believed by her plastic surgeon (Robert Lansing) to have drowned, and a * he operated on in the hospital to look like his daughter. Lansing is a sociopathic nutcase, desperate to control the estate of a father he hated, and that means getting rid of his brother and frequent co-conspirator Arlen Dean Snyder. Lots of twists and turns, especially when the real Heather turns up and begins to conspire with her doppelganger. I just love the shot of Heather supposedly drowning while Lansing pedals by on a boat and does everything but wave goodbye to her. Then after the funeral of snyder, there's a big chorus in a large cemetery of "When the saints go marching In" with everyone in colorful clothing as a big buffet is waiting for them. Chapman, the Tallulah Bankhead of soap operas, is fabulous in this, a part I could easily see a young Davis, Stanwyck or Crawford playing, although this is done on a very low budget. In spite of that, this melodrama (not really a horror film) is actually pretty good, and Lansing is a great antagonist. This keeps the audience guessing up until the end as to what's going to happen, and especially who of the three characters will have the last laugh.

Interesting that imdb has this under the initial title and not the one it seems to be better known for (Scalpel). You'll still find it easily with the title it is marketed (by Arrow for example) and it is a point that gets talked about in the extras of that release too. Talking about the Arrow release, it is amazing that the original DOP was not just available but went above and beyond to make sure anyone who wants to watch this gets the closest to what he had in mind back when they made the movie! Kudos to him and Arrow for allowing him that (also putting their own version on the disc for anyone to be able to compare and decide which to watch). But enough about technicalities (although I would argue more than important for the enjoyment), the movie itself is also quite a find. There are always curiosities in the horror world. Movies you may not have heard about, that do deserve to be watched though. This is one of them. It may have notions of other movies (like Eyes without a Face, a classic itself), but that does not take anything away from the movie or the lead performances! Rabid which was released the same year took a similar theme to a different extreme. Both movies are more than fine. So if you are into horror and like to be scared, I can recommend this highly .. especially when it looks so good as it does ...

A murderous surgeon (Robert Lansing) concots a twisted scheme to win his missing daughters inheritance money, by transfroming a Jane Doe (Judith Chapman) into her double. Twists within twists make the rather convoluted plot entertaining. Lansing's character is a real creep, and Chapman who plays both the daughter and Jane is superb. Over all this movie is a fun little Hitchcock wannabe that amuses till the closing credits.

Scalpel is very dark melodrama with a southern Gothic ambiance and style. This is one mean and nasty little thriller, but is really well made and superbly performed by the actors. Robert Lansing is a plastic surgeon that makes a disfigured * look like his disappeared daughter to get an inheritance. Judith Chapman looks great and delivers a fine performance. Robert Lansing is fantastic as the very unscupulous and psychotic doctor. Scalpel delivers big on sleaze, violence and darkness with murder, nudity, incest and leading characters that have no morals and revel in depravity. This is one sick flick, that is actually really good and a deranged and seedy soap opera with graphic sex and violence with foreboding and bleak southern atmosphere. Very creepy and effective , haunting and gritty. Thumbs way up if you have similar dark tastes in cinema.

So many times since I bought this Blu-ray, I've picked it up and then put it down again. A low budget film featuring facial surgery, maybe not. And then I watched it! Great film, full of surprises, not least of which is that the early exposition is dealt with so smoothly. From the brutal and explicit beginning, through the background story, the surgery and all, we are skilfully informed as the pictures fade into each other and we have arrived at the beginning of the tale that we expected to be the ending. Set in Georgia we get wonderful pictures of green and gold burial grounds and overgrown ruins. An atmosphere of creepy otherness develops alongside shades of incest. More a dramatic tale with tinges of the Italian gallo than a horror, this is nevertheless horrific and not without surprises. One particular surprise towards the end really caught me off guard and is followed quickly by the chase through the woods of a skimpy bikini clad women that almost as surprising as it is stunning. And then surprising again! It is a tragedy that director John Grissmer only made one other film and that almost a remake of this. Robert Lansing is effective as the leading man but Judith Chapman is an absolute revelation. Her career seems to have been more in TV and it is true that the interiors here sometimes look more like TV but Chapman is marvellous in a difficult role and always convincing. This is an underrated film that seems to offer little but does quite the opposite with great location shooting, some stunning key scenes and some real shocks.

I am the proud owner of an original copy of "Scalpel" on VHS. I deliberately use the words 'proud owner' because, even though far from being a masterpiece or even a gem, this is nevertheless a uniquely bizarre, eccentric and obscure melodrama/psycho-thriller. The basic plot as described on the back of the VHS already sounds quite absurd, but the film gradually gets more bonkers with every new story twist and additional perverted undertone that gets introduced! Robert Lansing is ideally cast, with his natural psychotic charisma, and terrifically performs his role as the totally preposterous plastic surgeon Philippe Reynolds who has more than just one mental issue. Even though he's already quite wealthy, like one of the characters aptly points out, he still wants to obtain his father-in-law's five million dollar inheritance at all costs. Slight problem, however, is that father-in-law hated his guts and left the entire fortune to Philippe's cute daughter Heather. Slightly bigger problem even; Heather vanished more than a year ago after she witnessed how daddy drowned her boyfriend in the pond. But when Dr. Reynolds rescues a strip-dancer from the streets, whose face has been reduced to goulash by a dissatisfied customer, he comes up with the brilliant idea to reconstruct her frontispiece to the exact image of his missing daughter and convince her to share the inheritance with him. Problems arise when Dr. Reynolds can't control his sexual desires toward his daughter/partner in crime, when other family members and friends become increasingly suspicious and – especially – when the real Heather suddenly returns home. "False Face" has the unique ability to be very brilliant and incredibly stupid at the same time! The plot makes some of the craziest twists and turns imaginable. They are highly implausible, of course, but also very inventive and definitely unpredictable. There were a couple of moments when the complete opposite of what I expected happened and that is something you just have to appreciate! Furthermore there are a few downright absurd sequences in "False Face", like a genuine and never before seen funeral jazz party (yes, indeed) and a hilarious flashback sequence showing Dr. Reynolds' wife drowning whilst he cheerfully paddles by in a dumb-looking little boat. The supportive cast is filled with luscious and typically Southern-Georgia characters, like for example a drunken sexist uncle and sleazy barman. The exquisite Judith Chapman also gives a stellar performance in her double; which really mustn't have been easy since the Jane-character is cocky and playful, whereas the Heather-character is timid and insecure. "False Face" is a truly fun movie, solidly scripted and directed by John Grissmer who – strangely enough – only made two movies with an interlude of a decade. The other being "Blood Rage"; a rare 80's slasher which I certainly wouldn't mind seeing also.

A psychopathic plastic surgeon transforms a young accident victim into the spitting image of his missing daughter,because he wants to inherit the family fortune which have been willed to his daughter.He who reconstructs the mutilated face of a go-go dancer into the likeness of his missing daughter"Scalpel" is a very taut and fascinating psychothriller with excellent central performances of Robert Lansing and Judith Chapman.The atmosphere is suitably sleazy and there is a bit of nasty violence including fairly graphic head bashing.Overall,if you are into twisted Southern psychodramas give this one a look.8 out of 10.