Review of Shocker (1989) by Mark V — 06 Jun 2014

Shocker is a 1989 supernatural science fiction black comedy horror thriller slasher film written, produced, and directed by Wes Craven and starring Peter Berg, Mitch Pileggi, Michael Murphy, Cami Cooper, Richard Brooks (the black guy from the series finale of Serenity), Ted Raimi (brother of writer/director Sam Raimi), Sam Scarber, and Heather Langenkamp in a "blink or you'll miss it" cameo appearance.

The protagonist of Shocker is high school football player Jonathan Parker, played by future filmmaker Peter Berg, the adopted son of police lieutenant Don Parker, played by Michael Murphy. Serial killer Horace Pinker, played by Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files), was a former television repairman with a limp. Pinker kills Don's wife, foster daughter, and other foster son as well as Jonathan's attractive girlfriend, so the last remaining Parkers arrest Pinker and take him to the electric chair, where of course, he gets fried to death.

However, after being electrocuted, Pinker comes back to life as a supernatural ghost after making a deal with the Devil. Jonathan turns out to be Pinker's biological son who shot Pinker in the knee after witnessing him trying to kill his mother. This is also what causes Jonathan to develop a strange connection with Pinker, who uses electricity to come back from the dead and carry out his vengeance on Jonathan.

Now, let me just say right off the bat that this movie is absolutely insane. You have a psychopathic, wise-cracking, foul-mouthed serial killer with a limp. You have a fantastic heavy metal soundtrack. You have hallucinations as well as nightmares. You have some gore here and there. You even have a final fight between the hero and the villain in the TV world. Sounds fucking nuts, right?

Shocker is a fucking blast to watch and it's by far one of Wes Craven's most underrated films, as well as one of the most underrated films in the horror genre. Like Deadly Friend, Shocker is a movie that I can watch and never get bored with. Shocker is atmospheric, entertaining, and witty as fuck. In other words, it's electrifying and positively shocking in how fun it is (pun fully intended).

For better and for worse, Wes Craven has created a more technologically advanced re-imagining of A Nightmare on Elm Street, but with a bigger budget, a more professional cast, and some new, fresh ideas. Now, if you watch this movie, please don't take it seriously. If you do so, you'll want to gouge your eyes out. While it's a horror film, it has its share of humor and black comedy moments as well.

Peter Berg is very likeable as Jonathan Parker and I also really enjoy Michael Murphy as his foster father. Cami Cooper is also pretty good as Jonathan's girlfriend Alison and even provides some good eye candy. However, Alison provides more to the story than just being eye candy. The one performance that truly stands out is Mitch Pileggi as Horace Pinker. Pileggi was spectacularly fun to watch and you can tell he was having a blast play this character.

Wes Craven does a great job directing the film and the screenplay is very clever and occasionally droll. The horror/scare scenes work quite well with some decent suspense and a lot of nice atmosphere. The score is also really good. However, the best part of the movie would have to be the heavy metal soundtrack. It's fantastic. Also, for 1989, the special effects are top-notch.

FINAL SCORE: 8/10.

Many things aren't quite explained, such as Jonathan's psychic ability, and many things aren't really that explored, such as why Pinker turned into a psychopathic serial killer. While it's atmospheric, it's not really scary. However, despite all that, I'm a big fan of Shocker. It's fast-paced, it's witty, it's clever, it's fun, and it's definitely worth a watch. If you're a fan of Wes Craven, you might enjoy this one.