Review of Shocker (1989) by Cassandra M — 05 Apr 2008

"Shocker" takes a lot of heat for the similarities it shares with another Wes Craven film, a true horror classic, "A Nightmare On Elm Street." While "Shocker" is not a horror classic, it doesn't deserve the backlash it has received. In actuality, "Shocker" is one of the better horror flicks of the late 80s and early 90s. Starring Mitch Pileggi as Horace Pinker and Peter Berg as Jonathan Parker, "Shocker" is a solid slasher story with plenty of gore.

Pinker is a mass murder who murders high school athlete Jonathan Parker's family, and then Parker's girlfriend. After being brought to justice, Pinker is sentenced to death by electrocution, but that is only the beginning. Pinker studied black magic, and he turns himself into electricity during his date with the chair. He is able to transfer his soul into other bodies, effectively moving around the city, adding to his impressive body count. No one is safe, and Parker cannot trust anyone except for some gridiron teammates. Parker searches for Pinker to kill him once and for all, which leads to an awesome battle that takes the two through every television channel on the dial.

The film is as gory as any of the "Nightmare" films and is much better than the "Friday the 13th" series. "Shocker" was supposed to be the first in a series of films, a series that was supposed to become the next great horror franchise, but the concept apparently felt flat before Craven's vision could be realized. Nonetheless, "Shocker" was a very good horror film. It delivered a ton of thrills and spilled a lot of blood. I seriously recommend this film for every horror fan.