Shocker (1989)

Shocker sees horror director Wes Craven attempting (but failing) to replicate the success he enjoyed with A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), bringing to the screen another supernatural psycho in the form of serial killer Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi), who uses black magic to free his spirit as he is being zapped in the electric chair. Transferring from body to body, Pinker is able to continue his grisly murder spree, AND have a little fun with Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg), the high school football star who was instrumental in Pinker's arrest.Craven not only rips off his own ideas, using dreams as a major plot device, but also mimics the horrible tongue-in-cheek style of the later Elm Street movies, his killer a wisecracking figure unable to be destroyed by normal means. The result is a real stinker of a movie, boasting a lousy central performance from Berg (whose whiny nasal delivery is unbearable), lots of dreadful visual effects, and a plot that makes very little sense, all capped off with a sequence that is easily one of the worst things Craven has ever committed to film (and that's saying something): a battle that takes place inside a television set, with Pinker and Jonathan travelling through several TV shows, the plucky high-schooler eventually using the TV remote to control his enemy. I'm not entirely sure what Craven was aiming for, but the result is embarrassing in the extreme—even worse than BB the robot in Deadly Friend.N.B. I just remembered the moment where Pinker disguises himself as a massage chair, which is as bad as, if not worse than, the TV channel hopping scene.

Wes Cravens' "Shocker" is often one of the more derided in the directors' career, but in this own reviewers' humble opinion, it still manages to be pretty entertaining, even as it gets awfully silly and keeps wavering between a serious, sombre tone and an insane, over the top one. It doesn't help that it's too obvious that Craven was trying to create another Freddy Krueger in the form of raving maniac Horace Pinker, a savage psychopath played to foaming-at-the-mouth perfection by Mitch Pileggi, eventually to become better known for playing Skinner on 'The X-Files'.Pinker's on the loose, slaughtering whole families, but opposing him is college football star Jonathan Parker (a remarkably sincere Peter Berg), a nice guy who was raised by a police lieutenant (Michael Murphy). Jonathan and Horace, who are connected in a way that the younger man doesn't anticipate, are also psychically linked, and Jonathan is able to give the cops his name and place of business and before too long the killer is caught and executed.But the story doesn't end there, as Pinker, in league with Satan, "survives" the electric chair and lives on to overtake various unlucky people and control their bodies, including, in the movies' most memorable sequence, a little girl. How can one hold in their laughter watching this blonde haired moppet curse like a sailor, and try to operate a bulldozer?Ultimately, the movie is a little too absurd for its own good, but damn if it doesn't have some good atmosphere, show off some amusing ideas, and go overboard on the bloodshed. One particular murder scene is just drenched in the red stuff. One of the methods used to combat Horace is pure corn, involving Jonathans' love for girlfriend Alison (Camille Cooper) and an all-important locket. The best stuff is the wonderfully ridiculous climax in which a rampaging Horace and Jonathan run amok through TV programming (they end up in an episode of 'Leave it to Beaver' where Jonathan pleads for the Beavers' help). This does show some invention, and the special effects are effectively cheesy. (One has to love the "You got it, baby!" moment.)The cast is extremely game throughout this thing; also popping up are Ted Raimi as an assistant coach, Vincent Guastaferro ("Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI") as a victimized cop, Heather Langenkamp in a tiny, non-speaking cameo as a murder victim, Richard Brooks ('Law and Order') as football player Rhino, Ernie Lively as the warden, rock guitarist Kane Roberts also doing the cameo thing as a road worker, and Cravens' kids Jessica and Jonathan in bits. The heavy metal soundtrack adds to the fun.Overall, this may not be something this reviewer would necessarily consider "good", but it's still something of a hoot, and may keep some people watching out of sheer disbelief.Six out of 10.

Mitch Pillegi, Peter Perg and Michael Murphy star in Wes Craven's 1989 horror film. A teen tries to stop a killer TV repairman who becomes electrical. Jonathan Parker (Berg) is a football playing teen whose family is murdered by a psychotic TV repairman, Horace Pinker (Pileggi). Jonathan has the ability to see where he strikes and after his girlfriend, Allison (Cami Cooper) is the next victim, he stops at nothing to find Pinker. Pinker is then captured by Jonathan's adopted father & police lieutenant, Donald (Murphy). Once he's executed, Pinker becomes an electrical force that's able to channel through people making them kill. Jonathan learns what happens and tries to stop the ghastly killer once and for all. I've always enjoyed this film and Mitch is great in it. I recommend this good 80's horror flick.

Wes Craven's "Shocker" doesn't have much of a reputation, but I didn't mind it although I thought it just got too silly as it went along almost becoming a joke upon itself. However it does hark back to the surrealistic touches of Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street", as Craven recycles certain ideas (like the suburbia setting) and adds variations with no real narrative stringing them together. But with that in mind, I found it to be an mildly rousing, if unevenly confounded horror comedy with Craven's vivid direction (with characteristically free-flowing cinematography) and an amusing animated performance by Mitch Pileggi as a family serial killer who manages to survive the electric chair by body hopping to continue his vicious murder spree while also seeking vengeance against the teenager (a deadpan Peter Berg) that put him in the chair. I actually prefer it, before its gimmicky electricity angle kicks in and then it drags on for far too long. The story kind of reminded me of the similar themed "The Horror Show" (1989), but that one was much more serious. "Shocker" can be dark in spots (and surprisingly violent with its splatter), but its soften by its self-knowing dialogues (the killer's smart arse remarks), daft actions and goofy eccentricity. Some scenes are so ridiculous like something out of a cartoon, which can be its charm or Achilles heal. The special effects are clean and direct, while the score has a constant anxious drill to the cues. Performances are adequate with Michael Murphy showing up and there are some small parts for Ted Raimi and Heather Langenkamp. More so cheesy than electrifying, but unassuming entertainment nonetheless.