Shocker Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1989

Shocker was Wes Craven production that borrowed elements from his seminal early 80's hit, A Nightmare on Elm Street, to create a tale of a young man determined to bring justice to a brutal serial killer by using his powers of premonition. But when the teenager's quest is seemingly completed and the serial killer is killed on death row, he discovers that the nightmare has only begun… the killer has escaped the confines of his physical body and is now out for bloody revenge.

A city is gripped by fear, for an elusive serial killer is murdering entire families and leaving police clueless and flustered as to how to stop him. One night a high school football player, Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg), has a disturbing nightmare of the killer brutally killing his foster mother and sister. As soon as he awakens, he receives a call from the police; his nightmare was more than a bad dream… it was a premonition.

Jonathan confides with Lt. Don Parker (Michael Murphy), his foster father and a police detective, about his premonition and convinces him to help track down a man named Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi), television repairman by day and serial killer by night. When a group of four policemen, Jonathan and Don corner Pinker in his repair shop, Pinker proves what a dangerous foe he is by ruthlessly slaughtering the four policemen and escaping.

Eventually Pinker is captured thanks to the persistence of Jonathan, who possesses some strange bond with the killer that enables him to sense the killer in both dreams and reality. During the evening of his scheduled execution, a gloating and defiant Pinker divulges an ugly secret about Jonathan's past before succumbing to the fatal touch of the electric chair.

After the execution everyone believes Pinker is dead, but Jonathan suspects otherwise. His worst fear is confirmed when he discovers that Pinker's body may be dead, but his electricity-infused evil soul lives on and has the capability of possessing bodies, traveling through electrical outlets or even transporting through the television. Jonathan cannot run from such a foe forever, so he lays a trap to dispose of this devious killer before he himself is disposed of.

Shocker is a nifty little horror film that brings some new ideas to the table, but in order to fully enjoy all that this movie has to offer you most certainly must check your brain at the door. For the most part you'll easily follow along with the movie's logic and happenings, but there are some major plot holes and events that must be accepted at face value rather than explained away.

One of the more amusing, yet extremely far-fetched, events in Shocker is Jonathan's attempt to escape Pinker through the television. The two enemies race through a wide variety of television shows such as old black and white war movies, Leave it to Beaver, Frankenstein, a boxing match, a televangelist show and even the local news. You will actually see the two playing cat and mouse in the midst of the real stock footage, and the special effects are so well done that the chase is superimposed in a very convincing manner.

Shocker is equal parts brutal slasher and campy fun. When Horace Pinker slays people with his well-honed knife, mean intentions are written all over the scenes, but towards the latter half of the film we're granted some tongue-in-cheek guilty pleasures such as Jonathan literally pausing Pinker with a remote control, then ramming his frozen form against walls and ceilings by hitting the fast-forward and rewind buttons.

Mitch Pileggi was a perfect casting choice for the psychopathic Horace Pinker; the actor's sturdy frame and menacing snarl captures the essence of a guiltless killer flawlessly. Peter Berg, although possessing some talent, really did not shine in Shocker. His performance was often wooden and lifeless, so as much fun as the film was, I was left wishing Pinker's adversary was equally captivating.

If you are a fan of 80's metal then the Shocker soundtrack for this horror film is an absolute must – it contains a powerful assortment of brilliant hard rock and metal songs ranging from the gorgeous power ballad Timeless Love from Saraya to Megadeth's rendition of No More Mr. Nice Guy. This soundtrack has been out of print for a long time, which is one of the greatest crimes against music that exists if you ask me, but if you get the chance to locate a used copy from Amazon or eBay you won't regret it.

Movie rating: 7 stars
Soundtrack rating: 10 stars

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