Shocker (1989)

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer (WGA):

Wes Craven (written by)

Release Date:

27 October 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

On October 2, at 6:45 AM mass murderer Horace Pinker was put to death. Now, he's really mad.

Plot:

After being sent to the electric chair, a serial killer uses electricity to come back from the dead...

Plot Keywords:

Electric Chair | Back From The Dead | Serial Killer | Electricity | Lifting Person In Air

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Michael Murphy	...	Lt. Don Parker
Peter Berg	...	Jonathan Parker
Mitch Pileggi	...	Horace Pinker
Sam Scarber	...	Cooper
Camille Cooper	...	Alison (as Cami Cooper)
Ted Raimi	...	Pac Man (as Theodore Raimi)
Keith Anthony-Lubow-Bellamy	...	Football Player
Heather Langenkamp	...	Victim
Virginia Morris	...	Diane
John Tesh	...	TV Newscaster
Jessica Craven	...	Counterperson
Emily Samuel	...	Sally
Richard Brooks	...	Rhino
Peter Tilden	...	Reporter
Bingham Ray	...	Bartender

Also Known As:

Shocker: No More Mr. Nice Guy (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (TV rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (video rating) (cut) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Norway:(Banned) (1990-2003) (cinema release) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Alive Films

Trivia:

According to Wes Craven, the film was severely cut for an R-rating. It took around 13 submissions to the MPAA to receive an "R" instead of an "X".

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Shadow of cameraman on ground outside Jonathan's backyard as Jonathan runs from Officer Pastori; shadow also visible on the two themselves.

Quotes:

Horace Pinker: Ahh, my kind of town!

Movie Connections:

Features "Leave It to Beaver" (1957)

Soundtrack:

Sword & Stone

More crap by Wes Craven. That's no Shocker...

Prior to A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, Wes Craven directed this familiar, mediocre nonsense about a psychotic madman who preys on families in their homes at night. His killing spree has the entire town afraid to go to sleep - that is until a local high school football hero has a vivid dream that shows his family being murdered by the elusive killer. The dream turns out to be a premonition after he wakes up to a phone call telling him that his family is dead. He then uses the images from the dream to describe and eventually identify the killer who is later sentenced to death by electric chair. During his execution, though, something goes wrong, transforming the killer into an electric force with the ability to jump into people's bodies and control them. SHOCKER makes it pretty obvious that Craven felt the need to cling onto a successful concept and ride on it as far as he could. At least, that was the impression I got from the movie, since it is basically just an altered version of ANOES. Some of it was mildly entertaining, but really just another Wes Craven flop...