Shocker (1989)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

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:

Shocker was filmed in ten weeks and in a low budget. Craven said that all this savings are in a small team work with talent and low known actors.

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:

Lt. Don Parker: Jesus. That chair really kicks ass.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)

Soundtrack:

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Good action movie!

Shocker is one of my favorite serial killer movies. At first glance it might look like a standard hack and slash movie though it has some of those elements, it isn't. There is some originality to this movie and the characters aren't your run of the mill dumb high school students. Oh, they're in high school, they're just not dumb. The "Shocker" played well by Mitch Pileggi of X-Files fame is a lot better than Freddie Kreuger or Jason Vorhees. He has a reason for killing that I won't give away. Not all of the students are killed if you can believe it and the ones that make it deserve to. There is a very good scene involving the killer and hero as they fight across multiple TV channels that I've never seen done before this movie. There is comedy in this movie but not much. It is not a "scary" horror movie. It is more of an action move that is done well. Catch it or rent it if you can.

Rayvyn