Shocker (film)
Encyclopedia
Shocker is a 1989
horror film
written and directed by Wes Craven
. The relatively low-budget film has since become a cult classic
. It starred Peter Berg
, Michael Murphy
, and Mitch Pileggi
as the antagonist Horace Pinker.
Both Wes Craven and Universal had hoped for the film to launch a franchise (Craven had particularly wanted to create a new series since he felt he had not been given due profits from New Line Cinema
resulting from the Nightmare on Elm Street series). However, due to the middling commercial performance and poor reception of the film, no sequel was made.
is on the loose in a Los Angeles
suburb, and a television repairman with a pronounced limp named Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi
) becomes the prime suspect. When the investigating detective, Lt.
Don Parker (Michael Murphy
), gets too close, Pinker murders Parker's wife, daughter, and his biological son. However, his adopted
son Jonathan (Peter Berg
) develops a strange connection to Pinker through his dreams and leads Parker to Pinker's rundown shop. In a shootout in which several officers are killed, Pinker manages to escape. He targets Jonathan's girlfriend Allison (Camille Cooper) in retribution.
Another dream leads Lt. Parker and the police to Pinker, who is in the midst of a kidnapping. This time, just as Pinker is about to kill Jonathan, he is arrested. Pinker is quickly convicted and sentenced to die in the electric chair
.
Prior to his execution, Pinker reveals that Jonathan is, in fact his son, and as a boy, Jonathan had shot him in the knee
trying to stop the murder of his mother. But what they do not realize is that Pinker has made a "deal with the devil
". When he is executed, he does not actually die but instead becomes pure electricity, and is able to possess others (it is unknown if the possessed hosts live or die after Pinker leaves their body since some of them were shown to be lying motionless after being released) to continue his murderous ways. He soon possesses Lt. Don Parker. Parker uses his strength to fight off Pinker, who escapes into a T.V. dish. Jonathan and his friends try to find a way to fight him.
Eventually, Jonathan, with the aid of Alison's "spirit", devises a scheme to bring Pinker back into the real world and accidentally discovers that Pinker, as with all energy sources, is bound by the laws of the real world and uses this limitation to defeat him. Pinker threatens Jonathan that he will find a way out of his "prison". The film ends when Alison's voice tells Jonathan to take care of himself, while Jonathan's neighborhood suffers a blackout.
by Universal Pictures
in October 1989. It grossed $16,554,699 at the box office. Shocker received mostly negative reviews from critics and holds an 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
based on 12 reviews.
The film was released on DVD
by Universal Studios
in 1999. It was subsequently re-released by the studio in 2007 as a double feature alongside Craven's The People Under the Stairs
.
(who would later play Freddy Krueger
's abusive foster father, Mr. Underwood, in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
), Megadeth
who covered Alice Cooper's 1973 hit "No More Mr. Nice Guy
." The movie's "title song" was recorded by The Dudes Of Wrath, which was composed of KISS
' Paul Stanley
and producer Desmond Child
both on vocals, Def Leppard
's Vivian Campbell
and Guy Mann-Dude
on guitar
s, Whitesnake
's Rudy Sarzo
on bass guitar
, and Mötley Crüe
's Tommy Lee
on drum
s. Also backing vocals by Van Halen
bassist Michael Anthony
and Kane Roberts
. The soundtrack was released on Capitol/SBK
Records in 1989.
Soundtrack listing:
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
. The relatively low-budget film has since become a cult classic
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
. It starred Peter Berg
Peter Berg
Peter Berg is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is known for directing films such as Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, The Rundown, Hancock and Battleship. He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights, which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor...
, Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy (actor)
Michael George Murphy is an American film and television actor.-Career:Murphy played Woody Allen's duplicitous friend Yale in the film Manhattan...
, and Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi
Mitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...
as the antagonist Horace Pinker.
Both Wes Craven and Universal had hoped for the film to launch a franchise (Craven had particularly wanted to create a new series since he felt he had not been given due profits from New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
resulting from the Nightmare on Elm Street series). However, due to the middling commercial performance and poor reception of the film, no sequel was made.
Plot
A serial killerSerial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
is on the loose in a Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
suburb, and a television repairman with a pronounced limp named Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi
Mitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...
) becomes the prime suspect. When the investigating detective, Lt.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Don Parker (Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy (actor)
Michael George Murphy is an American film and television actor.-Career:Murphy played Woody Allen's duplicitous friend Yale in the film Manhattan...
), gets too close, Pinker murders Parker's wife, daughter, and his biological son. However, his adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
son Jonathan (Peter Berg
Peter Berg
Peter Berg is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is known for directing films such as Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, The Rundown, Hancock and Battleship. He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights, which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor...
) develops a strange connection to Pinker through his dreams and leads Parker to Pinker's rundown shop. In a shootout in which several officers are killed, Pinker manages to escape. He targets Jonathan's girlfriend Allison (Camille Cooper) in retribution.
Another dream leads Lt. Parker and the police to Pinker, who is in the midst of a kidnapping. This time, just as Pinker is about to kill Jonathan, he is arrested. Pinker is quickly convicted and sentenced to die in the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
.
Prior to his execution, Pinker reveals that Jonathan is, in fact his son, and as a boy, Jonathan had shot him in the knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
trying to stop the murder of his mother. But what they do not realize is that Pinker has made a "deal with the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
". When he is executed, he does not actually die but instead becomes pure electricity, and is able to possess others (it is unknown if the possessed hosts live or die after Pinker leaves their body since some of them were shown to be lying motionless after being released) to continue his murderous ways. He soon possesses Lt. Don Parker. Parker uses his strength to fight off Pinker, who escapes into a T.V. dish. Jonathan and his friends try to find a way to fight him.
Eventually, Jonathan, with the aid of Alison's "spirit", devises a scheme to bring Pinker back into the real world and accidentally discovers that Pinker, as with all energy sources, is bound by the laws of the real world and uses this limitation to defeat him. Pinker threatens Jonathan that he will find a way out of his "prison". The film ends when Alison's voice tells Jonathan to take care of himself, while Jonathan's neighborhood suffers a blackout.
Cast
- Peter BergPeter BergPeter Berg is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is known for directing films such as Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, The Rundown, Hancock and Battleship. He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights, which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor...
as Jonathan Parker - Michael MurphyMichael Murphy (actor)Michael George Murphy is an American film and television actor.-Career:Murphy played Woody Allen's duplicitous friend Yale in the film Manhattan...
as Lt. Don Parker - Mitch PileggiMitch PileggiMitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...
as Horace Pinker - Sam Scarber as Cooper
- Cami Cooper as Alison
- Richard BrooksRichard Brooks (actor)Richard L. Brooks is an African-American actor, singer, and director. He is best known for his role as Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette during the first three seasons of the NBC TV drama Law & Order .Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Brooks studied acting, dance, and voice work at...
as Rhino - Ted RaimiTed RaimiTheodore "Ted"/"Half Ted" Raimi is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Lieutenant Tim O'Neill in seaQuest DSV and Joxer the Mighty in Xena: Warrior Princess/Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
as Pac-Man
Cameos
- Heather LangenkampHeather LangenkampHeather Langenkamp is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Nancy Thompson from the A Nightmare on Elm Street films...
as an intended victim of Pinker's. Langenkamp played Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven's landmark 19841984 in film-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
horror film, A Nightmare on Elm StreetA Nightmare on Elm StreetA Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American slasher film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in his feature film...
and two of its sequels, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream WarriorsA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream WarriorsA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is a 1987 slasher film and the third film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The film was directed by Chuck Russell and starred Heather Langenkamp, Craig Wasson, Robert Englund and Patricia Arquette in her first role.- Plot :Six years after the events...
and Wes Craven's New NightmareWes Craven's New NightmareWes Craven's New Nightmare is a 1994 horror metafilm written and directed by Wes Craven. Although it is the seventh installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, it is not part of the series continuity, instead portraying Freddy Krueger as a fictional movie villain who invades the real world...
. - Wes CravenWes CravenWesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
as the neighbor - Jessica Craven (Wes Craven's daughter) as the clerk
- Jonathan CravenJonathan CravenJonathan Craven , son of renowned horror director Wes Craven and ex-wife Bonnie Broecker , is a writer and director with a number of credits to his name. Aside from his lineage, he is probably most noteworthy for his co-writing credit on The Hills Have Eyes 2 and his work on the short-lived NBC...
(Wes Craven's son and the film's visual effects coordinator) as the jogger (one of Pinker's possessed hosts) - Dr. Timothy LearyTimothy LearyTimothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
as the television evangelist - Brent Finkelstien as the talk show guest
- John TeshJohn TeshJohn Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK...
as the TV newscaster - Michael Matthews voices the Evil Mouth that grants Horace Pinker's request for power in Horace's contact with the devil.
- Kane RobertsKane RobertsKane Roberts,born Robert William Athas is a heavy metal guitarist best known for his tenure in Alice Cooper's band during the late 1980s...
(the guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist from Alice Cooper'sAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
band) as a buff construction worker (one of Pinker's possessed hosts) - Eric SingerEric SingerEric Doyle Mensinger , better known as Eric Singer, is a hard rock and heavy metal drummer for the rock band Kiss and formerly for singer Alice Cooper...
as a member of the band on the talk show
Release
The film was released theatrically in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
in October 1989. It grossed $16,554,699 at the box office. Shocker received mostly negative reviews from critics and holds an 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 12 reviews.
The film was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
in 1999. It was subsequently re-released by the studio in 2007 as a double feature alongside Craven's The People Under the Stairs
The People Under the Stairs
The People Under the Stairs is a 1991 horror film directed by Wes Craven and starring Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A. J. Langer, Ving Rhames and Sean Whalen.- Plot :...
.
Music
Original musical contributions were made by Alice CooperAlice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
(who would later play Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger
Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...
's abusive foster father, Mr. Underwood, in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is a 1991 American slasher film. It is the sixthand as the title suggests, intended to be the lastfilm in the series of films featuring Freddy Krueger...
), Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
who covered Alice Cooper's 1973 hit "No More Mr. Nice Guy
No More Mr. Nice Guy (song)
"No More Mr. Nice Guy" is a single by the hard rock group Alice Cooper, taken from the 1973 album Billion Dollar Babies. The single reached #25 on the US charts and #10 on the UK charts, and helped Billion Dollar Babies to reach #1 in both the UK and the US...
." The movie's "title song" was recorded by The Dudes Of Wrath, which was composed of KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
' Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley
Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
and producer Desmond Child
Desmond Child
Desmond Child is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.-Career:...
both on vocals, Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
's Vivian Campbell
Vivian Campbell
Vivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish rock guitarist who is a member of Def Leppard and was, from May 2010 to November 2011, a member of Thin Lizzy. Prior to joining Def Leppard in April 1992, he had been a member of Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King...
and Guy Mann-Dude
Guy Mann-Dude
Guy Mann-Dude is an American-born musician who was best known in the late 1980s and early 1990s after his self named band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1988...
on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
's Rudy Sarzo
Rudy Sarzo
Rudy Sarzo is a Cuban American hard rock/heavy metal bassist. Sarzo has played with many well known heavy metal acts including Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Manic Eden, Dio and Blue Öyster Cult.-Early life:...
on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
's Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
on drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s. Also backing vocals by Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
bassist Michael Anthony
Michael Anthony
Michael Anthony Sobolewski , known professionally as Michael Anthony, is an American musician who is currently the bass player in the rock supergroup Chickenfoot...
and Kane Roberts
Kane Roberts
Kane Roberts,born Robert William Athas is a heavy metal guitarist best known for his tenure in Alice Cooper's band during the late 1980s...
. The soundtrack was released on Capitol/SBK
Records in 1989.
Soundtrack listing:
- "Sword & Stone" – BonfireBonfire (band)Bonfire is a German heavy metal band, founded in Ingolstadt, Germany in 1972. Bonfire has a unique history. Currently there are two bands who have held the name. The original group started out as Cacumen, became Bonfire and ended in 2011 as Charade...
- "No More Mr. Nice Guy" – MegadethMegadethMegadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
- "Shocker" – The Dudes Of Wrath
- "Timeless Love" – SarayaSarayaSaraya were an American hard rock band, based in New Jersey and featuring singer Sandi Saraya, guitarist Tony "Bruno" Rey, keyboardist Gregg Munier, bassist Gary Taylor, and drummer Chuck Bonfante...
- "Demon Bell — The Ballad of Horace PinkerHorace PinkerHorace Pinker is an American punk rock band formed in 1991 in Tempe, Arizona and currently based in Chicago, Illinois. They play an energetic, melodic form of pop-punk, filled with catchy hooks and political lyrics, and are staunch supporters of independent music...
" – Dangerous ToysDangerous ToysDangerous Toys is an Austin, Texas-based hard rock band with often humorous lyrics. Founded in 1987, Dangerous Toys put out four full-length albums and one live album before unofficially disbanding at the turn of the millennium.... - "Love Transfusion" – Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
- "Different Breed" – Dead On