Shocker Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Shocker Blu-ray Movie Review

Short circuited.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 6, 2015

The recent sad death of Wes Craven has removed a surprisingly thoughtful voice from the annals of film. That very thoughtfulness is on display in Craven’s commentary on this new Blu-ray disc, where the celebrated writer-director (and sometimes actor) talks quite winningly about the “veil” between reality and dreams and how he’s attempted repeatedly to exploit the connection between the two realms in such films as A Nightmare on Elm Street. Some naysayers may claim that Craven was “simply” a horror film aficionado of decent skill and (to them) occasional innovation, but even a cursory glance over Craven’s oeuvre should easily prove what a fecund creator he was. The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, The Serpent and the Rainbow and Scream 5-Film Set (to name only a few) offer visceral thrills in abundance, but perhaps unexpectedly, at least for a horror genre that is often brain dead, Craven’s films are often rather smart. Shocker revisits some of the ideas that Craven had first started to explore in A Nightmare on Elm Street, and in fact Craven evidently wanted to build a new franchise with this film, one where he could benefit more abundantly from expected profits which were denied to him earlier in his career. Shocker turned out to be something of a critical if not a total box office disappointment, however, though seen now with a bit of distance it’s a slight but still at least occasionally enjoyable slice (no pun intended) of whimsy, one which takes its concept of a villain existing as “pure electricity” in some fun directions.

Even the smartest of filmmakers can stumble at times, and Shocker is admittedly not the most intelligent film of Craven’s career, which is not to suggest it’s the total loss that some critics have averred since its release. There’s little doubt that Craven only slightly masks concepts he’d already explored in A Nightmare on Elm Street (as he himself admits on the commentary track), but Shocker, for all its conceits and gimmickry, is a surprisingly personal film at times, at least insofar as Craven looks at the relationship between fathers and sons and how nature versus nurture can affect one’s destiny.

Part of the problem with Shocker is that Craven never really provides enough plot to fully carry the film through its running time. Serial killer Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi) has been leaving a trail of victims that have befuddled investigating detective Don Parker (Michael Murphy), ultimately setting his sights on Parker’s own family. Escaping the slaughter are Parker and his adopted son Jonathan (Peter Berg), a kid who seems to have some kind of telepathic connection to Horace, one which allows the elder Parker to finally “get his man”. Pinker’s arrest and subsequent execution are handled briskly from a cinematic standpoint, but it turns out Pinker has a trick or two up his sleeve, and his appointment with the electric chair magically morphs him into pure energy, something that allows him to travel at will and to inhabit various other characters in the film at several key junctures, leading (of course) to more bloodshed.

A not all that surprising reveal about Jonathan’s true genesis links the kid securely to Pinker in a way that informs the rest of the film, but while the basic plot arc of Shocker plays out more or less formulaically, what’s appealing about Craven’s approach here is the segueing between reality and fantasy, both in terms of Jonathan’s dream life (which often includes his girlfriend, another victim of Pinker’s) and more substantially the virtuosic set piece that caps the film when Pinker and Jonathan “invade” television and find themselves bouncing around an often hilarious assortment of clips that include everything from Leave It to Beaver to a holy hoedown hosted by a televangelist played by none other than Timothy Leary.

While Murphy and Berg are fairly bland in on the good guy side of the equation, the film belongs hook, line and sinker (Pinker?) to Mitch Pileggi, who doesn’t just chew the scenery, he virtually consumes it, pausing every so often to spit out invective at characters (and by default, the audience) in an often hilariously over the top manner. Shocker never actually ends up shocking much at all, but Pileggi’s hyperbolism brings some needed energy to the film, and the fantastic tour through stock footage that caps the film makes some of the other drudgery a little more palatable.

Shocker Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shocker is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is a generally very solid looking release, with only occasional minor age related damage to the elements, and an overall accurate accounting of the palette (occasionally aspects like flesh tones are slightly skewed toward the pink end of the spectrum). This is a film awash in opticals, and I was a little surprised at the lack of a major uptick in grain during these sequences. There is a fine grain field completely in evidence here, but I have a suspicion some high frequency filtering may have been employed. Shout! has gone on record (including here on our own forums) as saying they don't employ digital noise reduction on their releases, but Shocker came from Universal, and my hunch is Shout! was probably provided with a pre-existing master, which may account for this situation. There's nothing smeary at all about this transfer, however. Detail is very good, though masked somewhat in the many special effects sequences, where softness and dirt (if not grain) are more prevalent.

Shocker Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shocker features a very effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that springs to life (and/or death) during the many special effects sequences when Pinker's zapping to and fro affords the soundtrack opportunities for buzzing, crackling panning sounds that create a nice sense of menacing immersion. Dialogue is also well rendered and the film's fantastic source cue fueled score sounds excellently vivid and forceful throughout the film. Fidelity is top notch and dynamic range extremely wide on this problem free track. For the record, a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is also included on the Blu-ray.

Shocker Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Wes Craven. Craven is his typical thoughtful self throughout this commentary, offering background information and some occasionally interesting technical data.


• Audio Commentary with Director Photography Jacques Haitkin, Producer Robert Engleman and Composer William Goldstein. This is a more technical appreciation of the film, and Haitkin's comments are especially interesting.


• Cable Guy - An Interview with Actor Mitch Pileggi (1080p; 17:36) is an enjoyable sit down with the X Files vet, who talks about his career and how much fun he had going completely over the top in this role.


• Alison's Adventures - An Interview with Actress Cami Cooper (1080p; 17:12) also offers some fun reminiscences, including some funny remembrances of driving home covered in fake blood after the shoot one day.


• It's Alive - An Interview with Producer Shep Gordon (1080p; 11:57) finds Gordon talking a bit about what it actually means to be a producer, as well as what his role on this film was.


• No More Mr. Nice Guy - The Music of Shocker (1080p; 26:13) is a really interesting piece detailing the wealth of source cues and other music utilized for the film. There are a some great interviews with a coterie of contributors included here.


• Trailer and TV Spots (1080p; 2:32)


• Radio Spots (1080p; 1:09) play under an image of Pinker getting electrocuted.


• Vintage Making Of (1080i; 8:48) has some fun candid behind the scenes footage.


• Storyboard Gallery (1080p; 8:55)


• Still Gallery (1080p; 6:32)

Shocker Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've frankly never understood the dismissive hate that Shocker has seemed to engender in many, even some diehard Craven fans (maybe especially diehard Craven fans). Is this a masterpiece? Obviously not. Is it even one of Craven's better films? Again, probably not. But it's still enjoyable on its own extremely goofy terms, even if it's hobbled by the blandness of Berg. Pileggi is a lot of fun as a crazed madman, even if he's forced to spew some pretty risible dialogue. Technical merits are generally very good to excellent, and once again Scream Factory has given fans a glut of great supplements. While the film's merits may continue to be debatable, this release when taken as a whole comes Recommended.