Shocker (1989)

After being sent to the electric chair, a serial killer uses electricity to come back from the dead and carry out his vengeance on the football player who turned him in to the police.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer:

Wes Craven

Stars:

Michael Murphy, Peter Berg, Mitch Pileggi

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A murderous TV repairman, Horace Pinker is killing people in a small town left, right and center. He eventually finds the home of Lt. Parker, who is investigating his crimes, and savagely murders Parker's wife, son and daughter. His other son, Jonathan has a strange connection to Pinker through his dreams, and he directs his father to Pinker's business, where a small group of officers enter. Pinker escapes in a horrific spree, killing four officers and then targeting Jonathan's girlfriend, Alison. Another dream leads Jonathan and his dad to a residence where they catch Pinker in in the act of kidnapping. Pinker is arrested after a fight with Jonathan and sentenced to die in the electric chair. When executed, Pinker - who supposedly had given his soul to the devil in exchange for the power to come back as an energy source - takes over people's bodies and continues committing murders, until Jonathan devises a plan to bring Pinker into the real world, and then cut off his power source...

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Plot Keywords:

electric chair | football player | serial killer | back from the dead | soul | 

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Taglines:

No more Mr. Nice Guy

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shocker: No More Mr. Nice Guy

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$16,554,699 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alive Films, Carolco Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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".

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Goofs

Jonathan's friend breaks the back passenger side window of the police car, but it is soon repaired.

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Quotes

Woman Couch Potato: I've heard of audience participation shows, but this is ridiculous.

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Connections

Featured in The Directors: The Films of Wes Craven (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Demon Bell - The Ballad Of Horace Pinker"
Performed by Dangerous Toys

User Reviews

Come on, boy, let's take a ride in my Volts Wagon.

Now this was a weird idea; a serial killer (Mitch Pileggi, The X-Files) that feeds off electricity.

His nemesis was a high school boy (Peter Berg, Collateral, Cop Land) who hit a goalpost and had dreams about his kills - including his own family and girlfriend (Camille Cooper). Wow!

The body count rose as the killer had to move from body to body. Then comes the final battle, which I imagine would not ever be seen again as they chased through TV show after TV show. It was something to see.

This was more action flick than horror, although it did have it's share of blood and gore.