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, Mitch Pileggi, John Tesh

1 nomination.

Cast

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

---

Plot Keywords:

supernatural power | serial killer | electric chair | electrocution | demon | 

---

Taglines:

Mass murderer Horace pinker was put to death. Then he really got mad.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shocker was filmed in ten weeks and on a low budget. Wes Craven said that this was achieved by having a small crew and little known actors.

---

Goofs

When Jonathan first walks into the lake to look for the pendant, he walks in up to his waist. A minute later, when he walks away from the lake, the watermarks on his sweatpants only come up to his mid thigh.

---

Quotes

Little Girl: [Trying to start bulldozer] Come on, you fucker! Move!

---

Connections

Referenced in 31 Days of Horror: Shocker (1989) (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Sword and Stone
Performed by Bonfire
Written by Desmond Child, Paul Stanley and Bruce Kulick
Courtesy of BMG Ariola GmbH/RCA Records

User Reviews

Morphing can be dangerous

I found this gem on late night cable, maybe one of the HBO's or thisTV (out of Indianapolis), and I was nicely surprised.

I was going to listen to it and work on my computer in the other room, but couldn't leave the couch, because it is very visual and astute. The killer uses "energy" from electricity and television, a wry comment of society.

Wes strides the very delicate line of humor/horror and he does it very well. Films seem to be either SCARY MOVIE (spoof) or SCREAM, (horror). But to have you scared, and then to inject humor is hard. Here you are afraid of the serial killer morphing around, than laughing when he morphs into a little dangerous girl with a protective mom. It kind of reminded me of Night of the Creeps, where slimy worms, keep transferring to other bodies, including a very hot blonde.

You all know the plot by now, so check out this gem, especially the end when Wes takes dead aim at media images.

I am anxious to get the uncut version so see why he had to submit it 13 times to the "approval board" to get a release rating.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shocker: No More Mr. Nice Guy

Filming Locations:

Raleigh Studios - 5300 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,510,990, 29 October 1989

Gross USA:

$16,554,699

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,554,699

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alive Films, Universal City Studios, Carolco International N.V.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1