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...

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

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

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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:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$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

Did You Know?

Trivia

When shooting the scene where Jonathan wades into the lake, Peter Berg suffered from hypothermia due to the extreme cold temperatures.

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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

Lt. Don Parker: [tries to restrain an angry Jonathan, after Pinker is taken away, taunting him about Allison's death] Easy now! You want him gone? Let the state do it for you! He'll fry for sure... he's history!
Jonathan Parker: [whispers miserably] I wanna be there.
Lt. Don Parker: [puzzled] What?
Jonathan Parker: [turns to face him] If they give him the chair Don, I wanna be there.
Lt. Don Parker: Don't be crazy. It's over. Now let it go.
Jonathan Parker: [shakes his head] I wanna see him die, Don. I've earned it... I wanna see him die!
Lt. Don Parker: [thinks about it and nods his head] Yeah... yeah, maybe ...

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Connections

Referenced in Holliston: The Hooker: Part 1 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Shocker
Performed by The Dudes Of Wrath
Written by Desmond Child, Jean Beauvoir and Guy Mann-Dude
Paul Stanley and Desmond Child (lead vocals)
Guy Mann-Dude and Vivian Campbell (guitars)
Rudy Sarzo (bass)
Tommy Lee (drums)
Background vocals by Kane Roberts, Louis Merliono, Desmond Child and Michael Anthony

User Reviews

Shocker was a SHOCK!

Shocker was a SHOCK! Being another brainchild of Wes Craven, I understand how well directed and written. The writing was not as good as the directing but none the less. I think the film had a good plot. But the dead people were a little out of place for my taste. It was still a good movie. Died down by the "Nightmare" craze of the late 80's. This was one of the films that couldn't survive the waves. That is a terrible thing. It was spiritedly acted and an interesting supernatural method that hasn't been done at that time. It has been most recently (Fallen, 1997). But that being the case, its up for argument. I feel this is worth seeing for the horror film lover in all of us and I love the films of Wes Craven, so this was an obvious choice.