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IMDbPro

Shocker

  • 19891989
  • RR
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
17K
YOUR RATING
Mitch Pileggi in Shocker (1989)
Home Video Trailer from Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Play trailer1:19
1 Video
99+ Photos
ComedyHorrorThriller
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
17K
YOUR RATING
    • Wes Craven
    • Wes Craven
  • Stars
    • Michael Murphy
    • Mitch Pileggi
    • John Tesh
    • Wes Craven
    • Wes Craven
  • Stars
    • Michael Murphy
    • Mitch Pileggi
    • John Tesh
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 104User reviews
    • 104Critic reviews
    • 51Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Shocker
    Trailer 1:19
    Watch Shocker

    Photos153

    Peter Berg in Shocker (1989)
    Peter Berg and Michael Murphy in Shocker (1989)
    Peter Berg and Camille Cooper in Shocker (1989)
    Peter Berg and Michael Murphy in Shocker (1989)
    Peter Berg and Michael Murphy in Shocker (1989)
    Wes Craven in Shocker (1989)
    Peter Berg and Camille Cooper in Shocker (1989)
    Peter Berg and Mitch Pileggi in Shocker (1989)
    Shocker (1989)
    Shocker (1989)
    Shocker (1989)
    Shocker (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael Murphy
    Michael Murphy
    • Lt. Don Parker
    Mitch Pileggi
    Mitch Pileggi
    • Horace Pinker
    John Tesh
    John Tesh
    • TV Newscaster
    Heather Langenkamp
    Heather Langenkamp
    • Victim
    Peter Berg
    Peter Berg
    • Jonathan Parker
    Jessica Craven
    Jessica Craven
    • Counterperson
    Camille Cooper
    Camille Cooper
    • Alison
    • (as Cami Cooper)
    Richard Brooks
    Richard Brooks
    • Rhino
    Sam Scarber
    Sam Scarber
    • Cooper
    Ted Raimi
    Ted Raimi
    • Pac Man
    • (as Theodore Raimi)
    Keith Anthony-Lubow-Bellamy
    • Football Player
    Virginia Morris
    Virginia Morris
    • Diane
    Emily Samuel
    Emily Samuel
    • Sally
    Peter Tilden
    • Reporter
    Bingham Ray
    Bingham Ray
    • Bartender
    Sue Ann Harris
    • Waitress
    Eugene Chadbourne
    • Man in Bar
    Jack Hoar
    • Sergeant
      • Wes Craven
      • Wes Craven
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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 rating. Some of the scenes that were cut include: Pinker spitting out fingers that he bit off from prison guard, longer and more graphic electrocution of Pinker, and longer scene of possessed coach stabbing his own hand.
    • Goofs
      Camera and sound crews' shadows visible during football game.
    • Quotes

      Jonathan Parker: We can't go killing people just to get Pinker out of their bodies.

    • Crazy credits
      The music in the end credits is heard ending over the MPAA Rated R screen.
    • Connections
      Featured in Gorgon Video Magazine (1989)
    • Soundtracks
      Sword and Stone
      Performed by Bonfire

      Written by Desmond Child, Paul Stanley and Bruce Kulick

      Courtesy of BMG Ariola GmbH/RCA Records

    User reviews104

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Watt a Live Wire!
    Horace Pinker, local television repairman and novice Satanist, fills his spare time with butchering families. Poor Horace has a problem. A young boy name Jonathan Parker(strange coincidence this is SO closely related to the Dracula character Jonathan Harker?) can see where and what he is doing in his dreams. Parker leads the police, led by his step-father, played ably by character actor Michael Murphy, to the scene of a crime. Horace is incarcerated and stands for execution by the electric chair. Well, needless to say, Horace beats this rap in electrifying fashion. I could go on - but might give too much away or just confuse myself even more. Shocker is one of those horror movies that has the power to engage the viewer enough to keep him interested even though there is no earthly way he knows WHAT is possibly going on. We have people shifting bodies, traveling through television currents, landing on reruns of Leave it to Beaver even, dead walking around giving out lucky charms, and many other implausible things. Director Wes Craven does way too much here, and it might be his attempt at making a bad story seem credible, by polluting it with so many other bizarre plot devices. The acting is pretty decent for this type of film. Peter Berg plays Parker adequately as does Michael Pileggi as the grouchy serial killer with a limp. Despite its ridiculous storyline and silly ending, Craven, through his use of creating moody, eerie scenes with well-timed pacing, makes a movie that will at the very least hold your attention. Craven doesn't take it too seriously either having Pinker utter one-liners throughout. There are also some genuine thrills and a couple good scares.
    helpful•5
    3
    • BaronBl00d
    • Aug 1, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 27, 1989 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Mt. San Antonio College - 1100 North Grand Ave., Walnut, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Alive Films
      • Universal City Studios
      • Carolco International N.V.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 49 minutes
      • Color
      • Ultra Stereo

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