ecl@ahuta.UUCP (ecl) (01/24/85)
SHOCK TREATMENT
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Back in 1975 Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman put together THE ROCKY
HORROR PICTURE SHOW based on the stage play THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. The film
basically created the midnight film circuit and became a cultural
phenomenon. Six years later 20th Century Fox had very much the same crew
make a sequel, SHOCK TREATMENT. The second film was panned by most of the
critics, and, as far as I know, is not playing on the midnight circuits,
which these days are showing LIQUID SKY and REPO MAN. SHOCK TREATMENT is
now showing up in video stores.
We have all seen sequels that were virtual remakes of their originals.
Perhaps the best thing about SHOCK TREATMENT is that it is not a remake. In
fact, it only very superficially is a sequel at all. There are actors in
common between THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and SHOCK TREATMENT; some even
continue the same character names. That is the extent of the continuity
between the two films. The main characters are still called Brad and Janet
Majors, but now they are played by Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper and
they are little like their namesakes in the original film. Brad has gone
from being a dynamic jerk to being a stolid and sodden jerk. Janet is no
longer has the terrified look of a hungry mongrel, but seems much more
self-satisfied.
The town of Denton, Texas, is now entirely enclosed in a TV studio in
which everyone can end up as part of the show. Nobody ever has privacy as
the audience can tune in on their lives as part of a continuing soap opera.
People's personal lives are the subject of quiz shows and everybody watches
everyone else though the magic of television. Behind the experiment is
mysterious millionaire Farley Flavors. He has designs on Janet and arranges
to have her made the star of the town while, on TV, Brad is committed to the
local insane asylum.
I take no responsibility for anything in the previous paragraph being
true. People who thought that BUCKAROO BANZAI was confusing should be
introduced to SHOCK TREATMENT to experience new horizons in incoherent
mish-mashes. On top of that, SHOCK TREATMENT is in the running for poorest
imitation of Texans in a British production, nosing out BILLION DOLLAR
BRAIN, and hard on the heels of Quincy P. Holmwood [sic] in the BBC COUNT
DRACULA. Richard O'Brien was surprised that Americans were unfamiliar with
the European circus exclamation "Hope-la," after the expression was used
once in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. In SHOCK TREATMENT he turns it into
a genuine error by having Texans use the expression as often as possible.
The satire of television is heavy-handed without showing any more than
superficial perception. On top of that the songs often make little sense,
even in context; they are nowhere near as good as their predecessors in THE
ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. On top of that, the singing is very poorly lip-
synched.
Those critics who panned SHOCK TREATMENT? They are your friends.
Listen to them. This film is a -2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
(Evelyn C. Leeper for)
Mark R. Leeper
...ihnp4!lznv!mrlmanis@ubc-cs.UUCP (Vince Manis) (02/05/85)
A friend of mine rented this movie last weekend. After watching it for less than 10 minutes, we decided that not only did it not make any sense, it wasn't even bad enough to be funny (think of ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES done straight). We then, by mutual consent (about 6 of us) switched it off. It may get good, but though I'll give any movie a chance, I doubt I will ever see more than the first 10 minutes. SHOCK TREATMENT was apparently released only in Calgary and Denver. It bombed horribly, which shows that even Calgarians have good taste. I can't figure out how O'Brien got financing for this project, which makes even MARCO THE MAGNIFICENT look intelligent. On a scale of -4 to +4: -5.