#30 - Shocker (1989)
Shocker (1989)
Definitely not one of Wes Craven's better films. A brutal serial killer who seems to be impossible to catch is taken down by Jonathan, a college football player who dreams about the killings for some reason. After the killer is given the electric chair, he comes back as some kind of electricity phantom and is able to possess anyone's body at will. He seeks revenge on Jonathan, and hunts him down without mercy.
I feel like this one could have started out as a script for a Nightmare on Elm Street film, but took off in it's own direction. There are some good ideas here, but overall this isn't really that good of a film. First of all, it is much too long for this sort of movie, and the pacing feels off - by the end of the first act, it feels like the story is already wrapping up, but the real conflict hasn't even begun. I liked the middle section the best, where the killer is changing bodies to hunt Jonathan down, but instead of just rising to a climax like a normal story, there is another false ending and the final act of the film just gets weird and stupid.
If the first act were fleshed out into a full film, skipping the later electricity parts, this could have been a great movie. Likewise, if the second act were fleshed out and the idea of a killer who could be anyone was explored, it could have made a really fun movie as well. Instead, the two ideas are combined and as a consequence the impact of both is lessened, and the stupid final act is just the nail in the coffin.
I feel like this one could have started out as a script for a Nightmare on Elm Street film, but took off in it's own direction. There are some good ideas here, but overall this isn't really that good of a film. First of all, it is much too long for this sort of movie, and the pacing feels off - by the end of the first act, it feels like the story is already wrapping up, but the real conflict hasn't even begun. I liked the middle section the best, where the killer is changing bodies to hunt Jonathan down, but instead of just rising to a climax like a normal story, there is another false ending and the final act of the film just gets weird and stupid.
If the first act were fleshed out into a full film, skipping the later electricity parts, this could have been a great movie. Likewise, if the second act were fleshed out and the idea of a killer who could be anyone was explored, it could have made a really fun movie as well. Instead, the two ideas are combined and as a consequence the impact of both is lessened, and the stupid final act is just the nail in the coffin.
Comments
Post a Comment