Shock Treatment - 1981
Rating - PG
Director - Jim Sharman
Written By - Jim Sharman & Richard O’Brien
Starring - Jessica Harper, Cliff De Young, Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn
Run time - 94 minutes
Shock Treatment is a 1981 dark comedy musical movie and the follow-up to the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Though the film is not a sequel, they are some returning characters (mainly played by different actors) and some previous Rocky Horror actors in new roles. This film is not well known because of its limited release as a midnight movie leading to it becoming a commercial failure, though over the years it has gained a cult following and has also been adapted for stage.
The film continues the story of the characters of now married couple Brad (Cliff De Young) and Janet Majors (Jessica Harper) (formerly portrayed by Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) who are in the television-obsessed american town of Denton which has been taken over by fast-food businessman Farley Flavors (also played by De Young) as the whole town is enclosed in the DTV (Denton Television) studio of which all of are either stars, cast and crew on a show or part of the studio audience. Brad and Janet are chosen from the studio audience to participate in the game show Marriage Maze hosted by the apparently blind Bert Schnick (Barry Humphries). As a “prize”, Brad is committed against his will to the soap opera Dentonville, set in a mental hospital where he is put in the terminal ward stuck in a straightjacket and sedated inside a cage. The hospital is run by brother and sister doctors Cosmo and Nation McKinley (Richard O’Brien and Patricia Quinn) where they are assisted by nurses Ansalong (Nell Campbell) and “Rest Home” Ricky (Rik Mayall).
To tempt Janet, Farley molds her into a diva superstar as an attempt to take her away from Brad. She does comply through the use of drugs from the McKinley’s. At the same time, Betty Hapshatt (Ruby Wax) and Oliver Wright (Charles Gray) investigate the McKinley's and the people behind DTV and discover the McKinley’s are only character actors and that Farley Flavors is Brad’s long-lost twin brother. The two later salvage Brad and he bursts onto the set of his brother's new show and confronts him. The three are later arrested along with Janet but escape in the prize car on the show while the studio audience commit themselves to Dentonville.
The film was originally panned by critics and many fans of its predecessor dislike it due to the recasting of its lead roles, no appearances by the star of The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie Tim Curry and how much this film differed to its former. Though it has been reevaluated by many critics and is said to have been originally disliked because of how ahead of its time it was as it is so accurately true to modern day reality television.
I really love this movie because of its dazzling catchy soundtrack, great cast (which also featured a pre-fame performance from singer Sinnita) and it's saddening accuracy of modern day culture. Though this movie is far from perfect, I still highly enjoy it but I still can't say this is better than its predecessor.
it has but it has been said that this film is supposed to be an equal to its former which I'd agree with as these two movies are both spectacularly designed, performed and also accompanied with two fantastic soundtracks.
Score - 7/10
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