Thursday, 24 April 2025

773 Shocker ( 1989 )

 The  title of  this  Wes  Craven  was  a  free  gift to any  critic looking for a wry  tagline. In  truth  it's  not  atrocious  but  seriously  over-reaches itself. It's  exhausting  at nearly two hours  long and  its  sudden  swerves  in  direction seem the  product of  an incoherent  script  rather  than  a  bold  imagination. Jonathan ( Peter Berg ) is  a  jock with  vivid dreams  about a serial killer Horace  Pinker ( Mitch Pileggi)  and a rare  talent  for making people  believe  the  absolutely  preposterous. He  is  instrumental in bringing Pinker to justice  but  the  latter cheats his  execution by jumping into the electrical supply ( very  similar to the premise of House III : The  Horror Show )  then  occupying various  bodies - though retaining his limp and inability to shoot straight - in  his  pursuit of Jonathan and  those  he  cares about. There's no underlying  logic  to any  of  the  action  which  relies  on  violence rather than shock, all  the  way  to  a  berserk climax overloaded with  special effects.

Camille  Cooper ( as Alison )

Sex : No

Death : Stabbed  to  death by Pinker


This  was  Camille's  second  film  after  a  string  of  TV  appearances. After  a  few  more  films, she  quit  acting in 1995 and  entered  politics as  a  lobbyist. She  was  instrumental in George W Bush's  Protect Our Children Act of 2008 and  now works as  a  champion of rape and incest survivors.

Lindsay Parker ( as Amanda )

Sex : n/a

Death : Uncertain if she survives her exorcism


Lindsay was the  daughter  of  UFO  drummer Andy Parker  and  already  had  four  films  behind her at 10 years old. She  continued  acting  into  adulthood but  with little  impact  and  disappears after 2006.

Dendrie Taylor ( as  Young Mother )

Sex : No

Death : Dies after brief posseession by Pinker


Dendrie  was  a  bit  part  actress from the mid eighties  onwards  but  eventually progressed to more  substantial TV  roles in The  Bold And The Beautiful and True Blood . She  is  still active.




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