Shocker [DVD] [Standard]

Wes Craven was a prolific filmmaker. Most directors can only hope to make a small splash with their films, let a lone redefine a genre. Craven did it no less than three times in his career: “Last House on the Left” in 1972; “A Nightmare on Elm Street” in 1984; and finally “Scream” in 1996. With “Nightmare” in order to get it made, Craven had to sell off all of his ownership. He would see very little residuals from his most famous film, which, understandably, irked him a bit. So, in 1989 he released what he hoped would be a new franchise he could keep control of. “Shocker” tells the story of Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg) who has nightmares about a serial killer stalking his town by the name of Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi). Pinker murders Parker’s girlfriend, Alison (Camille Cooper) and is quickly apprehended. He’s sent to the electric chair and put to death. However, things go horribly wrong and the once-thought dead killer is out stalking again with the power to invade people’s bodies and use them like marionettes. Craven was experimenting with his craft at this point in his career. He spent most it trying to break away from the horror genre and one way, he thought, was to inject a lot of humor into his horror films to sort of drift away, at least for a while. While Craven would prove to be a master at combining comedy and terror in films like “Scream” here it was apparent he wasn’t quite sure how to do it. Several parts come off as goofy and downright cheesy (the lips coming out of the TV and saying, “You got it, baby,” in order to give Pinker his powers is particularly cringe-inducing). However, it’s this goofiness that gives the movie its overall charm. You can’t help but smile and even laugh at it, even though you’ll be doing it for the wrong reasons. Berg puts in a decent performance as our hero who must overcome his supernatural enemy, but let’s face it, this is Pileggi’s movie. He chews up all the scenery in every scene and relishes the role. This is someone having a grand time playing the big baddie. A lot of Wes’ cornball dialogue actually works when it’s coming from Pileggi’s mouth. The new blu-ray comes from the great folks over at Scream Factory, a division of Shout Factory, which means this thing is so loaded with special features it nearly bursts. First and foremost we get an older commentary from Craven that seems to have been ported over from possibly a U.K. release as he spends a lot of time clarifying the differences from British terms and slangs to American. A second commentary features Director of Photography Jacues Haitkin (who also shot Craven’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street”), producer Robert Engelman and composer William Goldstein. From there we get several interviews from Pileggi, Cami Cooper, and executive producer Shep Gordon. A featurette on the music, theatrical trailers, vintage interviews and still/storyboard galleries round out the features. Shout Factory has once again proven to be masters of bringing older, cult classics to blu-ray. If you’re a fan of this little gem, this is definitely the edition to pick up.

I know it's an old 90's movies,but I enjoyed watching scary movies. I would say it's worth to buy.

Wes Cravens forgotten movie. Its a lot of fun. Would love to see a remake.

A great 80's horror/Syfi movie good plot funny lines and directed by the great John Carpenter

This movie is a banger . It's a fun watch that doesn't tax the brain and is just stupid goofy fun. It's a horror film from Wes Craven who did Nightmare on Elm Street, but this adds a more cheesy storyline that isn't as terrifying, but is a lot more fun to watch.