Shock Treatment

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

So I like Rocky Horror and all, but I'm not a crazy fan. I've only seen it twice in my life and don't really know it all that well, besides doing the Timewarp. This film is sort of a Spin-off from that one, you couldn't really call it a sequel (Revenge of the Old Queen fans might get upset) but it does feature further adventures of Brad and Janet in the world of the Denton local TV circuit and a new idea of fast-food style mental health. It's a concept that is just as intriguing today in the world of talkshow hosts and daytime TV celebrities offering quick fix solutions and telling people what to like and how to think. As much as I like this idea, it's not delivered in a very comprehensible package. The film is at the same time delightful and maddening.

To combat a low budget and a S.A.G. strike that didn't allow any location shooting, the film was created to take place entirely in a TV Studio world, resulting in a very surreal looking film, where even the outdoor locations look like all minimalist white TV sets.

I love Jessica Harper from Phantom of the Paradise and Suspiria (and just found out looking up her credits she was the dead lady in the water in Minority Report. Woah.) and it was nice to see her in this, singing again. Barry Humphries is also very creepy and funny.

The songs all start to sound the same to me after a while, they even blend into my vague memory of songs from Rocky Horror. But even through most aren't memorable they are upbeat enough that you don't mind. For some reason the ones I can recall are the title song, Shock Treatment and the opening number about Denton not having any pretension.

Exactly what happens in the film was a bit lost on me. I had a lot of trouble figuring out what certain characters were trying to achieve but I think with this sort of film you just go with it. It's not entirely successful and nowhere near Rocky Horror standards but fans would do well to check out this little curiosity.