User reviews

Little-noticed on release and little-seen thereafter, the annoying thing is that this has to rate as one of Caine's better films; yet trying to find a copy of/transmission of it (at least in the UK) can be quite difficult.

Caine's portrayal of the central character, Graham Marshall, an advertising executive sidelined and humiliated during a corporate restructuring, is deliciously wicked (even down to his devilish facial expressions), both in its comedy and thriller components. Elizabeth McGovern, playing the role of Stella, Marshall's PA, is sweetly convincing as the innocent dupe in Marshall's subsequent plotting.

Part of the (admittedly dark) fun with this film is that, thanks to the monumental unpleasantness of the characters which Marshall comes up against, you really want him to do terrible things and to get away with them. Enjoy!!

I am surprised that this excellent black comedy has only a 6.6 user rating. It deserves better.

Not much to add to the favorable reviews contained herein, except to wonder at the relative scarcity of this flick on tv. It's a puzzlement, considering its intelligence and high quality. Michael Caine reeks malevolence and malice as Graham Marshall, the cutthroat executive on the make. He really is one of the great actors of our day. The script is extremely witty. Highly recommended.

A charming black comedy. I first saw this on cable around 1991, (had never heard of it, even though it did apparently have a theatrical release) and that's when I really saw the acting genius of Michael Caine. He took a basically inconsequential film, in which he was arguably miscast (being a Brit), and turned it into a really good, enjoyable movie. You root for his character despite his wickedness. Honorable mention to the lovely Elizabeth McGovern. Check it out. Grade: B+

Graham Marshall (Michael Caine) already celebrates his anxiously awaited promotion in an advertising company, when he learns that Roger Benham (Peter Riegert), one of his subordinates, will be promoted instead of him. Frustrated that his hated life will never change, he starts a cunning ploy to take bloody revenge on everyone who humiliated him -- starting with his unnerving wife.

I think if you had anyone but Michael Caine in the starring role and this film would have failed. The story is very good, but seems hollow or flat for much of the film. Caine just commands any scene he is in, so what could have been a lackluster film becomes something better. Probably nothing great, but at least a good show of his talents.

The only other person who seems to try is Elizabeth McGovern. Peter Riegert is alright, but his character is not deep enough to allow him much range.

This wasn't a bad movie overall and while I didn't full in love it I would revisit it again. The storyline was simple and easy to follow and that simpleness was put to shame by having Caine as the lead actor, putting on a performance that made the movie better, just as you would expect.

Anyone who has ever wished an annoying person in their life would just disappear will vicariously enjoy Graham Marshall (Cain) in the sardonic comedy "Shock to the System" who, belittled at home and passed over at the office, decides to take control of his destiny by eliminating those interfering with his happiness. Self narrated by Cain, often in the third person to impart a sense of detachment, the film manages to make the murderous Marshall both hero and villain as he courts a lovely secretary (McGovern) while befuddling a nosey homicide investigator (Patton). Cain's performance makes this otherwise mediocre film well worth watching. (B-)

A Shock to the System is directed by Jan Egleson and adapted to screenplay by Andrew Klavan from the novel written by Simon Brett. It stars Michael Caine, Elizabeth McGovern, Peter Riegert, Will Patton and Swoosie Kurtz. Music is by Gary Chang and cinematography by Paul Goldsmith.

Graham Marshall (Caine) is once again overlooked for promotion and once again his harpy wife (Kurtz) belittles him.Then a heated exchange at the train station results in the accidental death of a beggar, and he gets away with it, something which gives Graham some devilish thoughts, one of Satan's light bulbs ignited above his head.

By his own admission Michael Caine has readily done films just to pay the bills or build a new house. His success ratio as per great films and performances to bad films and tired performances probably stacks up as 1 in 10, consider this, in this same year he made Bullseye! What we do know though, is that when he gets it right he knocks it out the park and thus makes all his bad films easy to forgive.

A Shock to the System is an under valued film on his CV, a brilliantly constructed black comedy that finds Caine effortlessly shifting through the emotional gears. From beat down Milquetoast to ruthless killer with a glint in his eye, Caine plays it to perfection. There's stabs of humour along the way, Caine a natural at this of course, and he even gets a young love interest in the form of the unbelievably cute Lizzie McGovern. Interesting to note that Graham's sex life improves greatly once the killing begins!

Driven by an antagonist who toys with the audiences sympathies and moral repulsions, this is a film that's deserving of greater exposure and is ripe for re-evaluation. Great film, great Caine. 9/10

All that hard work, dreaming of that well-deserved promotion, by putting in everyday. Starting from scratch working your way to the top. Just one step to go. One step up that ladder. However sometimes dreams aren't meant to be, no matter the effort you put in and the confidence you bestow. Someone else comes in and snatches it right under your nose. You were that sure of yourself, focused right in, everyone talking you up, even your wife. It was yours. Eyes on the prize, but you didn't realize what was happening around you. There was unknown competition from within. Someone you trusted. Now that high hits rock bottom. Your pride is shot. Until you realise it's all clockwork in this dog eat dog world. No sitting back. Make it happen... by any means.

"A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM" feeds off it, by presenting a dry, biting drama with a violent twist. Filled with dark understated humor, personal psychosis and merciless corporate satire a seasoned New York marketing executive turns to murder, after an incident in the subway to resolve those "difficulties". So he goes about setting up one fatal accident after another, in the process of making his life easier and to get that position... he deserved. But one little slip-up could see it all come crashing down.

Directed with style, cinematography showed elasticity and a score vigorously on key. However the thing that stood out was Michael Caine... pretty much doing his usual Michael Caine shtick. He's the life of the party here, pitch-perfect in delivery. His likable, laidback persona gets used, and downtrodden on. The anger is released with some venomous sprays. Knowing now, getting what he wants he needs to be coldly calculative, sly, string people along and thinking outside the box (possibly murder) to make it happen. His interactions with Swoosie Krutz (playing his materialistic wife) were some of the best moments. Sometimes the plot can be a little too elaborate in the consequences and suspicions (prying detective), but it did catch me off guard. I didn't expect the finale to go down the path it did. Fortune favors the brave in this heartless, controlled corporate world.

Alas they did not pick a better director for this lovely sharp dark comedy. Instead of creating a real rhythm, to make us breathe in sync with Michael Caine's character, the director relies heavily on dumb voice-over narration as a weak device, a short-circuit actually, exposing the transitioning states of mind. Big fail: voice-over is ok when it gives you a neutral or unwavering narration. Here it implies that Michael Caine is basically an evil-mastermind who was barely waiting for its time to come. But that is not the - very engaging - story that we begin with, that of a genial, fair and efficient executive who gets pushed to the limit and understands he had been playing it too nice so far.

Basically we have a very immature director who only learned that a tilted camera can infer some impending evil in a most mundane shot, and a script which needed a skilled movie-maker and one superficial rewrite. As such Michael Caine saves the day, he is nice, congenial and affable when needed and switches to a more sombre and mischievous approach when suited. He just needed a better director to give more to his audience in the key moments where the movie just wants to cut to the next sequence.

In the end it is not hard to imagine why A Shock to the System went straight to video in most countries, including in Michael Caine's homeland! About halfway through the movie you feel everything is self-evident, then you get a little plot point to keep the story going that is sorely under developed so it comes to a let-down whereas everything should have been building up till the last frame.

I saw this movie about 10 years ago during a sick day from work & never forgot it. I finally got it on DVD this week & the impact is still there. I have never seen it again until now & I am wondering why it's not re-screened more often.

The story has a timeless quality & although I'm not a big Michael Caine film, this film showcases his brilliance, from subtle facial expressions to wryly amusing scenes such as where he is almost caught out.

Whilst Caine is the obvious star, the support cast are perfectly cast, from the sleazy new boss to the suspicious cop, to the naive girlfriend & the has-been retired manager, each actor does their job perfectly.

Like The Game, starring Michael Douglas, this is one film you need to watch from start to finish to understand the complexity of the plot.

Definitely one of my favourite films of all time.

Its a good thriller. Michael Caine as usual has given a controlled and riveting performance. I guess the title of the movie was a Let Down. It should have been a catchy one and i guess that would have made a lot of difference to the outcome of this film.

Its a simple story of office politics where one man feels victimised for not getting a promotion that he felt truly deserved. And when he is denied his right, he begins his revenge. And all the murders in the movie are well planned and perfectly executed. Its one of those movies where the protagonist is left standing and comes out a 100% winner. If anyone out there who is really a vindictive kind can take inputs from this movie and renact it in real life. Well, I wouldn't do it for sure. Will u? Check the movie out first and then decide

Who says Michael Caine is a so-so actor? He plays the perfect combination of a truly nice guy ground down by his shrewish wife, his slimy peer-then-boss, and corporate life, in general. Movies like this give us corporate slaves a little relief from the utter amoral depravity of the 'civilized' world we inhabit in these rabbit warrens, otherwise known as 'Cubical Hell'.

This man makes you completely sympathize with every one of his murders, all nicely planned to look like accidents. In fact, I am amazed that some lawyer hasn't pulled the 'Shock to the System' defense. Certainly, it has as much attraction for the frustrated as the films usually blamed. It's just more subtle, more high-brow and takes a little more finesse.

The detective is wonderfully nosy, but how he can walk up to Caine in the middle of New York City is quite amazing to me. A little too much dramatic license, too much coincidence to be believable but you tend to forget your logical approach to life.

Reality is easily suspended as Caine gets in his licks for all the humuliations we nice people have suffered in the corporate world, where the rapacious are rewarded by CEO salaries. The laughs are fast and furious, all delivered in that great understated British fashion.

Mr. Downtrodden gets his licks in and when the new boss talks about his Cessna, you've already fixed the engine. There are traces of 'The Ruling Class' in here, as Mr. Nice Guy becomes king of the mountain by firing everyone 'who is not a contributor', thus ingratiating himself with Mr. Cessna. McGovern gives her Basset hound, soulful looks all through the film, and you feel her conflict about turning this wonderful guy in. She is promoted out and away, and all is well, which is usual for corporate shenanigans. They just usually don't involve murder.

Buy it and love it. Forget the professional reviewers for once on this. It's not meant to be 'Hamlet'.

I enjoyed this. "Graham" (Michael Caine) gets a bit narked when he is overlooked for promotion at work. When he heads home, he realises that that is just the beginning of his irritations - his wife "Leslie" (Swoosie Kurtz) nags him relentlessly! What to do? Well, his house has some dodgy electrics and whilst trying to restore the lights, he gets a mild electric shock. His "Eureka" moment is upon him - he can just eliminate those who stand in his way, or annoy the hell out of him... What now ensues is a short series of cleverly thought out, well, "accidents" that enable him to rid himself of his wife and to occupy that all important corner office at work. Can he get away with it? The thing about Caine's performance here is that it engenders sympathy. You feel for the man - and I was certainly egging him on as his shenanigans start to attract the attentions of others - not least the insurance company inspector who is looking at their domestic wiring. Not even 90 minutes long, this flies by - good efforts from Caine, the usually rather bland Elizabeth McGovern, Kurtz and Peter Riegert as the smarmy, corporate man who stole his chair in the first place. Not laugh a minute, no - but it does raise a smile and make you wonder just how far you might go, if opportunity presented itself.

Michael Caine is absolutely terrific in this combination dark comedy / corporate satire. He plays Graham Marshall, veteran executive at the Gibb Corporation. He's married to a shrewish woman named Leslie (Swoosie Kurtz), who regularly puts him down. Supposedly in line for a big promotion at work, he's obliged to watch as a slimy younger co-worker, Bob (Peter Riegert), gets the gig instead. When he accidentally causes the death of a panhandler, and nobody seemingly witnesses the act, he feels emboldened. Now his plan is to get back at the people who have done him wrong.

Unfortunately, "A Shock to the System" is never quite as satisfying as this viewer would have liked. It needed a little more bite; as it is, director Jan Egleson ("Billy in the Lowlands") has a rather light touch. Still, it's not without interest as a comment on how old pros like Graham, and his friend George (John McMartin), find their livelihood threatened by the young turks in the corporate world. Where it succeeds the most is when it follows the activities of our merry antagonist, who's come too far and worked too hard to want to back down. One good thing: it wraps up in a tidy 88 minutes, making its points and telling its story in a fairly succinct manner.

Ultimately, the movie is just okay, but it's made a must see by the dynamic performance of Mr. Caine. It's great fun to hear him use profanities and otherwise lose his *beep*, and one can relate to him enough that you do sympathize with him and are amused with his newfound attitude. Elizabeth McGovern is lovely and adorable as the colleague who realizes that she's attracted to him. The rest of the supporting cast is all first-rate: Riegert, Kurtz, Will Patton as an investigating detective, Jenny Wright as a secretary, Barbara Baxley as Kurtz' mother, and Haviland Morris as Bob's ravishing lady friend. Familiar faces in character roles include Kent Broadhurst, Zach Grenier, David Schramm, Mike Starr, and Samuel L. Jackson.

If you're a Caine fan and want to check out some of the lesser known items on his resume, this one does hold your attention for its duration.

Six out of 10.

Michael Caine made "A Shock to the System" in 1990 and I must have blinked and missed it, (me and a lot of others). He's Graham Marshall, a corporate businessman who is passed over for promotion in favour of his hot-shot subordinate Peter Riegert. Naturally, he doesn't take this too well. In fact, he feels that he's cursed in some way and he really should do something about it. As it turns out, "A Shock to the System" is a deliciously funny and dark comedy about a man who will go to any lengths, including murder, if it means getting ahead and Caine is terrific, (it's actually one of his best performances), and he's backed by an equally terrific supporting cast. Riegert is superbly slimy as Caine's new boss; then there's Elizabeth McGovern as the colleague who takes a shine to him, Swoosie Kurtz as his social-climbing wife, John McMartin as the out-going head of department and Will Patton as a very inquisitive cop. The director was Jon Egelson who doesn't revert to any tricks to tell his tale but rather relies on the quality of his material and his cast and it and they don't let him down.

I am surprised that there are no comments on this film, as it is really a small gem dealing with corporate ladder-climbing. The two leads, Michael Caine and Peter Riegert, clash in their aspirations to ascend within their company, and the results of their competition are intriguing and entertaining to say the least. Michael Caine is excellent as always, using his unique ability to blend the deadly and the humorous together. Thus the film is leavened with ironic humor for a great blend of suspense and wit. The ending is the crowning touch. I recommend this film to anyone. It's on TV periodically, but best to see it on tape for full effect (I am not sure if it's available on DVD yet, but that's what I would hope for.)

After failing to get an expected promotion, an ad executive takes revenge on those responsible. It is a decent premise for a black comedy, and filmmakers carry on as if they are being clever and witty. However, the script leaves a lot to be desired. It's too cartoonish to be taken seriously as a crime drama and not wicked enough to be taken as a black comedy. The murder plans are too easy. Caine is well cast as the man who feels he has been wronged by society. Oddly, he provides the narration in third person. Although their roles are limited, McGovern, Riegert, Kurtz, and Patton provide good support. Given their age difference of nearly thirty years, it's a little creepy seeing Caine romance McGovern.

In this off-beat thriller, Michael Caine plays a very unhappy man. He's frustrated with his wife, Swoosie Kurtz, bogged down by expenses and problems with his house, and he's desperate to get a promotion at work. When his friend and coworker John McMartin gets sacked and Peter Reigart gets the promotion instead, Michael loses it.

I'm a pretty big Michael Caine fan, so this wasn't the best choice of film for me to watch. He plays someone who basically has an undiagnosed nervous breakdown and acts out in psychotic ways. He narrates the film and refers to himself in the third person, hallucinates, and plots the murders of those around him. I prefer to see him in dreamier roles, but if you don't mind him shouting and acting like an evil lunatic, you'll be in a better position to appreciate the movie.

A Shock to the System is a very dark comedy. As dark comedies aren't my preferred genre, I didn't really end up liking the film. In the spirit of fairness, I put myself in the shoes of someone who does like this genre, and for those with a more sardonic sense of humor, it's probably very entertaining. There's a side love story with Elizabeth McGovern, lots of tension when Michael Caine is plotting his schemes, and twisted humor running throughout. Those who feel out of control of their lives will probably really like this flick.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not your friend. There are strobing lights and active camera movements that might make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

Micheal Caine is one of my favorite actor, and its very seldom when he don't do the justice to the role he plays. This movie is no exception. Anyone who had or is been working for corporate business can understand the dirty politics and immoral working ethics, and the depiction of this dilemma in this movie was immaculately pictured. Well the movie goes smoothly, but the only thing which boggles mind is the easy escape provided to Micheal Caine. But overall idea depicts how these corporate firms sucks the all humanly characteristics out and left you with selfish desires. But i don't know why through out the movie all my sympathies were with Caine!

I can enjoy the dark comedy, but I was hoping Michael Caine would have not been so successful at undoing and using everyone around him. There could have been a darkly comic means by which he was done in that would have satisfied me that even unfortunate wicked people deserve their due.