Shock Treatment

Shock Treatment (or Shocky as the few fans call it) is considerably more tame than it's predecessor The Rocky Horror Picture Show but no less entertaining. The songs are catchy, the plot is unique (but it does take a few watchings to understand EVERYTHING), and it makes you think about the amount of time you spend watching television. All in all a movie worth watching. Feel free to contact me and I will discuss it in more detail.

I had heard a lot of bad things about this "sequel" to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and I can see how people expecting a return to the sexual hi-jinx of that classic would be disappointed. I found this to be great in a completely different way. Save for a few RHPS character and location names, this is pretty much unrelated to that flick. This stands on it's own as an excellent musical-comedy with great songs and characters.

"Shock Treatment" takes place entirely in the television station of DTV, a local TV station that probes into the lives of its town's citizens. Brad and Janet (who act differently and are played by different actors than in RHPS) discuss their marital strife and appear on "Marriage Maze". Brad is found to be in need of help, so he's shipped off to "Dentonvale", the channel's bizarre medical show, while Janet is groomed to be the new star of "Denton Dossier", a show that tells people how great Denton is. Meanwhile, nefarious fast food mogul Farley Flavors is conspiring to take over the town and Janet with his latest show, "Farley Flavor's Faith Factory".

Jessica Campbell (who has worked with Dario Argento AND Woody Allen) is superb as Janet, and Cliff De Young plays Brad and Farley so excellently it's hard to tell it's the same actor (he even has a duet with himself!). The rest of the cast is populated with British comedians (Ruby Wax, Barry Humphries, and "The Young Ones"' Rik Mayal, who should have had a bigger part) and RHPS vets including Patricia Quinn, Little Nell, Charles Grey (also a former Blofeld!), and composer Richard O'Brian.

O'Brian's songs are fantastic and some exceed the quality of tunes in the better known "Rocky Horror". Clever lyrics and catchy tunes abound in classics like "Bitchin' in the Kitchen", "Little Black Dress", and the haunting "Lullaby". The choreography is great too, like the brief mirror-dance that accompanies "Look What I Did To My Id".

"Shock Treatmet" gets T-E-N, that's ten out of ten!

I loved Rocky Horror. I thought it was a great film and proves to be one of my favorite musicals. So when I found out that there was a sequel, I searched it out... with much difficulty. Apparently the film was a huge flop and therefore is extremely rare. (funny, when you think about Rocky Horror, which was originally a huge flop as well, but was re-released after finding cult status).

I have just watched Shock Treatment twice in a row and I'm proud to say I love it just as much as Rocky Horror. But be warned, Shock Treatment has completely different subject matter (which means no revealing cross-dressing, references to old horror films and no Tim Curry), but some familiar characters and some very familiar actors appear in a film that looks at the brain-washing nature of television.

It wasn't the sequel I expected, but after seeing it twice, I realize it is the perfect sequel to a perfect film like Rocky Horror.

But the emotion I was filled most with after watching this film wasn't happiness, it was frustration. I was frustrated that this film is shunned by many, that it never has been released onto DVD and most probably never will be. It was depressing to know that probably the only way I am ever going to view this great film is on a terrible quality full screen VHS cassette.

I'm hoping that this will find higher status eventually and is released onto a far more watchable medium. This film proves a satirical look at television, specifically in the eighties, but in doing so creates a prophetic masterpiece long before its time.

'Shock Treatment' will always suffer in comparison with its older, weirder sibling 'Rocky Horror', but comparison of the two is not really the point. Richard O'Brien, the author of both films, has created a movie musical spoof of American pop culture that should be viewed and enjoyed in its own right. Sure Brad and Janet, the wholesome couple who ran afoul of the Transylvanians in the first film reappear, but from that point on 'Shock Treatment' spins dementedly off on a trajectory all its own.

Jessica Harper takes over the role of Janet, Cliff de Young is Brad (and Farley Flavor, sinister tv station owner) and both actors are fine. Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn, the incestuous siblings from 'Rocky Horror' appear as, well, incestuous siblings, doctor hosts of a tv medical show. Barry Humphries is slyly hilarious in the role of Bert Schnick, gameshow compere.

The central concept of 'Shock Treatment' is that Denton, USA, the wholesome American town alluded to as the benchmark of normality in 'Rocky Horror', is in the thrall of tv culture. Citizens are avid viewers who live vicariously through the personalities inhabiting the various programmes broadcast by DTV, the local television station. Popularity is all, and independent thought regarded as a sign of mental instability. Into this brightly lit soap opera of a world come Brad and Janet, unhappily married and contestants on a game show which airs their marital disharmony for all the world to see. Brad is whisked off for psychiatric help and Janet groomed for stardom on a new show. Farley Flavor covets Janet from afar and schemes with Cosmo & Nation McKinley, the fraudulent tv doctors and character actors, to keep Brad and Janet apart while he makes his move. Rushing to brad's help comes Betty Hapschatt, recently sacked morning show hostess (and Rocky Horror newlywed), played deliciously by the ever-abrasive Ruby Wax.

Richard O'Brien shrinks from a more incisive scrutiny of the dumbing-down of America by it's television obsession. The songs in 'Shock Treatment' are short, bright and instantly forgettable, and the characters flat and garish as, er, cartoons. But the whole package is shiny, good-humoured and utterly entertaining. Watch 'Network' if you want a bitter critique of television culture, but watch 'Shock Treatment' for the sheer mindless pleasure of it.

Forget everything you know about newlyweds Brad and Janet Majors and the events involving a drag queen from space for the time being. There will be no aliens or references to classic science fiction, b movie, and horror films. No Barry and no Susan. What we have now is a different couple to play the pair in the new decade. This time the role of Brad Majors goes to Cliff De Young, an actor from films like The Hunger and even a Stephen King miniseries. Janet Weiss, Or should I say Janet Majors now, is to be played by Jessica Harper, known primarily for her main role in Dario Argento?M)s Suspiria. But there are a few familiar faces out there to put a smile on our faces. Though familiar, they hold different identities then what we knew them as before. Our tub of warm waters of sins of the flesh will now be drained clean and refilled by misunderstood reality and game show satire. The music is usually hit-and-miss in the tune department but tends to make up for it in lyrics. This movie is quite different from its predecessor, which caused the movie to be... well... not as much beloved by the Rocky Horror fans. For its time, no one could quite understand the satire, seeing as back then there were few game shows and reality Television. The movie is definitely a cult classic, but never quite managed to stack up to Rocky Horror. You could say being the sequel to Rocky Horror is both a blessing and a curse. Without Rocky, this movie would probably not catch as many fans's interest, yet with it, people, even today consider this quite a terrible sequel for the franchise. Although terrible in it's way, it is quite entertaining and difficult not to love at times. You have to watch it numerous times to truly understand what goes on behind the scenes of DTV. Like sushi in the 80s, they both plead for a second chance and eventually gain it by some. The idea of the film's satire may be a brilliant one but sadly it leaves most viewers "Bitchin' in the kitchen" in the end.

Overall Best Songs: "Duel Duet", "Lullaby", "Shock Treatment", Great lyrics: "Look What I Did To My Id", "Looking For Trade"