Day 228: Shocker

Shocker

It's electric, boogie-woogie-woogie!

Do horror and comedy ever truly mix well? I'm hard-pressed to find a movie that fits both genres well. The closest I can think of are spoofs of well-known horror movies such as Repossessed and the Scary Movie series. Those movies are really just comedies with some horror tropes and references, so I suppose they don't really count. The character of Freddy Kruger is funny throughout the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, but they are certainly not comedic in nature. Scream had it's funny moments, but they were more self-aware clever remarks than straight comedy. Comedy is a science, needing the right amount of wit, timing, and delivery. Horror is broad with lots of variables that can make a movie disturbing or scary. For whatever reason, the two genres are like water and oil, but that doesn't stop people from trying to mash them together.

Shocker is a 1989 horror comedy written and directed by Wes Craven (Scream, The Last House On The Left). The movie stars Peter Berg (Cop Land, Fire In The Sky) as Jonathan Parker and Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files, Sons of Anarchy) as Horace Pinker. A series of brutal murders has gripped a small California suburb with no clues as to who is committing the crimes. Jon Parker is a college football player who has a strange dream-like vision of a bald man murdering his mother, brother, and sister. He see's the man's van outside the house, revealing he is a TV repair man named Horace Pinker. Jon tries to stop the killer by when he lunges at him, he awakens in bed with his girlfriend, Allison (Camille Cooper). When he returns home, Jon discovers that his family has in fact been murdered. His father, Lt. Don Parker (Michael Murphy, X:Men:The Last Stand, Batman Returns) had been working on the serial killer cases, and the killer murdered his family when he got too close. The police go to arrest him, but he escapes, and kills Allison. Jon uses his strange connection to Pinker to help his father and the police force find him again. Pinker kills a few police officers before being arrested and given the electric chair. Before dying, Pinker reveals that he is Jonathan's biological father and that, as a child, Jonathan shot him in the leg to stop him from murdering his mother. Pinker also reveals that he sold his soul to the devil and when the switch is flipped, Pinker becomes pure energy. His new powers allow him to travel through electricity as well and possess people. Pinker, through other people, tries to kill Jonathan through various means, murdering his friends along the way. How will Jonathan be able to stop this supernatural serial killer who can become anyone at any time?

Being executed by the state is a laugh riot. Well, at least in Texas

I really wasn't sure if Shocker was supposed to be a comedy or not because it is simply not funny. It tries some slapstick with Jonathan running into the goalpost during football practice and tries to have funny one-liners ala Freddy Krueger. Both fail miserably. If the movie wanted to be a comedy, it should have focused on that because the horror is not much better. The basic premise of the story is fine with Jonathan having a supernatural connection to a supernatural killer. Unfortunately, the execution of the events in the movie is so clunky that nothing really makes sense. Nothing is ever really explained with things getting progressively weirder. Why are the police so inept? Why does Jonathan continue to run head-long into danger? How is Jonathan able to have the weird visions of both Pinker and his dead girlfriend? Pinker can now jump from person to person, even though he's supposed to be made of energy? And he can now jump out of televisions? What? How? Why? When? It's amazing that this was written by Wes Craven who has a long track record of great horror movies. It's like he took 10 ideas for different movies, threw them in a blender, and then spit it out onto the screen while giving everyone the finger.

While the movie lacks in humor and logic, it does have a good amount of violence. It has lots of gun play, stabbings, and a few explosions. There is nothing particularly gory about the violence, which is surprising considering it's a movie about a supernatural serial killer. The acting throughout is very questionable. Both Peter Berg and Mitch Pileggi have had long careers in show business, so it's not like they didn't know how to act. I chalk up their bad performances to terribly written dialogue and poor direction. Pinker's lines mostly revolve around horrendous one-liners and and curse words. Jonathan spends most of the movie running and looking shocked, but in the last 10 minutes or so, he is all sorts of confident in knowing how to fight Pinker. The special effects used in the movie are decent for the time, but many scenes are obviously in front of a blue screen. The movie is entrenched in the 80's, complete with it's own theme song performed by Paul Stanley from Kiss with members of Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Van Halen, and Motley Crue. It also had an unintentionally funny cover of Alice Cooper's “No More Mr. Nice Guy” performed by Megadeth.

Comedy!

Shocker has very little in the way of comedy and the horror portion of the movie is poorly done. There is nothing particularly funny in the movie, and if there was, I completely missed it. The story is all over the place, leaving logic and reason by the wayside in favor of 80's special effects and chase scenes. It's amazing that Wes Craven was at the helm of this movie and downright shocking (sorry, couldn't help it) that he actually believed this movie would be the start of a series. The dialogue is horrendous and the acting is pretty bad. If you're looking for something to laugh at instead of laugh with, Shocker is your movie.

3/10

Day 171: Carrie

Carrie

Before and After Oceanspray Cranapple Juice

Can a horror movie still be good even when you know specifically what is going to happen? Thanks to television and the internet, it's almost impossible to not know specific scenes from movies even if you've never watched them. This is especially true with classic horror movies and scenes. TV shows like Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments show us all the good and memorable parts of movies. Being a horror fan, of course I watch them (multiple times) despite not having seen all of the movies featured. Just about everyone knows the major scene in Carrie. It has been re-shown, spoofed, satirized, and imitated in lots of different mediums. Heck, it was even in Tiny Toon Adventures in the 90's. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I had to see the movie for myself. I also needed to get Europe's power ballad "Carrie" out of my head.

Carrie is a 1976 adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter, Blast From The Past) stars as Carrie White, a shy high school girl caught in the grip of her overbearing and religious mother, Margret (Piper Laurie, The Faculty, Children Of A Lesser God). Carrie is an outcast and is ridiculed by her female classmates when she gets her period in the shower. As Carrie becomes more frantic, a lightbulb bursts before Miss Collins (Betty Buckley, The Happening, Eight Is Enough) and puts a stop to the harassment. When her mother hears of the incident, she punishes Carrie because she believes the blood is a punishment for sin. She locks Carrie in a closet and forces her to pray. Carrie believes she may be telekinetic and researches it in the school library. Carrie's classmate, Sue, guilty over teasing Carrie, convinces the hunky Tommy to take Carrie to prom. Miss Collins punishes the girls who teased Carrie by making them do physical activities. Sue Snell (Amy Irving, Yentl, Adam), who hates Carrie, refuses and is banned from prom. Carrie's mother warns her not to go to the prom because all the students will laugh at her. She disagrees, using her powers to push her mother away. She enjoys herself at the prom, unaware that Sue, along with her boyfriend Billy (John Travolta, Pulp Fiction, Battlefield Earth) have rigged the prom king and queen voting so that Carrie and Tommy would win. As she accepts her crown, Sue tips a bucket full of pig's blood onto Carrie's head, drenching her and knocking Tommy out with the bucket. Carrie, believing people are laughing at her, finally snaps, using her telekinesis to lock the doors and hurt everyone inside with a wall of flames. She even gets her revenge on Sue and Billy. Covered in blood, she returns home. What will her mother do?

Cut her a piece of cake?

Carrie is a classic for a reason. The acting is truly great, thanks to Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie. Spacek is great as both the mousy Carrie and the insane, murderous Carrie. She really shines in the revenge scene at the prom. Without saying a word, her wide eyes and steely expression speak terrifying volumes. Piper Laurie plays the religious Margaret perfectly. I really hated her for all the right reasons. Amy Irving is good as the bratty Sue and John Travolta is in the role made for him, a total douchebag. Beyond the acting, the story is straight to the point and enjoyable. You kind of have an idea of what is going to happen, but are compelled to keep watching. The little hints of Carrie's telekinesis are a big part of that. The audience is fully behind Carrie as a sympathetic character and desperately want her to get revenge.

Director Brian De Palma (Scarface, The Untouchables) does a fantastic job of directing. Quick action shots with music swells fit perfectly for Carrie's powers. There are some great shots, including the final scene that was shot in reverse to give it a dream-like feel. The music, composed by Pino Donaggio, is another high point in the movie, though I could have done without some of the dorky 70's music. The soundtrack is so good that it has been re-released multiple times. While a majority of the movie doesn't have a lot of action, there is plenty in the final act. The scene I referenced before is truly awesome and it's no surprised it's been done in other productions so many times.

This should just be every heavy metal album cover ever

Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still really enjoyed Carrie. The story is very believable and still relevant today. Even though the movie is a bit lengthy, it never felt too long or drawn out. The acting is great with special accolades going to Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie. It was also fun to see a young John Travolta. The direction and music are very well done and make the movie a complete package. If you've watched the prom scene, but never watched the full movie, do yourself a favor, and go see Carrie now. Make sure to avoid the ridiculous sequel, The Rage: Carrie 2 and the unnecessary made-for-TV remake. Plans are underway to remake the original with Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, Let Me In) as Carrie and Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski) as Margaret White. Only time will tell if it will be as good as the original. 

9/10