Shock Treatment
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Movie Reviews of Shock Treatment
Movie Review: Ten Reasons why you should buy Shock Treatment and Watch it Repeatedly
Summary: 5 Stars
The tagline for the production people was "Not a sequel, not a prequel, but an equal"
1.The Music is brilliant, far better than the Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) which was excellent to begin with.
2. Sal Piro, President of the RHPS fan club, said "When it comes to the music of Shock treatment, I find myself listening to the music of Shock Treatment more than the music of Rocky."
3. Jessica Harper is a much better singer than Susan Sarandon.
4. Nell Campbell is much hotter in 1981 than she was in 1975. Her voice is still annoying.
5. Shock Treatment is much better cast than RHPS. Patricia Quinn, Charles Gray ,Richard O'Brien, Barry Humphries, Ruby Wax, Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper are all stellar. Nell Campbell seems to be much more comfortable and at home in ST rather than RHPS. Rik Mayall is a cute and clever addition to the players and Manning Redwood's solo is hilarious.
6. The diffeerent actors playing the same roles actually works out well.
7. The movie was way ahead of its time in 1981. It still might be ahead of its time in 2011.
8. Its not RHPS, it doesn't have fan participation, so you can enjoy it on its own merits.
9. Oscar Drill and the Bits are much easier to look at than Meatloaf.
10. All the same elements of RHPS are present, but different and more skillfully executed. Its the next RHPS audience participation movie...just waiting for people to start making up questions and answers.
I do have some cold, hard truths, as I see them, I should mention. The movie is much hated, same as RHPS was in the beginning. If you love RHPS when you are sitting, by yourself, watching it, you will probably love Shock Treatment even more. If you only like RHPS on fan participation night and believe "RHPS shouldn't be watched on DVD", you'll probably hate Shock Treatment. Shock Treatment doesn't have the sexual tension present in it that Rocky did. It has a more mature, distinguished sexual character to it.
Truth is, I hate musicals, but I love this movie. I like RHPS fine, but Shock Treatment is better and larger in every way other than fan participation.
Movie Review: A POSITIVE REVIEW.
Summary: 5 Stars
"Shock Treatment" is a devastatingly underrated film and its place in celluloid history has Rocky Horror's unknown sequel is a misnomer. It is not a sequel. It is another kind of animal entirely. Where RHPS is dark and vampy, ST is bright and sterile. Where RHPS is guttoral, ST works on a more cerebral level.
It is some time later and Brad and Janet (now played by Cliff De Young and the amazingly talented Jessica Harper) are unhappily married and living in Denton. The town is, it seems, completely encased in a television studio where audience members (including Brad and Janet) clambor to get good seats and are then inundated by show after show. The unhappy couple is surprised to learn they have been chosen to be contestants on the game show "Marriage Maze". The host of the show (Barry Humphreys, better known as Dame Edna) convinces Janet to commit Brad to Dentonvale, a mental institution/hit show starring brother and sister Cosmo and Nation McKinley (Richard O' Brien and Patricia Quinn). This is all, of course, a plan by the studio's new owner (also played by De Young) who lusts after Janet and is planning to make her a big Denton star to serve his own nefarious ending. As you can tell, it soon begins to become difficult to tell what is television and what is scripted.
The new wave soundtrack is brilliant and not as derivitive as that of RHPS. The sterile and artificial looking sets and art direction are brilliant, and O' Brien rightfully earns his place as a brilliant futurist. This was a good two decades before reality television and here he's already commenting on it and our obsession with celebrity.
Movie Review: Pure genius! A brilliant piece of art!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you don't "get" this musical movie, dont' worry. Many people don't on the first viewing. Sure, the music grabs you right from the start and it will stay in your head for days afterwards. But, something starts creeping into your psyche. You can't explain it. You watch the film again and slowly you start seeing it's brilliance. And with repeated viewings (on a daily basis) you can't understand why critics and audience members didn't give Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman the accolades they deserved.
This film works on many levels. First, it's an incredible satire on our country's obsession with media and celebrity. Second, visually it was lightyears ahead of it's time. Totally foreshadowed MTV style and Reality TV. Third, it's a concept that was totally original and daring. (Let's not encourage someone for trying something different!) And fourth, it showcases the talent of some of the most quirky and campy performers of that time. Jessica Harper is absolutely mesmerizing in her presence and her vocals are addictive!
I can't begin to explain the effect the film has on me. It makes me laugh, makes me think, gives me chills and entertains me like nothing else. You know, it took years for "Citizen Kane" to be recognized as the masterpiece that it is considered today. And in it's own way, this small and obscure piece of art is a work that was conceived by filmmakers that were as much mavericks of their day as Orson Welles in his day. Like "Citizen Kane", it just takes a few years to "get" it - "Anyhow, anyway"!
Movie Review: Excellent DVD package for Shock Treatment fans
Summary: 5 Stars
If you are a fan of Shock Treatment, this DVD is the one you want. It has a few documentaries full of information and a wonderful commentary track as well. The color and over all image is fantastic, especially for those of us used to the old VHS release. Also, the sound quality is excellent.
A reviewer here said that the commentary should have been "left to professionals". This is a mean thing to say, especially considering that Madman Mike IS a professional in the world of Rocky Horror and Shock Treatment. Mike did a FABULOUS job. So did Bill Brennon for that matter. They give you tons of behind the scenes trivia and insight on the meaning of the movie and its making. I've heard the commentary on many, many DVDs and I've heard horrible ones that were done by directors, actors and other production people. In fact, just listen to the commentary done by Kiara Knightly on one of the Pirates of the Caribbean DVDs and you will think Madman Mike and Bill Brennon are totally professional by comparison.
Shock Treatment is very obscure in the scheme of things but it does have some really die hard fans and a "cult within a cult" following with Rocky Horror fans. Shock Treatment was WAY ahead of its time on many levels, especially predicting the direction that reality TV would go. There's not much reality in reality TV, and this movie sort of knew that before it happened.
This movie isn't for everyone. But for fans, its a long awaited and fantastic presentation and I can't recommend this DVD enough.
Movie Review: I really liked it...does that make me unhealthy?
Summary: 5 Stars
I just saw 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' recently, I was like, the last dork on the planet who hadn't seen it. And I have to say, I thought it was really good. So naturally, when I found out there was a sequel, I had to see it. Many of the actors from 'Rocky Horror,' return as different, but similar characters for 'Shock Treatment.' But if your a fan of 'Rocky Horror,' the only thing you need to watch this movie is an open mind. It's not a sequel to 'Rocky Horror,' in the sense that all the same characters come back for the same adventure we got the first time, but rather, a new adventure, with the two major characters of 'Rocky Horror,' Brad and Janet and a whole slew of new characters with a totally different basis than 'Rocky Horror.' Whereas upon viewing 'Rocky Horror,' I got the impression the movie was about sexual-expression and freedom, watching 'Shock Treatment,' gave me the opposite impression, as it appears to be about corporate omnipotence, corrupt psychiatry and the suppression of the mind that television builds in general. The songs are all incredible, and every song sung in 'Shock Treatment,' is just as memorable as every song sung in 'Rocky Horror.' Overall, I thought 'Shock Treatment,' was every bit as good as 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' and it could be viewed as a sequel, or standalone. But one thing's for certain, you need an open-mind before watching it.