X
- 1981
- PG
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 34 m
- 1981
- PG
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 34 m
Summary In this "sort-of sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show," (Dave Kehr) Janet and Brad become contestants on a game show... but wind up as captives instead. Denton, Denton USA!
Directed By: Jim Sharman
Written By: Richard O'Brien, Jim Sharman
- 1981
- PG
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 34 m
- 1981
- PG
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 34 m
Shock Treatment
36
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Summary In this "sort-of sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show," (Dave Kehr) Janet and Brad become contestants on a game show... but wind up as captives instead. Denton, Denton USA!
Directed By: Jim Sharman
Written By: Richard O'Brien, Jim Sharman
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
36
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
29% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
36
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
29% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
As a movie, this sort-of sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show ain't much—but then neither was the original, and we all know how much difference that made.
The film looks great, with vivid colors and sharp, snappy staging, but its 92 minutes drag by interminably. Tim Curry in fishnets might have helped, but a coherent storyline would have been far better.
All the redeeming qualities of "Rocky Horror"--naive wit, enthusiastic invention and absurb plotline--have been approximated in Shock Treatment without ever approaching the original. Unlike its inspiration, which fans have returned to time and again, Shock Treatment is hard to sit through once. [28 May 1982, p.C4]
Harper proves she can sing, O'Brien proves he can't act, and Sharman films inventively, but fringe theatre material does not a big screen musical make. Rocky Horror succeeded in its spot-on sense of style, but here the style, like the whole concept of rock musicals, seems a decade out of date, bypassed by films like Quadrophenia which integrate music and story in a different way.
Cowering in the shadow of the Picture Show, this sequel of sorts builds on none of the risks take by its predecessor.
Harper (STARDUST MEMORIES; MY FAVORITE YEAR), a vastly underrated actress, clearly exhibits more talent than this film deserves, its only real standout. Rather than maintain the level of crude, campy fun in the original, SHOCK TREATMENT deteriorates into lame, humorless nonsense that bores rather than amuses.
Ninety minutes of Shock Treatment feels like a week in "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," a Quaalude interlude, a quart of Sanka laced with Valium. No jolt...Despite flashy lights, splashy sets and plump girls in tight white corsets, "S.T.'s" a bore -- a blatant try for teeny-punk bucks. It's a lesson for filmmakers: You can't force a cult film, they just happen. [28 May 1982, p.13]
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Production Company
Twentieth Century Fox
Release Date Oct 31, 1981
Duration 1 h 34 m
Rating PG
Tagline The Home of Happiness
Awards
The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
