Shocker is one of Wes Craven’s relatively unknown gems. It has an interesting and fun premise that allows Mitch Peleggi, who I more often see playing reserved characters, to go all out as a sadistic serial killer combined with Peter Berg as the pair beam (for the lack of a better word) into television shows.
Shocker
— Collector’s Edition —
(1989)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Horror
Shout Factory | NR – 110 min. – $29.93 | September 8, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Wes Craven Writer(s): Wes Craven (written by) Cast: Michael Murphy, Peter Berg, Cami Cooper, Mitch Pileggi, Ted Raimi DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) |
** Click Here to Purchase Shocker on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
PLOT SYNOPSIS
About to be electrocuted for a catalog of heinous crimes, the unrepentant Horace Pinker (MITCH PILEGGI) transforms into a terrifying energy source. Only young athlete Jonathan Parker (PETER BERG), with an uncanny connection to Pinker through bizarre dreams, can fight the powerful demon. The two dive in and out of television programs, chasing each other from channel to channel through stunning scenes of disaster, game shows and old reruns.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.75/5
This “Collector’s Edition” comes with a matted slip cover and a reversible inner cover artwork of the original poster.
Audio Commentaries – There are two tracks available, one with Director Wes Craven and the other with DP Jacques Haitkin, Co-Producer Robert Engelman and Composer William Goldstein, the latter a newer track moderated by Michael Felsher.
Cable Guy (17:36; HD) is a new interview with actor Mitch Pileggi as he discusses his character.
Alison’s Adventures (17:12; HD) – Former actress Camille Cooper talks about working on the movie and her career since.
It’s Alive (11:57; HD) is an interview with Shep Gordon and his role on the project.
No More Mr. Nice Guy (26:13; HD) covers the music/score for the movie.
Finishing things off are some Trailer & TV Spots (2:32; HD), Radio Spots (1:09; HD), a Vintage making-of (8:48; HD) featurette and Storyboard and Stills Galleries.
VIDEO – 3.5/5
Shout, via their Scream Factory line, releases Shocker onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). While the transfer is anything fantastic, it’s does provide decent to good detail and it appears to be clean, free of artifacts, pixilation, dust marks and scratches. Colors are on the dark side but well balanced.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
The movie comes with both 2.0 and 5.1 channels DTS-HD Master Audio tracks and both are perfectly serviceable with the latter giving a tad more depth with the rear channels churning out ambient noises, William Goldstein’s score and the occasional late-80s punk/rock soundtrack. Dialogue sounds crisp and fairly clear, with some minor muffling depending on the scene, and other horror/supernatural elements give it some power.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, Shocker is one of Wes Craven’s relatively unknown gems. It has an interesting and fun premise that allows Mitch Peleggi, who I more often see playing reserved characters, to go all out as a sadistic serial killer combined with Peter Berg as the pair beam (for the lack of a better word) into television shows. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory offers good video/audio transfers and a fair amount of bonus material.
Published: 08/24/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.