Carolco Pictures, 1989
starring: Peter Berg, Michael Murphy, Camille Cooper and Mitch Pileggi
written and directed by: Wes Craven

the plot: A deranged serial killer is terrorizing the town of Maryville, killing whole families with impunity. The media calls him the “Maryville Slasher,” but after a troubling dream, local college football star Jonathan Parker (Berg) knows the killer’s true identity: Horace Pinker (Pileggi). Jonathan’s revelation is cut short by a phone call from his father, Lt. Don Parker (Murphy), a police detective hunting the killer, who reveals that the rest of the Parker family are the Slasher’s latest victims. Jonathan tells his father about the dream, and though reluctant at first, Lt. Parker and a squad of cops go to Pinker’s rundown TV repair shop in search of the madman. Pinker escapes and leaves a trail of bodies in his wake, including Jonathan’s girlfriend, Alison (Cooper). Soon, Jonathan discovers his dreams reveal where Pinker will strike next, and he uses that information to help capture the killer. Pinker is sent to the electric chair, but thanks to some black magic, at the moment of his death, he transforms himself into a vengeful spirit of electricity and resumes his campaign of terror against Jonathan.

why it’s good: “Shocker” was Wes Craven’s first attempt after “A Nightmare on Elm Street” to develop a new horror franchise, and though Horace Pinker is no Freddy Krueger, “Shocker” is a solid horror flick. “Shocker” is at its best when Craven lets his penchant for surrealistic weirdness fly, and the film starts and ends strong with a disorienting dream sequence and an extended chase through the local TV channel lineup (don’t ask). But the middle portion of “Shocker” drags, when Berg and Pileggi chase each other around to no real effect. Berg, who went on to direct “The Kingdom” and “Friday Night Lights,” is a decent enough hero, a nice but dumb jock who wises up fast when confronted by an electrically-powered killer. And while Pileggi is big and menacing, he lacks the ghoulish charisma that Robert Englund used to make Freddy Krueger such a memorable villain in the “Nightmare” franchise. For ’80s hair metal fans, the movie is a treasure-trove of rockers, featuring Megadeth’s cover of “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and a title song by The Dudes of Wrath, a super-group featuring members of KISS, Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Motley Crue. “Shocker” is also full of weird cameos, including appearances by frequent Craven collaborator Heather Langenkamp, John Tesh (as a tabloid TV reporter), and Dr. Timothy Leary himself. Leary guest stars as a money-grubbing television evangelist, and his role is part of the apparent ongoing commentary on mass media and on-screen violence. Whatever Craven’s trying to say about all that is obscured by the buckets of blood Horace Pinker generates. 

why you should own it: “Shocker” is available in an ultra cheap two-pack with “The People Under the Stairs,” another awesome post-“Nightmare,” pre-“Scream” Craven flick.  Even without the added bonus of “People,” “Shocker” is still good enough to have a place on your shelf.