I think it was. It was unfairly panned at the time of release but I really enjoyed it. No doubt if it had done as well as Nightmare on Elm Street it would have had a long line of sequels.
sharefirst power was better
shareHonestly, I don't think Craven made that many great films. "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "The Serpent and the Rainbow" are the only two I like. "People Under The Stairs" was just ok and Shocker is a dud. Craven hasn't made a good movie in some time.
-L31
"Honestly, I don't think Craven made that many great films. "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "The Serpent and the Rainbow" are the only two I like. "People Under The Stairs" was just ok and Shocker is a dud. Craven hasn't made a good movie in some time."
I think New Nightmare was Craven's last GREAT film. It was also the last film he both wrote and directed. That leads me to wonder how his new slasher, 25/8, will fair when it comes to screen. I read the early draft to it, and let me just say, the killer seems just as brutal as Pinker, though the overall mood of the script is generally MORE serious than Shocker. Though, if you know Craven, he's a fool for nightmare sequences. He dedicated NOES fully to nightmares, and added similar NOES-esque nightmares in Deadly Friend and Shocker. Lo and behold, he's doing the same with 25/8.
As for Shocker itself, right up to the part where Pinker's about to get executed(when he's summoning those lips from the television set in his death row cell), it's a pretty solid horror movie. After that, it kinda becomes more corny. The special FX only make it feel EVEN more corny. Super low budget, of course. MOvies like Dream Child(also from the same year) had better special FX. But when it comes down to it, yeah, I liked it, and I still do. Was it better than NOES? No. But I do think it's more fun than a lot of modern horror movies. I DID find the character dialog and interaction to be realistic. Moreso than most horror movies, especially MODERN horror movies. They were pretty sympathetic, and didn't come off as the shallow jerkoffs you get now.
Not Wes's greatest movie, but not bad at all. Fun, entertaining, with FX use that makes you wanna laugh out loud!
Honestly, I don't think Craven made that many great films.Outside of some of the greats like Hitchcock, Scorsese, Spielberg, etc. I wouldn't say many directors have made that many great films. Great films are pretty rare. Craven made a lot of good films though and a handful of really good films.
Damn straight it's one of his best. I loved Shocker, along with Nightmare On Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes. Much better than the crappy Scream movies he resorted to later on.
shareMuch better than the crappy Scream movies he resorted to later on.I like most of Craven's films but I'd say the first two Scream movies are arguably the best thing he ever did. As far as horror films go they were revolutionary. They added something new to the genre at a time when it desperately needed it. I'm not sure when or why it became so popular to hate on Scream. It seems like a lot of people are just annoyed by the fact that the movies are trying to be "smart" by satirizing the genre.
Well, considering most of his films are garbage, I guess that technically makes this one of his best because it's at least watchable.
"I've been living on toxic waste for years, and I'm fine. Just ask my other heads!"
Um... I'll have to say 'NO!' to this one. It's not a particularly good serial killer movie, considering movies like No Country now exist. It's not a particularly good action movie, because movies like Hard Boiled exist. It's not a good horror movie, because The Orphanage exists. I guess that means it's just a movie. A movie that you watch with your eyes, a popular part of the human face.
Maybe it was good for the time, but I'm not sure that counts either because Phil Collins was popular around this time, as was that flavored cheese popcorn. If you eat too much of that you get mad sick, and when I was little "The Brazilian" used to trigger epileptic seizures for me, so I'll always see him as a prick.
Oh yeah! We wore neon clothes back then, remember? Fanny packs?
Actually yeah, I can see how some people see this as being the greatest movie ever made and whatnot.
I think comparing this film to anything that was ever nominated for a real award is silly... This movie was hilarious horror cheese and Mitch Pileggi was great in it. This scared me when I was a kid and it is entertaining as an adult. I don't think this was ever intended to make people think or to be anything more than a fun waste of an hour and a half. Complaining about the special effects or the lack of oscar worthy storyline here is like going to McDonalds and complaining that the Big Mac wasn't as good as the gourmet steak dinner you once had three years ago that cost $150.00.
shareShocker is definitely one of Craven's worst films, often unintentionally funny and just plain hokey. C'mon, the ending with the little heart in the sky???
shareANOES and Scream are Craven's best imo, but Shocker is one of
my favorites from Craven that definitely has some over the top
moments.
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I have to confess that I liked it. It was definitely a case of "so bad it's good". I like the black mass scene in the prison cell where Pinker gets his superpowers. It was beyond ridiculous. Wes Craven understood that, if you're going to make a bad film, you had better go all the way.
shareI've seen about 3/4 of Craven's films and I'd say Shocker is one of his worst. I'd probably even rank it below Invitation to Hell. Shocker has its entertaining moments but overall it's a bad movie.
What are words for when no one listens anymore
I've also seen 3/4 or more and Shocker is one of his best with Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream.
It's definitely not a bad movie. Nowhere close. It's clever, imaginative, has equal doses of fright, action and laughs, and many, many memorable scenes. It's very well directed too. When Jonathan is dreaming or when they visit Horace Pinker shop, to mention only early scenes. Hills Have Eyes 2 is a bad movie.
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No way.
The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Serpent and the Rainbow, The People Under the Stairs, New Nightmare, Scream 1-4 and Red Eye are all better.
Even Summer of Fear, Deadly Blessing, Swamp Thing and Deadly Friend are probably better too. Hell maybe even Cursed.