User Reviews

The biggest problem with "Shock Treatment" is that at its core, it is a much, much deeper and somewhat darker film than "Rocky Horror". RHPS is more of a flat-out comedy, but "Shock Treatment" is very much a dark comedy. You have to think a little bit to "get" what the movie is pushing to you, and you'll probably have to watch it more than once before it'll all really make sense, and that's not something that most people are willing to do.

It also doesn't help the fact that Brad and Janet, while technically still the same characters from RHPS, are played by different people - and that Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn, and Little Nell are playing completely different characters. Again, this confuses the heck out of most people, and it generally ruins the movie for them.

And that's a shame - because once you get under the surface of this movie, it's really quite ahead of its time. How many movies from the 70's and 80's can you think of that "prophesied" the coming of reality TV as a widely-accepted form of entertainment nearly two decades beforehand? And how likely do you think it would be that a married couple today might be willing to turn to video-administered pop psychology, a studio audience, and some very fake celebrities to try to find the answers to save their troubled marriages? "Shock Treatment" hits very close to home - maybe a little TOO close. I don't think too many people will argue that we live in some seriously dark times, and this movie takes that theme and runs with it.

The only major sore spot I had with the film was that I thought the plot thread between Brad and Farley Flavors was a little forced and contrived - but given that Richard O'Brien had to drastically re-write the script because Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, and Susan Sarandon chose not to take part, he did the best he could with the crew he did have, and I think it could have been much worse. No studio writer today could have written themselves out of such a corner, that's for sure. Plus, it's great fun to see Barrie Humphries hamming it up as Bert Schnick (quite the silly change from his stint as Dame Edna Everage), and a subtle cameo of Rik Mayall before "The Young Ones".

And oddly enough, I find the music for "Shock Treatment" to be far more enjoyable and catchy than the tunes from RHPS. I know, I know, how can anyone NOT love "Time Warp", "Sweet Transvestite", etc.? Well, it's not that I hate them...I've just heard them only about a million times apiece, and even with the audience participation, they get stale after awhile. But there's something infectious about the tunes here; every time I hear or read yet another story about some stupid celebrity marriage that's going down the tubes, I get the urge to hum "Bitchin' in the Kitchen". When I think about my small hometown, I start singing "Denton" under my breath. Hearing Brad and Farley verbally slug it out in "Duel Duet" is both sad and hilarious, and though it's very short, I think that Jessica Harper, as Janet, singing "In My Own Way" is one of the most bittersweet situational songs I've ever heard, as she questions her decisions about Brad and their marriage, and vows to try to see things through to the end. If you ever saw "Phantom of the Paradise", you'll be familiar with Jessica's singing voice - the gal can belt out a tune.

There are thousands of RHPS fans out there that will avoid this movie like the plague because they think it will taint everything about the original that they hold so dear to their hearts. And that's fine. They are two very, very different films, and "Shock Treatment" is not meant to be a late-night audience participation kind of gig.

But if you can see this one with an open mind, I really encourage you to give it a viewing. It's definitely more fun than the individual sum of its parts.

I was watching Cinema Snob and one of his reviews was on Shock Treatment. I learned that this was a sequel to Rocky Horror Picture Show and I was entranced by the footage that was shown in said review, so I watched it in full for myself.

I was hyped and it did meet some requirements that I enjoyed in Rocky Horror, such as the bizarre setting, the slightly off characters, and the catchy songs.

My complaints would have to be that most of the songs were sung by Jessica Harper as Janet, who makes full use of her deep second soprano/salto voice. Now that was good--once she transformed into a diva her songs were full of life and very catchy--I would have liked to see more songs featuring lead vocals by the doctors or even those from Denton.

Richard O' Brien was phenomenal to watch as Cosmo McKinley. Intense and measured with obvious chemistry between him and his co-star Patricia Quinn (playing Nation McKinley) as they played the two sibling doctors who were previously under the employment of Doctor Frank n Furter in Rocky Horror. I loved Brien's vocals and his slightly mischievous character (the very last scene with the flashing of the car keys comes to mind) and for the most part the direction that the movie took was enjoyable. Apparently O'Brien not very proud of this movie or his role in it (he thought his singing and dancing sucked or something) but him being in the film was honestly one of the things that made it entertaining.

The movie features that layered electric guitar sound in most of the songs that is prominent in 80s music despite it only being released in 1981, and while that is enjoyable to listen to, it dates the music because of that era's signature sound. Not really a criticism or a compliment, just an observation.

I think what I had trouble with was the uneven pacing. The movie's plot does not have a large driving force behind the characters like in Rocky Horror: In Rocky Horror, Brad and Janet wanted to find some help and eventually escape Furter's castle; in Shock Treatment, Brad is deigned to receive treatment and Janet just goes along with it while being groomed to be the new poster child of Farley Flavors's business. A lot of down time was shown with little action, is what I'm saying.

If you liked Rocky Horror, this will either be a great addition to it or you'll be disappointed. If you don't particularly like Rocky Horror, Shock Treatment is toned down in its sexual proclivities by a large margin, but it still has that kind of Twilight Zone feel that will either turn you on or off. If I had to, I'd give this a 6.5/10.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show may have failed when it was first released, but somehow, midnight showings have kept it in limited release four decades after its premiere, making it the longest-running theatrical release in history.

In 1979, writer/cast member Richard O'Brien wrote a sequel called Rocky Horror Shows His Heels. I remember reading about this in an issue of the teen magazine Bananas. If you remember this magazine, you are officially old. Anyway, this script would have featured the return of all of the characters from the original film, even the ones who died. However, director Jim Sharman didn't want to revisit the film and Tim Curry had no interest in coming back.

Two years later, Sharman and O'Brien reunited for this movie, which had the tagline "It's not a sequel... it's not a prequel... it's an equal." This infuriated fans, as they wanted Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick instead of new cast members. And where Rocky is strange, Shock Treatment is near lunatic in its depiction of the town of Denton.

Complicating matters was that the Screen Actor's Guild strike led to the entire being shot on a sound stage in the UK, which I feel adds to the proceedings. Your mileage may vary, but there's plenty to like here if you keep an open mind.

Brad and Janet Majors have gotten married and settled into the town of Denton, USA. Brad is now played by Cliff De Young (The Hunger) and Janet is Jessica Harper (seriously, do you think she was tired of playing in films that only maniacs like me enjoy, like this one, Suspiria and The Phantom of the Paradise?).

Denton has been taken over by fast good magnate Farley Flavors, also played by De Young, and is totally encased within a TV studio where town residents are either stars, cast, crew, regulars or audience members.

Our heroes are selected for Marriage Maze by the supposedly blind game show host Bert Schnick (Barry Humphries, who you may know better as Dame Edna). For winning, Brad gets placed on the soap opera Dentonvale, where brother and sister doctors Cosmo and Nation McKinley (O'Brien and Patricia Quinn, pretty much playing similar roles from Rocky Horror) while Farley molds Janet into a singing superstar.

Meanwhile, Betty Hapschatt (Ruby Wax, the script editor for Absolutely Fabulous) and Judge Oliver Wright (Rocky Horror narrator Charles Gray) learn that everyone is just a character actor and that Farley is Brad's evil twin, out to take Janet for himself.

While our heroes all escape, the rest of the town loves being on TV so much that they commit themselves to remain in Denton and all become characters on Dentonvale.

The cast of Shock Treatment is pretty amazing and absolutely filled with talent:

Little Nell comes back as Nurse Ansalong, Young Ones star Rik Mayall is around as "Rest Home" Ricky, while Officer Vance Parker is played by Chris Malcolm, the first Brad from the Rocky Horror stage show. Betsy Brantley, who played Neely Pritt, was the body model for Jessica Rabbit as well as playing Dolph Lundgren's girlfriend in I Come In Peace. And you can catch Rocky Horror fan club president Sal Piro in a brief cameo.

Barry Dennen, who plays auto dealer Irwin Lapsey had an interesting career. He helped Barbara Streisand develop her act and lived with her romantically for a year before learning that he was gay. He's in a ton of movies, appearing as Mendel in The Fiddler on the Roof and Pontious Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as Claude LeMont in the "High Adventure" segment of The Kentucky Fried Movie. He's also in The Shining, Dark Crystal, Madhouse, The Shadow and Trading Places, as well as voicing tons of video games and cartoons. Sadly, he never recovered from a fall in July of 2017 and died a few months later.

Ironically, Brad from this movie and Janet from Rocky Horror - DeYoung and Sarandon - are a couple in The Hunger.

Shock Treatment never achieved the levels of fandom that Rocky Horror did. But man, it has some great songs, Jessica Harper in gothy makeup and a "Little Black Dress," and predates the world's fascination with reality TV by several decades. It's worth tracking down - it's really something else.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a great satirical horror spoof musical, and you probably wouldn't think there was a follow up, but there was, from returning director Jim Sharman. Basically this one, set six years after the previous film events, spoofs the world of television, specifically game shows crossed with early reality TV. Returning and in the audience for this show on a giant TV station called "Dentonvale", hosted by the eccentric Bert Schnick (Barry Humphries, best known as Dame Edna Everage), are now married Janet (Jessica Harper) and Brad Majors (Cliff De Young). They are currently in a rocky patch with their marriage, and the show offers a chance for them to restore their feelings for each other, which Janet is more than happy to do, while Brad is imprisoned. As time goes by it seems that Bert, along with the McKinleys as right hands, Nation (Patricia Quinn) and Cosmo (Richard O'Brien, also writing), are offering more than just the romance re-ignition, but a star career for Janet. She is entranced by her new life of stardom with the help of the megalomaniac TV crew, and has pretty much forgotten all about Brad, that is until we find out the other big name in the show Farley Flavors (also De Young) is the twin brother of Brad. After some looking behind the scenes by concerned Judge Oliver Wright (Diamonds Are Forver's Charles Gray) and Betty Hapschatt (Ruby Wax) things are settled in the end, I can't remember or be bothered to find out how, but it is. Also starring Nell Campbell as Nurse Ansalong, Rik Mayall as 'Rest Home' Ricky and singer and frequent guest judge in The X Factor Sinitta Renay as Frankie. One or two of the songs are a little catchy, the lyrics certainly do alright, and the colourful sets and costumes look okay, but all this doesn't make the film any better. The acting is terribly cheesy, the story is stupid, the music doesn't always fit, and you just know deep down that the first film is better, this is easily the most forgettable sequel I've ever seen, a silly musical satire. Pretty poor!