Shock Treatment

We now come to the first movie musical in the bunch. In this case, it's never been a stage show before and has only ever appeared in film form. Today's musical is Shock Treatment, which is a "spiritual sequel" to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I know the vast majority of RHPS fans hate this movie, but I find it to be pretty good.

Shock Treatment was written as a sort of sequel to RHPS by Richard O' Brien. The film was released in 1981, which explains the sound of the show being more like the music of that decade. The reception for the movie at the time was not flattering, and I can certainly see why, though I still enjoy the film. The characters Brad and Janet are not played by the original actors that played them in RHPS, though the Brad in this film is played by the actor that was the original choice for the character in RHPS.

Let's get into it.

We get an opening narration about a man who lived everything entirely too fast.

Next we get the overture which displays the country feel many of the songs have, while a a large crowd enters a sound stage, filling up the room. We see Brad and Janet grabbing their own seats.

We're introduced to the first song, "Denton U.S.A.". It's a very cheesy song about the supposed innocence of Denton. You know, if you have to sing about how innocent you are...you probably aren't. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. The whole town seems to be into this television studio as if it's their entire lives. Right off the bat, you get the feeling that something is very wrong with this town. Almost in a pseudo-Lovecraftian way.

Betty Hapschatt (yes, that minor character from RHPS) speaks to a judge, played by Charles Gray, the criminologist from the previous film. We see the symbol for Farley Flavors, which looks frighteningly like a swastika. It seems that Betty and Ralph split up in between the films. We're also introduced to Bert Schnick, the blind, German host of the show "Marriage Maze." He'll be important later. Brad and Janet are picked for the show to come up to the stage for marriage counseling. Poor Brad seems to be an emotional wreck. I'd assume this is because of the trauma from the end of the previous film.

"Bitchin' in the Kitchen" has Brad and Janet calling upon the appliances they see in commercials to help them with their marriage and life problems. It's weird, I know, but remember what film this is a sequel to. Brad is wheeled off to Dentonvale, a tv show/madhouse.

We're introduced to Dr. Cosmo and Nation McKinley. They're played by Richard O' Brien and Patricia Quinn. They're married in this film. Bert has Janet's parents are answering quiz questions in a gameshow for a new home on another tv show on this crazy network. Apparently, someone has bought Cosmo's tv show.

"In My Own Way" has Janet singing to Brad about her own dilemma of being married to an emotionally shattered man. While she's upset that Brad is no longer the man she knew, she still loves him. This song uses some of the same guitar riffs that songs in RHPS did.

Brad is in an insane asylum now and Janet receives gifts from her mother. Janet's father is kind of a jerk.

He starts a song called "Thank God I'm a Man". This is a strange song and definitely my least favorite in the whole film. Not only because it offends me personally, but because it's really a terrible song. Thank the gods that it's short.

The judge and Betty drink coffee in their office. Apparently, Bert has some plans for Janet that Cosmo and Nation are apprehensive about. The weird people in charge of the station try to convince Janet she's not happy and introduce her to Farley Flavors via tv.

"Farley's Song" is a perfect example of a villain song. He's cocky, arrogant, and overtly evil. He's also awesome. He'll tell you so himself. I like this character a lot.

Farley wants Janet to be his idea of the perfect girl next door for his media empire...and world domination. I don't get it either. Janet is pretty excited about the prospect of being a star. They all decide to go to bed. Meanwhile, the judge and Betty do some snooping around the studio to uncover something or the other.

"Lullaby" has the characters singing about how sleep will hopefully bring clarity to their problems. It's a pretty inconsequential song that's clearly meant for padding, but I really like it's catchiness. I find myself singing this one every now and then. We also see that nearly no one in town ever actually goes home. We also return to a pretty funny scene with the judge and Betty.

Everyone is getting ready for the day ahead and Janet meets up with Cosmo who transitions us into the next song.

"Little Black Dress" has Cosmo explaining about how dressing up is his favorite thing in the world and how a little black dress is truly the greatest piece of clothing. Janet agrees, dons the black dress and sings with him. Um, I think I can see why people dislike this movie so much now. There's a LOT of padding. Luckily the songs that are padding are typically catchy and good.

"Me of Me" has Janet singing for the camera in an 80s music video or something. It's pretty hard to follow this movie.

Apparently the crowd goes wild and Janet leaves to give Brad some medication. Brad is noticeably upset and so are Janet's parents. Janet is turning into quite a bad person.

"Shock Treatment" is the title song and it's a great one. I'm not sure what it's about, but we get to hear a lot of Cosmo, Nation, and whoever the nurse played by Little Nell is. It's obvious what they're planning to do with Brad, and it's not pretty. The judge, seeing the spectacle, sums it up nicely: "Macabre, isn't it? The blind leading the blind." Bert can also sing and dance, apparently.

The town is crazy for Janet, though not for any good reason. Bert and Farley have plans for Janet and she's fallen for their fame game hook, line, and sinker.

"Carte Blanche" is a very short song taking place on a balcony. It's pretty pointless.

Betty and the judge are hatching up a scheme. Janet's mother feeds Brad some sedatives. Poor Brad.

"Looking For Trade" is a drug trip Janet has after having one too many cosmos and pills. The set is very cool for this one, with bright red lights. Brad actually gets to sing a little in this one. Janet hallucinates seeing Brad all over the place.

Janet wakes up to some fans annoying her. The judge and Betty scheme to break Brad out of the asylum. He gives some dramatic one liners at every point, like an ex-Bond villain should.

"Look What I did to my Id" has the characters singing about their futures in television. It's another pretty inconsequential song to the plot, but it's a good look at the television obsessed culture in our country.

Farley is getting ready for the show and a song "Breaking Out" is sung by a local band called Oscar Drill. During this song, the judge and Betty break Brad out of his prison. Appropriate, I suppose.

We see the villains all laughing at a round table during an interview. Apparently, Farley is Brad's brother and he resented Brad for getting what he never could in Janet and a stable upbringing. Janet walks onto the stage and is crowned Miss Mental Health. The president of a car company gives a key to Janet for a new car. Farley enters the scene and addresses the audience. Brad breaks in with the judge and Betty.

"Duel Duet" is a duet song between Brad and Farley about their sibling rivalry. It takes place in their minds and it's awesome. Did I mention they're played by the same person? Brad REALLY kicks some ass in this song and kicks Farley to the curb mentally. Bert makes a comment that probably refers to him being an ex-Nazi. Lovely. Janet chooses to go back to Brad. Farley makes some sort of speech to attempt to get his audience back. They all leave with him on some sort of journey. Brad and Janet are reunited and start singing.

"Anyhow, Anyhow" is an upbeat song with Brad, Janet, the judge, and Betty singing about how they're going to survive no matter what life throws at them. We also cut to all the townspeople in straightjackets singing a reprise of "Denton U.S.A." It really is a madhouse. Our heroes hot wire the car that Janet won and drive out of the studio.

"The sun never sets on those who ride into it".

After watching this film again, I may have been too lenient on it. Most of the songs are filler and the plot doesn't really make much sense. The songs that are memorable are actually good and the songs that are bad are horrible. I've seen worse movies and though this one is decent, it certainly doesn't live up to its predecessor. I'd just listen to the song "Shock Treatment" and call it a day.