Shock Treatment
A flamboyant musical satire turns a troubled marriage and an entire small town into programming for an all-consuming television machine.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- campy
- witty
- surreal
- cult movie night
- midnight screening
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as an overproduced, commercially unsuccessful follow-up with inventive media satire that was initially dismissed by its intended cult audience.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Denton is transformed into a giant television station, making participation and spectatorship the town's basic social roles.
The film presents Dentonvale, celebrity manufacture, game-show conventions, and heightened musical numbers as an absurd television ecosystem.
Brad and Janet's hometown functions simultaneously as a town, studio, hospital program, and viewing platform.
Brad and Janet's failing marriage is absorbed into Denton's programming while Janet is groomed as a new star.
Films like Shock Treatment, and why
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
camp musical satire, flamboyant performance style, and cult midnight-movie appeal
The Apple
surreal musical comedy built around television, celebrity, and exaggerated social satire
Network
dystopian media satire with heightened theatricality and a critique of mass entertainment
Rhinestone
eccentric musical comedy featuring grotesque spectacle and anti-establishment humor
Movie Details
- Director
- Jim Sharman
- Release Date
- 1981-08-21
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (111)
Cast
- Jessica Harper
- Cliff DeYoung
- Richard O'Brien
- Patricia Quinn
- Charles Gray
- Ruby Wax
- Nell Campbell
- Rik Mayall
- Barry Humphries
- Darlene Johnson
Common questions
- What is Shock Treatment about?
- A flamboyant musical satire turns a troubled marriage and an entire small town into programming for an all-consuming television machine.
- What is Shock Treatment like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Shock Treatment as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Shock Treatment violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Shock Treatment.
- What did critics think of Shock Treatment?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as an overproduced, commercially unsuccessful follow-up with inventive media satire that was initially dismissed by its intended cult audience.
- Which films are like Shock Treatment?
- Films with a similar feel include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Apple, Network, and Rhinestone.
- How long is Shock Treatment?
- Shock Treatment runs 94 minutes.
