Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- campy
- macabre
- frantic
- late night horror marathon
- cult movie night
What critics said
Critics generally recognized stylish, blood-drenched action and macabre technique but found the film diffusely organized, poorly paced, and undermined by inconsistent supernatural rules.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Horace Pinker returns from the electric chair as an energy-based supernatural killer who inhabits other people.
Pinker travels through electrical systems and television signals, while the film links mass media to weakened reality and values.
Mitch Pileggi's Horace Pinker combines sadistic murders with flamboyant behavior and increasingly absurd supernatural set pieces.
Jonathan Parker's strange dream connection to Pinker repeatedly directs him and his father toward the killer.
Films like Shocker, and why
A Nightmare on Elm Street
supernatural slasher horror, sadistic killer, and darkly comic tone
The Evil Dead II
stylized serial-killer horror combined with black humor and elaborate practical effects
Night of the Demons
campy supernatural horror, body possession, and gleefully excessive violence
The Blob
late-1980s horror spectacle, killer mythology, and macabre comic energy
Movie Details
- Director
- Wes Craven
- Release Date
- 1989-03-23
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Rating
- 5.6 / 10 (475)
Cast
- Michael Murphy
- Mitch Pileggi
- Peter Berg
- Camille Cooper
- Sam Scarber
- Richard Brooks
- Vincent Guastaferro
- Ted Raimi
- Heather Langenkamp
- John Tesh
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Shocker about?
- A grieving young man battles a murderous television repairman who returns from the electric chair as a body-hopping force of electrical evil.
- What is Shocker like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Shocker as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Shocker violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Shocker as graphic.
- What did critics think of Shocker?
- Critics generally recognized stylish, blood-drenched action and macabre technique but found the film diffusely organized, poorly paced, and undermined by inconsistent supernatural rules.
- Which films are like Shocker?
- Films with a similar feel include A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Evil Dead II, Night of the Demons, and The Blob.
- How long is Shocker?
- Shocker runs 111 minutes.
- Where can I watch Shocker?
- In United States, Shocker is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
