13 Nights of Hallowe'en 2009: Night #5 Shocker

How do you follow up an enormously successful film about arazor-gloved, burned man who kills you in your dreams. Obviously you move from fire to electricity and have your supernatural killer do his thing by possessing people and going anywhere electrons can. Tonight I suggest Shocker from director Wes Craven for our viewing pleasure. Yes the cheese is there, some of it stringy and gooey, but don't let that dissuade you from this quirky gem. Horace Pinker is no Freddy Krueger, but then again who is? Mitch Pileggi who you might recall from the X-Files or more recently on Stargate: Antlantis plays Horace a man turned high voltage engine of slaughter when his death sentence is fulfilled. It's hard to imagine him as the same actor, which says much of his acting skill.

Shocker is another movie with a killer soundtrack. One of the coolest bands on the album is the Dudes of Wrath comprising band members from KISS, Def Leppard, Quiet Riot, and Motley Crue. An absolute can't miss song called "Demon Bell - The Ballad Of Horace Pinker" by Dangerous Toys also has an awesome presence in its scene in the movie. As for the film itself, I've seen complaints about one of the side-plots even though it circles back and fulfills a need in the story. I rather like it even if the ghostly element is somewhat at odds with the other supernatural elements in the plot. He's hard to miss but Ted Raimi has--for him--a rather lengthy role. Also keep an eye for a brief scene with Heather Langenkamp and one with Wes himself. They're really easy to miss.

Mood: electric.

Music: My Last Words by Megadeth off of Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?