Shocker (1989)
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Villian(s)
Man reanimated with electricity
Actor(s):
Michael Murphy, Peter Berg, Cami Cooper, Mitch Pileggi
Brief Description
Shocker (also known as Wes Craven's Shocker) is a 1989 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven, and starring Michael Murphy, Peter Berg, Cami Cooper, and Mitch Pileggi. The film was released by Universal Pictures on October 27, 1989, and grossed $16.6 million. Features a brief cameo by Heather Langenkamp (star of Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street) as an early news victim, plus appearances by television evangelist Timothy Leary and guitarist Kane Roberts.
Plot:
Horace Pinker (played by Mitch Pileggi), an unrepentant serial killer and TV repairman who is captured by the police with the help of a young college football player, Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg), who shares a psychic dream connection with the killer. After being executed in the electric chair, Pinker uses a deal he made with the devil to transform into a soul-stealing spirit of pure electricity, allowing him to possess others, travel through electrical currents, and traverse television airwaves to exact his bloody vengeance. The film begins as a dark, suspenseful thriller before shifting into campy, reality-bending special effects sequences where the killer dissolves into the TV grid. Noted for its heavy metal soundtrack, featuring contributions from Megadeth (covering Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy") and a title track by Paul Stanley.