****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I grew up watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show, first listening to the soundtrack at probably far too young an age before being introduced to the movie and its audience participation later on. For almost as long, I've known that Shock Treatment exists, yet it carried such a stigma with not only my family and fellow Rocky fans but even Richard Freaking O'Brien himself that I stayed far, far away. The only things I really knew were that it takes place inside a TV studio, Barry, Susan, and Tim aren't in it, and it's just about the worst film the world has ever been subjected to.Now in my mid-thirties, oversaturated with Rocky and looking for something new in its vain that might satisfy my craving for more bizarre hijinks and toe tapping numbers, I decided to finally give Shock Treatment a chance. I had heard the title song, as well as "Denton U.S.A.", and I thought they seemed alright. I started the film with an open mind, braced for anything that might come my way with my expectations set so low they were under the floor. About halfway through the movie was when I realized what a terrible injustice it is that Shock Treatment is forced to be a sequel to RHPS.Shock Treatment is not a sequel. It's not a prequel. Heck, it isn't an "equal" either, as went the incredibly off the mark slogan.Shock Treatment is Shock Treatment, and it's one of my favorite movies of all time.The plot is nonsensical, the tone and pacing is all over the place, and no, there's no Tim Curry to be found anywhere. But the music, while not as iconic, is still a joy, arguably better than RHPS's offerings, the performances are superb, the presentation is enthralling, and the to-this-day-timely themes and eerily prescient symbolism are fascinating to behold. The moment I finished it I jumped to the beginning and watched it again, ultimately viewing it a total of five times within the week I discovered it.It's very niche, certainly not a film for everyone, but to dismiss it on the grounds that it doesn't hold up as a sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show is to deny yourself the opportunity to watch a wonderfully, woefully forgotten musical that you just might love. Take it from a Shock Treatment denier: it's fabulous being over manipulated on the Dentonvale trail.And even if you find it worse than the old show, in the old show we didn't have a convertible.
