Shocker
Directed by Wes Craven
A psychotic serial killer is finally caught thanks to a high school football player who has a strange connection to the killer. Right before getting executed, he performs a demonic ritual and uses electricity to come back from the dead.
Where to Watch Shocker
Shocker Ratings & Reviews
- Patrick WaiApril 6, 2026This has big peak-’80s “we have an idea, several wigs, and absolutely no brakes” energy. The acting is gloriously bad, the plot is predictable until it suddenly becomes confusing, and the whole thing feels like the kind of movie I probably would’ve thought ruled in high school after two Mountain Dews and no standards. The dream-stalking stuff inevitably brings A Nightmare on Elm Street to mind — which makes sense, since Wes Craven directed both — but this feels like the bargain-bin, louder, sillier cousin. The old-school effects are charming in a dusty VHS way, but very dated, and the movie is a solid 20 minutes too long. That said, I absolutely loved the lunatic gimmick of jumping into the TV and bouncing through different shows; it’s the one part where the movie becomes the kind of deranged nonsense it should’ve been all along. Critics weren’t exactly kind to it either: Shocker sits at 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, and even the consensus is basically “cool premise, lame result,” which feels about right. In the end, it’s a messy, overcooked, half-dumb, half-delightful horror relic: too long, too goofy, and too confused to be genuinely good — but just weird enough to stay mildly entertaining.
Shocker Trivia
Shocker was released on October 27, 1989.
Shocker was directed by Wes Craven.
Shocker has a runtime of 1h 51m.
Shocker was produced by Barin Kumar, Marianne Maddalena.
A psychotic serial killer is finally caught thanks to a high school football player who has a strange connection to the killer. Right before getting executed, he performs a demonic ritual and uses electricity to come back from the dead.
The key characters in Shocker are Lt. Don Parker (Michael Murphy), Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi), Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg).
Shocker is rated R.
Shocker is a Horror, Thriller, Comedy film.
Shocker has an audience rating of 3.2 out of 10.
Shocker had a budget of $5M.
Shocker has made $16.6M at the box office.