As far as sequels go, Ninn learned a lesson from his ill-fated follow-up to SEX. Without even a second of flashback footage, he designed SHOCK to surpass LATEX in every respect. It succeeds in some ways. In others, it merely (ha !) equals or falls just below its immediately illustrious predecessor. Simply put, and you can quote me on this, if LATEX blew your mind, SHOCK will turn it inside out !
The opening scene finds Modern Messiah Malcolm Stevens (the tragically deceased Jon Dough recreating his career-defining character) back in his familiar padded cell. Out of thin air, his lost lady love Gwen (Jeanna Fine, resplendent in stylized Marilyn Monroe Kabuki make-up) appears as an echo of the original's psychiatric theory that Stevens concocted his entire past out of years of transfixed TV ogling à la Jim Carrey's CABLE GUY. This proves to be the film's first of many technical knockouts, shot in black and white complete with scratches and splices to suggest an old movie, the tiniest splash of pink occurring as Jeanna vibrates herself into a frenzy. Malcolm still has a problem projecting himself into his own fantasies and is, at first almost subliminally, replaced by tattooed muscle boy John Decker, the mesmerizing lead from Paul Thomas' terrific MARISSA.
In the Noble Asylum's control room, Dr. Hellstrom (a devastating portrayal by Ona Zee) is browsing through the reports of missing Lillian Mangrove (a welcome return for Tyffany Million), the now catatonic Stevens' psychiatrist who went missing right after first examining him. She has been found in a state of severe shock, nursed back to health at the institution and is currently running a psycho-tracking agency, kicking serious nut case butt in attempts to retrieve runaway crazies. Subscribing to the beneficial qualities of shock treatment (hence the title), Hellstrom reactivates Stevens who drags an innocent young nurse tellingly also named Gwen (succulent Shayla LaVeaux) into the dark recesses of his twisted mind, vowing to free her only if the doctors agree to discharge him from their madhouse...
Writer Antonio Passolini (formerly "Johnny Jump-Up" in his Greg Dark days) borrows several elements of science fiction cyber classics such as BLADE RUNNER and STARGATE with an experimental project at the asylum ironically referred to as Mindgate. Employing intentionally impenetrable mumbo jumbo, Dr Hellstrom has created a doorway into the mind's realm as if it were a separate world running parallel to the physical one our bodies inhabit. The f/x when Mangrove and her henchmen (Decker again and Peter North) pass from one world to another are impressive, matching the big budget blockbuster original every step of the way.
Where it (relatively) falters is in the oft gratuitous sexual content, occasionally drawn out beyond all reason. This holds particularly true of Million's trawl through the mind's red light district full of tempting whores like Orientals Kia and Tricia Yen and Caressa Savage, abusing herself at length with a scary looking dildo. At best, the sex is still positively riveting though with sweet Shayla subjugated to a pair of fearsome gargoyles (T.T. Boy and Vince Voyeur in amazing body make-up) and a group of pony girls - remember them ? - at film's climax.
Better still is an eye-popping nightclub sequence with a unique floor show, the undeniable visual highlight in a feature fraught with such. Malcolm mimics Joel Grey's M.C. from CABARET, introducing the "original" Gwen as Marilyn warbling a haunting song which effectively sums up the movie in its deceptively simple lyrics which I have included in the above summary. A gospel choir and hoop-skirted beauties (à la Madonna's iconic MTV Vogue appearance) surround lusty lovers Sean Rider and Sharon Kane at her most heartbreakingly vulnerable. The cum shot segues into the slow motion flutter of milky white doves John Woo style !
There's another twist that will really make you reconsider all that you have just witnessed, somewhat akin to the final revelation in Terry Gilliam's 12 MONKEYS. Apparently definitive at first, the ending proves considerably more ambiguous the more it sinks in. Initially introduced as a potential Savior, a paragon of good if not virtue, Stevens has transformed into more of a devil this time, showing his true colors once he has entrapped a defenseless soul in the spider's web of his omnipotent mind. The "message" seems to be that, in the not too distant future, evil rules simply because we have stopped believing in concepts like good and evil, allowing free reign to the strongest and worst of the two. The key to understanding SHOCK lies in one of the most memorable movie lines from THE USUAL SUSPECTS as Kevin Spacey's unforgettably named Verbal Kint suggest that "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist." I rest my case. Over to you...
