Shock 'Em Dead

Director - Mark Freed (Lovers and Liars)

Starring - Traci Lords (Blade, Zack and Miri Make a Porno), Stephen Quadros (Murder, She Wrote), and Laurel Wiley (Dark Shadows)

Release Date - 1991

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "For the girl of his dreams, he'd make a deal with the devil"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I love writing reviews.  I honestly do but my life is getting away from me so my reviews have been slacking as of late.  The company I work for was recently sold and a bigger corporation took over resulting in me having to spend most of my days getting yelled at by customers who are pissed at the switch even though it means they get better service in the end.  On top of that I have two beautiful kids that have been neglected by me.  Makes me feel bad but I have been putting my reviews before them.  That has changed and I now put my kids first.  I have set up office time so I can work on my reviews and other posts for Horror Society.  The first film that I was able to review during this new schedule was the 1991 rock n' roll horror flick Shock 'Em Dead.  This was the blu release that was sent my way from Olive Films.  Thanks guys for sending this one my way!

     The film follows the nerdy Martin who works as a pizza boy by day and aspiring musician by night.  He gets a call while he is at work about a local band in need of a guitarist.  His boss refuses to let him leave and he quits.  He goes to the audition and fails miserably and is forced to go back and beg for his old job.  Jobless and facing eviction, he comes across an old lady that is known around town for being crazy.  She knows voodoo and offers to make Martin's dreams come true for a small price.  Martin accepts and is immediately stabbed in the heart.  Martin awakens with a whole new look, living with three beautiful women, and can burn up a guitar.  He goes back to the band and auditions where he completely blows them away.  They bring him on and friction between him and the lead singer surfaces.  Martin also learns that he has to kill and eat the souls of his victim in order to survive.  Soon his new bandmates are on to him when Martin falls for their manager/girlfriend of the bass player.  It becomes a game of cat and mouse as Martin tries to get the girl before his band can stop him.

     Metal and rock n' roll needs to find itself into the story of horror films more often.  Sure, most horror movies feature metal in the soundtrack but just a few dozen feature the musical style as an essential aspect of the plot.  I was pretty fucking excited to check out Shock 'Em Dead for that very reason.  Especially after watching the kickass horror comedy Hairmetal Shotgun Zombie Massacre.  The film was fun but did not live up to my expectations.  The acting in this one is mediocre at best.  The cast just feels weird to watch and honestly are not that very convincing.  Traci Lords was awesome to look at.  I've had a huge crush on her ever since before I even knew what boys and girls did behind closed doors.  Pretty sure she is the reason my right arm is slightly bigger than the left.  The story for this one is one we have seen so many times before especially in 80s horror.  The film follows someone down and out who sell their soul to the devil for that only to have it all taken away.  Pretty straight forward in that aspect.  However, the addition of metal to the story really made it fun and appealing to the horror fans that have a soft spot for glam/hair metal.  That was great and made it feel almost original.  Finally, the film does feature several on screen kills but they are nothing that impressive or memorable.  The film does not really have any blood and most of the kills are quick and then are cut away preventing the viewer from seeing some blood and gore.  The practical effects are minimal but decent for what we get and the film has several scenes full of visual effects that are very dated and not that impressive considering the time.  Overall, Shock 'Em Dead is a fun early 90's horror film that rides the coat-tails of popular rock bands like Guns N' Roses and the like.  The film is decent but easily forgettable.  I recommend this one but remember it is far from perfect.