Beyond the Trilogy
Added 9/19/2003
This movie works in its own right. I saw this without ever viewing the other two. Something of a combination of Rosemary's Baby, Amityville and What lies Beneath. Good twists of its own too. I even loved the pounding dated 70s anthem. Worth seeing, which this reviewer doesn't say too very much!
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BEYOND THE DOOR
Added 2/14/2002
FRIGHTENED ME MORE THAN THE EXCORSIT. THERE IS ALSO A PART 1
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Decent, but nothing special
Added 10/13/2009
Shock is a mildly entertaining addition to the Italian horror genre that puts focus more on atmosphere and building tension rather than the over the top gore that the genre is notorious for.
We begin with Dora, along with her son Marco and new husband Bruno, moving into their new home. However we soon find out that Dora has lived in this house once before with her first husband, a drug addict who was believed to had committed suicide years prior. Dora had spent some time in the mental ward over the incident, but now that she's back in the house, it doesn't take long for her sanity to start unraveling once again as strange things begin occurring around the house, mostly revolving around young Marco. The skeletons in Dora's closet come back to haunt her in full force driving her deeper and deeper into madness, until the truth behind these happenings is finally revealed.
Shock was a bit frustrating to watch because it times it was headed in a great direction, but each time it failed to really deliver. The tension created by the build-up was very effective, and I must admit that Shock is one of the creepier movies I've seen in a while, but in the end there's just not a lot of payoff here. It seems like anything Shock has to offer is sadly bogged down by extended scenes of bland dialogue, and a great deal of that dialogue comes from the lead child actor that's sure to grate on your nerves.
Overall when the credits start rolling, you get the feeling that Shock could have been a great, great horror movie, but it just didn't turn out that way. It's worth a watch for hardcore horror fans and completists, but you wouldn't be missing a thing if you decided to skip this one.
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The worst child actor of all time
Added 6/17/2009
Mario Bava's "Shock" certainly has a few jump-out-of-your-seat moments, but it also has one lethal flaw: the little boy at the center of the movie's plot is unbearably annoying. Perhaps the fault lies in whoever did the English dubbing, but I wanted to slap the TV screen every time the kid opened his mouth. He makes Dondi look like Olivier's Hamlet.
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Good/Bad, take it or leave it
Added 10/2/2008
Italian horror cinema, especially it's more exploitative stylings such as giallo, is so hit-and-miss. Some directors are great, others are terrible, even when they're contemporaries. Within oeuvres, some director's movies are quite effective, others are nearly useless (I'm glaring at you, Dario Argento). And, in some cases, even a single movie has its amazing parts and its terrible parts--yes, like Shock, Maestro Mario Bava's final directorial effort.
The concept itself is very good. A mix of Shining and Amityville Horror style haunted house narrative, a woman and her family move into the house of her youth, only to be beset by spectres. Dora, the mother, is first beset by apprehension, then anxiety, then horror, and finally insanity as the house slowly destroys her mind. Young Marco, her child, almost immediately gets possessed -- by what is not so clear, but that's actually a good way to go about it. Bruno, Dora's second husband and Marco's step-father is ostensibly the voice of reason, but first his absence's sink the security of Dora's psyche, and then his sordid past comes back to destroy all vestiges of hope for the family. If you're looking for skeletons in the closet, that's basically the best way to describe this movie.
However, it's execution is spotty at best. There's the aforementioned possessions, ghostly happenings, psychoses; there's also voodoo, token objects, endless dream sequences, and a trippy montage in the middle of the movie that comes out of absolutely nowhere. There are some sequences that are superbly executed (one shot near the end of the movie involving a hallway and Bruno suddenly changing into someone else has to be one of the most terrifying moments in cinema I've ever witnessed), and then there are others that do more than drag down the narrative (Dora slowly going hysterical while Bruno just sits there watching goes on too long while little reaction from Bruno makes it entirely unbelievable). In classic Italian cinema means, the imagery is mostly beautiful but their penchant for dubbed post-production sound is very disconcerting, making the movie a little harder to get into.
I'd really only recommend this one to fans of Bava, the other Italian giallo filmmakers, and those who really do love really flamboyant horror movies of all sub-types. It's a shame, too, because some sequences are deserving of recognition for their skill and execution, but the whole does not support the parts, and vice versa.
--PolarisDiB
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2.85 STARS: Unfortunately limited by the script and too reliant on the ending to be as effective as it could be.
Added 3/18/2008
Mario Bava's "Shock" is an interesting, although somewhat flawed, attempt at a horror movie that, for the most part, effectively mixes mystery, psychological horror and the paranormal. However, Bava's reliance on the ending is a double-edged sword that proves to be the savior of this movie as well as its nemesis.
"Shock" is about a family that moves into a home with a dark secret. Dora, the main character, has a dark history with this home as her ex-husband apparently died there some years ago under suspicious circumstances. As the movie opens, the audience sees that Dora has remarried a man, who is stepfather to her only son of her previous marriage. Dora has emotional issues, and has been treated for her problems in the past. As the family attempts to move on with their lives, old issues begin to resurface in this movie, and all of the family's problems appear to be linked to a dark past, the secret of which appears to lie within the basement of their new house. Once Dora's son begins acting strange, her emotional issues really begin to resurface and the movie is set into motion.
The first part of "Shock" is designed to set the stage for the shocking ending that this movie relies so heavily upon. There is some elongated character development, and some scenes that could have been cut short. However, in "Shock", Bava is indeed building towards something that is designed to shock and horrify the audience by movie's end. Thus, the name for the movie is "Shock". Therefore, some scenes of character and plot development are obviously necessary to enrich the audience's viewing experience. As such, "Shock" is a bit slow to start, but it does warm up as the movie progresses with some eerie visuals that are quite creepy as well as a gradually developing dark atmosphere which are both conducive to an effective horror movie. In other words, there is a method to Bava's madness. With that being said, some of these scenes could have been shorter and had the same effect. The problem is that the movie is only ninety-two minutes long to begin with. This is a recurring problem with horror movies, but if the ending is rewarding enough, a la "Burnt Offerings", it is wise to stay with the film. I think this is the case with "Shock" to a certain extent as well.
What Bava does rather well in "Shock" is to instill in the movie a rather ominous atmosphere that thickens as the plot develops. The atmosphere and the story itself work to foster suspense in the audience, and this really makes the viewer want to stay with this movie. What ultimately transpires is a shocking and somewhat horrifying conclusion to the movie. The mystery of "Shock" is interesting enough in and of itself, but Bava also does a good job of mixing in dream sequences with paranormal phenomena that works to heighten the tension in the audience thereby producing horror. In this respect, Bava does a good job of playing on the psychological state of Dora versus the paranormal/haunting spirit theme that is also present. While the acting is not the greatest (although Daria Nicolodi did a fine job as Dora), it is actually pretty good for most European horror movies. The execution of the plot is also adequate and relatively smooth. The plot development is sufficient for the execution of such a movie, but there is definitely room for improvement in this area of "Shock". My biggest argument with "Shock" would simply be that not enough happens, until the end of the movie. However, this is a byproduct of Bava's film execution for this particular script as the title would indicate the need for such. In this capacity, I believe that "Shock" works fairly well as a horror movie with some obvious limitations with the script. The concept of "Shock" is sound, but the script could have been better.
In conclusion, "Shock" is a pretty good horror movie that is extremely reliant (to a fault) on its concluding scenes. Not enough happens to make this a great horror movie, and one is left to wonder if the potential of this film (as Dave eluded to in a prior review) was fully realized. In short, "Shock" is an entertaining and relatively effective horror movie that could have been better, but for whatever reason (limitations of script, reliance upon ending, more death scenes, another character or two might have helped, etc., etc.) does not rise to the status of a really good horror movie, much less a great one. Still, I must confess that I like it probably more than I should. Although somewhat different, I would also suggest "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" to those that like "Shock" as another movie that plays on the psychological versus the paranormal theme, but conversely leaves the viewer to his/her own conclusions rather than coming down on one side or the other.
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Shock is the very last feature film made by the legendary Mario Bava and honestly this is one of the most frustrating movies I have ever seen. There was so much potential for a truly great and scary movie, but somewhere along the lines it just doesn't seem to fully work. There isn't anything in particular that is bad about Shock, but it just never reaches the level of greatness it was so close to.
The screenplay was written by Francesco Barbieri, Lamberto Bava & Paolo Brigenti & Dardano Sacchetti and honestly this is one of their better written movies. And again that is why it's so frustrating with the outcome. I love Italian horror films; in the 70s and 80s American and Italian horror were the leaders. While other nations were also producing quality work American and Italian horror were the more popular.
The thing is though with Italian horror is a lot of times things happen and they really don't make a lot of sense. Sometimes the things the characters say is kind of idiotic though sometimes it can be the dubbing. But Shock was actually mostly coherent and the characters don't really say the stupid things they normally do with a couple of exceptions. Shock was an interesting character study. But the problem is while not badly written there were moments it just wasn't all that interesting. Certain aspects of the film could have been explained better but overall Shock wasn't badly written at all; just at times not all that interesting at times.
Mario Bava was one of the best Italian filmmakers and one of the biggest influences on not just Italian horror, but American horror. Actually, his influence is more than just horror. He's inspired filmmakers of many different genres. But here with Shock the tension and suspense just slightly lack at times. By no means was Shock poorly made or anything there was just something missing. The pacing can be a bit off at times and personally I just never really felt the suspense and tension that I have felt in other movies by Mario Bava.
Mario Bava was a filmmaker who knew how to create suspense and tension that is why he is so loved. Story-telling wise his movies did lack, but as I have said many times, while yes that is important there is more to filmmaking than just story-telling. Bava, made movies that were high on suspense and tension and can be downright creepy; but here with Shock those elements were slightly off. Bava also was a filmmaker who was very visual and knew how to use colors much like the filmmaker he inspired Dario Argento. I think a movie like Shock could have used that touch. Quite honestly, when Bava used showed off his great visual style that is when Shock works best.
When it comes to children in horror movies I think I can count on one hand how many didn't annoy me. Even when I was a child, kids in horror often got on my nerves. One of the only exceptions was Danielle Harris; besides her in general kids get on my nerves in horror. And Italian horror they seem to annoy me even more since they are always so poorly dubbed. David Collin Jr. as Marco really, really grated on my nerves. While some of it was the actor it was for sure more of the dubbing.
The main saving grace was Daria Nicolodi who was excellent here. Daria should be very well known to horror fans for her work with her one time partner Dario Argento, she also happens to be Asia Argento's mother. Daria was excellent here and quite honestly was the main saving grace. It's her who really kept me interested.
Overall Shock has some solid moments with some suspense, but overall it mostly lacks in my opinion. The shame of it all is Shock had potential to be a truly frightening movie. All the elements were there, but it just never fully works. Despite the flaws I'm still giving it 3-stars. Mainly due to the potential and due to some creepy moments; while Shock doesn't come highly recommended for fans of Bava or ghost flicks you might get a little something out of it.
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