Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

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

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.