When Shock Treatment arrived in the mail, I was admittedly ecstatic. The lesser-known sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of my favorite flicks and truly overdue for a Region A Blu-ray treatment. Sadly, as I looked closer at the cover and read the synopsis, I realized this Shock Treatment is, instead, a French horror film.
Maybe next time.
Still, I’m a fan of French films and this strange movie starring Annie Girardot and Alain Delon (and his penis) is one of the strangest. Workaday woman Helene (Girardot) checks in to a seaside rejuvenation clinic and, for 80 minutes, we’re treated to nude massages, nude beach frolicking and nude injections of a urine-looking serum into the buttocks, mostly administered by easygoing Dr. Devilers (Delon).
Wait a second: Devilers? Devil? You don’t think …
Probably not — the film’s not that strange. It seems the true horror lies in the final 10 minutes when Helene goes into a locked room she shouldn’t and finds the gory truth of this clinic, with a gooey mess that, in typical (not Jess) Franco-fashion, was all for naught. This finale can be a little bit maddening if you’re not used to it.
Moving along with the languid pace of runaway escargot, Shock Treatment is a slow (oh so slow) burn that will test the patience of most viewers, but with the constant penile dangling, it’s hard to fast-forward through. While the film never really gels, it’s more concerned about telling a morality tale or, more to the point, just immoral tail.
That’s alright with me. —Louis Fowler