Shock Treatment

"Trust me, I'm a doctor!"

1981 1h 34m EN

😐

5.9

MID

🥫

43%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.7

IMDB

★5.9TMDB · 111🥫43%Rotten Tomatoes●36Metacritic★5.7IMDB · 5,922

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Brad and Janet Majors find their strained marriage put to the test on popular Denton TV show Marriage Maze. Poor Brad is heavily sedated and institutionalised, whilst Janet is given a radical makeover and primed for stardom. But what are the real motivations behind the kooky DTV crew and their enigmatic head-honcho, Farley Flavors?

“Trust me, I'm a doctor!”

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Cast

Jessica Harper
Janet Majors
Cliff DeYoung
Brad Majors / Farley Flavors
Richard O'Brien
Dr. Cosmo McKinley / Kitchenware Announcer (voice)
Patricia Quinn
Dr. Nation McKinley
Charles Gray
Judge Oliver Wright
Ruby Wax
Betty Hapschatt
Nell Campbell
Nurse Ansalong
Rik Mayall
'Rest Home' Ricky

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jim Sharman
Writers: Richard O'Brien, Jim Sharman
Languages: English, German, Latin
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Latin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Rocky Horror Picture Show Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jim Sharman, shot by Mike Molloy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Hartley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Richard Bedford shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jim Sharman directs. Mike Molloy behind the camera. Richard Hartley scores. Richard Bedford cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, German, Latin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
245 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Latin.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Part of the "The Rocky Horror Picture Show Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Jim Sharman, shot by Mike Molloy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Richard Hartley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Richard Bedford shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Jessica Harper and Cliff DeYoung and Richard O'Brien carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Trust me, I'm a doctor!".
11IMDB entry: tt0083067 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "small town", "american way of life", "musical", "satire".

The technical file

Cinematography: Mike Molloy
Original score: Richard Hartley
Editing: Richard Bedford
Production design: Brian Thomson
Costume design: Sue Blane
Makeup / hair: Sandra Exelby
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,500,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Shock Treatment (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes: 43% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 36/100
IMDB rating: 5.7/10 · 5,922 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

2 wins & 3 nominations total

Part of

The Rocky Horror Picture Show Collection

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 musical comedy horror film directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also a member of the cast. The production is a parody tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s. Along with O'Brien, the film stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick and is narrated by Charles Gray. Shock Treatment is a 1981 follow-up to the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show also directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. While not an outright sequel, the film does feature several characters from the previous film, most portrayed by different actors, as well as several Rocky Horror actors in new roles. The film stars Jessica Harper as Janet and Cliff De Young in a dual role as Brad and the film's main antagonist Farley Flavors, with O'Brien and Patricia Quinn playing sibling character actors.