#40 Years Of Shock Treatment, The Underrated Rocky Horror Sequel

Don’t let this thematic discourse trick you into thinking “Shock Treatment” is po-faced. It’s really a blast. The tunes may not be the legendary earworms you heard in “Rocky Horror,” but they show O’Brien at his most lyrically witty. Brad and Janet lament their waning marriage in a song titled “Bitchin’ in the Kitchen”, where they find inspiration in the ad breaks (“Dear blender, oh won’t you help a first offender, oh toaster, don’t you put the burn on me.”) After Janet’s bigoted father finds out that a friend of his was caught up in a gay sex scandal, he sings a number about what defines a “real” man. One line says that “men should know the right occasions to indulge in tax evasions.” 

It’s the kind of scathing satire of pompous American masculinity that wouldn’t seem out of place in a John Waters comedy. If there’s a weakness in this musical, it’s in how many of the songs don’t seem connected to the story, even if they are solid numbers. Janet sings a slinky number called “Looking for Trade” that comes out of nowhere and is shot like a De Palma movie. No complaints, of course, but it’s not exactly crucial to the narrative.

Rather than let the movie stand on its own two feet, Fox tried to reverse-engineer another midnight cult hit. “Shock Treatment” was treated like an exclusive “only for the real fans” event from the get-go, and it was only released as a midnight screening special on Halloween 1981. It never received a full general theatrical first-run release. Fox executives didn’t seem to understand the problem with this method or how cult movies actually happen. As a result, “Shock Treatment” ended up being a bigger financial flop than “Rocky Horror.” Fans of the original movie didn’t warm to it either — not when all the things they loved about “Rocky Horror” seemed wholly absent from its “equal.” Even O’Brien would later refer to “Shock Treatment” as “an abortion.” Its journey towards anything remotely resembling cult status took a bit longer than its older sibling.

But people did eventually return to “Shock Treatment.” “Rocky Horror” is now probably too mainstream to truly be cult-friendly, but “Shock Treatment” has retained its rough-around-the-edges underground feel. It’s a retro tale with a timely theme, a hidden gem with many layers still to be revealed. It all depends on whether or not audiences are ready for a story about charismatic con artists and the ways we eagerly buy the dangers they’re selling. But with songs!