Richard O'Brien
Shock Treatment

The reality show drift of the "fifth power" has been predicted by many from different times over the past century, and the case of the film-musical in question is, in my opinion, an example of an unconscious prediction. From what I’ve read, the two authors only intended to make a little satire about the American public's addiction to television; I don’t think they expected that some of the situations they conceived would actually come true in the future. It might be just my impression, but I also noticed some ideas, in a very embryonic state, that would later be developed in their complexity in “The Truman Show.”

The movie is set in Denton, a fictional small-town America whose residents are the personification of the various stereotypes of the average American. Denton is also a large TV studio where 24/7 broadcasts of a TV station take place. Brad n' Janet from a distant planet appear again, those very same two young lovers from “Rocky Horror Show,” now husband and wife. They arrive in Denton to attend one of the TV shows as part of the audience, a sort of “C’eravamo tanto amati” (how old I am!), and end up being devoured by the steamrolling machine of showbiz.

Besides Brad n' Janet, leading the project again, we find the pair Richard O-Brien and Jim Sharman, after the theatrical and cinematic triumphs of the “Rocky Horror Show,” as well as much of the cast from that show. Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell, the wonderful Magenta and Columbia, reappear with pleasure. Unfortunately, we do not see Tim Curry or even Susan Sarandon, but oh well, so be it. There are many connections between the two works; however, they are not two chapters of the same story but two separate stories, as the authors themselves emphasized with the film's release. A comparison, however, is inevitable, and they must have had to come to terms with this. A comparison from which “Shock Treatment” comes out quite beaten.

To create songs and the plot, Richard O'Brien no longer draws on an imaginary world built on Flash Gordon-style comics, horror films, and rockabilly, and produces material that is not very captivating, somewhat lukewarm. Proof of this is the title track, which was probably intended by the author to be the project's hit. A pleasant and rhythmic piece, likely the best of the lot, but nothing close to “Time Warp,” to be clear. There's some reason to at least give it a look and a listen, especially for genre lovers and fans of Richard O'Brien. Firstly, the very enjoyable performance by Barry Humphries, an Australian theatrical, comic, and satirical actor (as read on Wikipedia) in the role of a TV host/accomplice of the channel’s scammers, and also the performances of the actors from the Rocky Horror cast, including O'Brien himself.