Shocker

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It's sho- oh, nevermind.

Shocker is a horror film directed by Wes Craven which was released in 1989. It has nothing to do with a certain hand gesture, the evil organization from the first Kamen Rider, or the Spider-Man villain.

The film centers around young Jonathan Parker, who starts having Prophetic Dreams of Serial Killer Horace Pinker after he kills most of his foster family. Seeking justice, Jonathan turns to his police officer foster father and convinces him that he can track Pinker through his dreams. With Jonathan's help police are able to capture Pinker, who is sentenced to die in the electric chair. However, before the moment of his execution Pinker makes a Deal with the Devil and becomes one with the electricity after his execution. This gives him the ability to possess the bodies of others, allowing him to continue his killing spree from beyond the grave.

The movie were supposed to launch a new Villain Based Franchise akin to A Nightmare on Elm Street, but low sales ended the plans for further installments.

Tropes used in Shocker include:

• And This Is For - Pinker is beaten, from a distance, by a remote control.
• Axe Before Entering
• Backup From Otherworld
• Bald of Evil - Pinker.
• Batter Up
• Behind the Black
• Body Surf - Pinker's special powers. He's very bad about selecting bodies with bad hearts, though.
• But This Is Ridiculous - The Rosanne Barr Expy makes a crack of this nature.
• Cassandra Truth - Averted and played straight: Jonathan's friends immediately believe him when he says that Pinker is still alive, but the police do not.
• Chekhov's Gift - The necklace Jonathan gives to Allison before she is killed.
• Couldn't Find a Pen - Pinker leaves messages written in blood to taunt Jonathan.
• Dead Line News
• Deal with the Devil - Pinker does this, and his new powers are given to him by a disembodied mouth appearing from a television screen.

Pinker: "Come on! Give it to me!" Mouth: "You got it baby."

• Disney Acid Sequence: The final chase scene, which takes place through the medium of television itself! Jonathan and Pinker weave in and out of the riots in Berlin, a boxing match, stock footage of Atomic Bomb testing (with Pinker as the explosion), a live Newscast (to the shock of the Anchorman), World War II, and into a Roseanne-Expy's house.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Played with... the necklace Jonathan wears (a token that he gave to his girlfriend at the beginning of the movie) affects Pinker the way a Cross would affect a Vampire - badly. It can weaken Pinker's hold on the person he is "wearing" at the time, and when he is corporeal it can destabilize him enough to drive him back into the airwaves.
• Evil Laugh
• Faking the Dead - This happens briefly before Pinker's execution.
• Fingore
• Get It Over With
• Glamour Failure - Even when Pinker has a new body, he continues limping on his bad leg.
• Handy Remote Control - Jonathan manages to get his hands on a TV-remote control during the Chase Scene through the television world, and uses it to mess with Pinker for a while.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight - At least twice.
• I'm Cold... So Cold... - Allison says this when she appears on Jonathan's dreams for the first time.
• Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy - Pinker's aim is horrendous.
  • He's likely aware of this, given his usual means of murder involves knives and tearing people apart with his bare hands.
• Impersonating an Officer
• In Case You Forgot Who Wrote It - This movie is often called Wes Craven's Shocker.
• It Always Rains At Funerals
• Knife Nut - Pinker prefers knives, even in undeath.
• Luke, I Am Your Father - At the moment of his execution, Pinker reveals to Jonathan that he is his father.
• Neck Snap
• Offing the Offspring
• Oh Crap: During the first Body Surf chase scene, when Pinker leaps from the body of a small woman... into a massively muscled Construction Worker. Cue Slasher Smile.
• One Word Title
• Our Souls Are Different
• No Body Left Behind - After Pinker's now electrified soul leaves from his body, the corpse turns into ash.
• Peek-a-Boo Corpse - One is found in a closet.
• Power of Love - Allison's love for Jonathan enables her to help him from the other side.
• Prepare to Die
• Prophetic Dreams - While Pinker is still alive, Jonathan can predict the next victims with the help of his dreams.
• Psycho Electro
• Reading Your Rights
• Real Men Have Pink In Their Name
• Religion of Evil - Pinker worships the devil. Or the television.
• Ride the Lightning
• Slasher Smile - Pinker gives one to Jonathan while possessing the body of his stepfather.
• Stuffed Into the Fridge - Allison's fate early in the movie.
• This Is for Emphasis, Bitch
• Trapped in TV Land - The last Chase Scene between Jonathan and Pinker takes place between television programs.
• Vertigo Effect