Shock Treatment (1981)

IMDb plot summary: Janet and Brad become contestants on a game show... but wind up as captives instead.
Directed by Jim Sharman. Starring Jessica Harper, Cliff De Young, Richrad O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn.

Let me start off by saying I was never much of a fan of Rocky Horror, Richard O'Brien's previous cult musical movie. I thought the first 20 minutes or so were a hilarious parody of classic B-movies, but then it devolved into bizarre nonsense that was not enjoyable enough to make it worthwhile.

This movie is like everything after the first 20 minutes of Rocky Horror with less talented performers and less interesting songs. I can't decide whether it feels more like a movie written on all the drugs or a painstakingly faithful adaptation of someone's dreams. Either way, it's incoherent and, while I never thought I'd say this about a musical, there are too many songs, making the already vague plot even more vague as the characters take a break to sing about something that is in no way connected to what's been going on. On top of that, not sure whether it was my copy of the movie or the movie itself or a combination of the two, but the visuals were dreary and sloppy and looked distractingly low-budget, but I think even if it had had a clearer picture it wouldn't have made them look prettier.

Unfortunately for whoever suggested this to me, this is a definite miss, though it's probably one I needed to see eventually given my (typical) love for musicals.

0.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Shock Treatment < Scrooge
Shock Treatment < Anchors Aweigh
Shock Treatment > The Art of War
Shock Treatment < Enough
Shock Treatment < Love in the Afternoon
Shock Treatment < Hamlet 2
Shock Treatment > All Dogs Go to Heaven
Shock Treatment < The Great Train Robbery
Shock Treatment < Big Business
Shock Treatment < Clash by Night
Shock Treatment > Distant Drums

Final spot: #2179 out of 2515.