Shock Treatment

Shock Treatment is a 1981 satirical musical comedy film directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. It is a spiritual sequel to the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show and features 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 Majors and Cliff DeYoung in a dual role as her husband Brad, as well as the movie's main antagonist Farley Flavors, with O'Brien and Patricia Quinn playing sibling character actors, Cosmo and Nation McKinley, and also stars Ruby Wax, Charles Gray, and Barry Humphries. The film is an international co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States. The film is set in the fictional town of Denton, which has been placed under the control of a television network. The town's entire population is involved in the network's productions. Brad Majors finds himself imprisoned in the local mental hospital, while his wife Janet becomes the pet project of Farley Flavors, the local plutocrat. Given a limited release on the midnight movie circuit beginning on October 30, 1981, Shock Treatment was a critical and commercial failure, not earning the same level of cult film status its predecessor received. Later reviews have been warmer, praising its satirical themes, particularly a prescient satire of reality television. In 2015, the film was adapted as a stage production in London.