Shock Treatment

Shock Treatment follows Brad and Janet Majors, whose marriage is already under strain when they appear on a popular television game show in their hometown of Denton. The production does not treat them as ordinary contestants: while Janet is remade into a potential star, Brad is sedated and confined, and the couple are separated. Behind the show stands the fast-food entrepreneur Farley Flavors, whose interest in Janet and whose plans for the pair drive the story. The film is a musical comedy that returns to characters from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Jim Sharman directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Richard O'Brien, the second of the two features Sharman directed, after The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1975. Jessica Harper plays Janet, Cliff DeYoung takes the dual roles of Brad Majors and Farley Flavors, and Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn appear as Dr. Cosmo McKinley and Dr. Nation McKinley. Charles Gray and Ruby Wax are also among the credited cast of 39. John Goldstone produced, with 20th Century Fox, Michael White Productions and Lou Adler Productions behind the four-million-dollar production.

Released in August 1981, the film runs 94 minutes. On IMDb it holds 5.7/10 from 5,800 votes, on TMDB 5.9/10 from 110 votes, while a critics' rating of 5.5/10 rests on seven reviews. Audience and critics' scores sit close together, indicating a generally mixed response rather than a sharp split between them.