Closing Night: SHOCK TREATMENT (1981)

• Director: Jim Sharman
• Cast: Jessica Harper, Cliff De Young, Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Charles Gray, Nell Campbell
• Film: 94mins | USA | Subtitles + Intermission
• Event: 20:45 – 23:10 [18+]

“IT’S NOT A SEQUEL… IT’S NOT A PREQUEL… IT’S AN EQUAL!”

Now married, Brad and Janet are back in Denton, a town obsessed by TV soaps and celebrity. What will become of their marriage after a disastrous appearance on popular game show Marriage Maze, and what of the mysterious station sponsor, Farley Flavors? What indeed.

Season 9 of weekly cult film night BAR TRASH has been an entirely unofficial celebration of 50 years of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975).

Token Homo closes  CELLULOID JAM with SHOCK TREATMENT (1981), the film that was meant to be the sequel to THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, but somehow the simple idea of resurrecting everyone and going all over again was rejected. Instead, Richard O’Brien’s pre-written songs were re-tooled into an entirely different narrative resulting in a “criminally underrated” (Arrow Films) slice of musical mayhem.

Whilst audiences did get returning cast members O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell and Charles Gray in eerily familiar roles, SHOCK TREATMENT failed to achieve the midnight circuit adoration of its sexier sibling. However, the story of a right wing world obsessed with reality TV rings scarily true today, and O’Brien’s songs are as strong as ever, making SHOCK TREATMENT the perfect way to bring CELLULOID JAM to a rocking, shocking close.

Join Token Homo for some (vegan) cake in celebration of the biggest BAR TRASH season to date and a special announcement about our next — even bigger! —  10^th season of cult, curious, and classic cinema (served with love and strong drinks since 2022).

Polite warning: We are showing SHOCK TREATMENT with subtitles from the best available digital source.

// Part of BAR TRASH: CELLULOID JAM, a fan-powered celebration of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Hosted by queer film fanatic Token Homo (creator of BAR TRASH and QUEER HORROR NIGHTS) and friends, all films screen with an introduction, intermission, and subtitles/captions (where possible!). Tickets from £3.50. Adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo on Instagram for news and updates. //