Combat Shock (1984) User Reviews

Sloppily made, but preserves a raw honesty

[tomgillespie2002 · 6/10 · 12 June 2014]

Certainly lacking in wise-cracking rubber monsters and outlandishly- dressed brain-dead punks, Combat Shock - a serious, if extremely low- budget drama/psychological horror by writer/director/producer Buddy Giovinazzo - proves that Troma Entertainment occasionally took their movies seriously. The shell-shocked Vietnam veteran story had been done many times before, and certainly a lot better, but never quite as unsettling. Far from a masterpiece, and riddled with terrible production values, Combat Shock nevertheless is a glowing statement as to just what scraping-the-piggy-bank film-making can sometimes offer.

After an event during the Vietnam War that left a village dismembered and massacred, Frankie Dunlan (Rick Giovinazzo - brother to Buddy), struggles to adapt to civilian life. Living in poverty, unable to find work, and saddled with a whining wife (Veronica Stork) and a deformed baby, he is about the have the worst day of his life. Owing money to a group of drug-dealing punks, led by Paco (Mitch Maglio), Frankie wanders the battered streets of his native New York, coming into contact with various low-lives and looking for any way to make a buck. Seemingly without hope, and terrified to go back to his starving family empty- handed, he resorts to an act of violence.

You could imagine running a finger along the negative of Combat Shock and immediately needing to wash your hands afterwards. The movie seems awash with grime, and the streets Frankie wanders down have an almost apocalyptic quality. This is utterly depressing stuff, nearly entirely devoid of laughs, where the types of people Frankie befriends are gun- wielding junkies or child prostitutes. It's sometimes laughably pessimistic, a journey into utter depravity, and combined with some extremely amateurish production values and an occasionally plodding narrative, can be a bit of a slog to get through at times.

Yet for all it's sloppy editing and wide-eyed, over-the-top thesping, it is at times extremely effective. The baby, horribly disfigured due to Frankie's exposure to Agent Orange, looks cheap, but the way it moves and sounds, combined with the dump that surrounds it, is just as disturbing as Eraserhead (1977). There is also a horrible moment when a junkie, unable to find a needle for his fix, opens his damaged arm with a coat hanger and pours heroin into his black, bleeding vein. Some will find it's relentless depravity too much to take, but there's a gritty honesty here, going deep into the dark heart of a post-Vietnam America, where traumatised Vets were hung out to dry by a country that had forgotten them.

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Combat Shock

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 9 August 2009]

"I can never tell where one torture ends and the other begins."

Extremely depressing parable of human misery, poverty, and drug addiction on the rotted, deteriorating streets of Staten Island where we follow a day in the life of a deeply troubled Vietnam vet who may or may not have slaughtered an entire village during that conflict and how such horrifying memories torment him. The urban squalor and his own life's difficulties(..finding a job, being evicted, dealing with a pushy, constantly bitching wife, a hungry handicapped infant, owing money to drug- pushers) resemble the nightmarish terrors of his past in the war. His descent into madness will more than likely leave you truly unsettled and repulsed, it's not a pretty picture at all. Ricky Giovinazzo, as the vet who roams throughout the decaying filthy streets, is unforgettable in the lead. Director Buddy Giovinazzo paints a very distressing, uncompromising portrait of an urban hell where the undesirables wander in an aimless, squalid existence thanks to a country that has abandoned them. The final ten or so minutes, once Ricky G uses a stolen gun that had fallen from a woman's purse he had lifted(..she had stolen it from a dead junkie), will probably, unless you have an incredible tolerance for disturbing behavior, stun even the most hardened viewer into silence. The added Vietnam war footage(..proposed by Team Troma producers Kaufman and Herz)actually enhances the film, I think.

A definite word of warning, the film's final minutes contain brutal acts of truly destructive violence of an unpleasant nature. Besides the final scene, there's a very troubling sequence where a sick junkie, unable to find specific drug paraphernalia, opens a sore on his arm with an extended coat hanger so he can pour heroine into his system for a fix. The film features Ricky G meeting such people as a young girl being used by a pimp as a hooker(..this scumbag is the type who orders them around, often resorting to slapping among other acts of violence to keep his girls in line), and a drug-pusher with two thugs who abuse junkies for kicks(..what happens to these foul miscreants will probably be met with applause).The grit, grime, graffiti and garbage of the unflattering Staten Island locations chosen for the film leave a lasting impression of hopelessness and dispair. The diseased baby(..a victim of Ricky G's effects from Agent Orange)is truly a haunting creation(..it's whining especially grating) and the squibs used when the gun violence erupts(..not to mention the bloody carnage of torn apart corpses in the Vietnam scenes)are quite impressive considering the very miniscule budget.

Shocking and depressing

[chanelit-1 · 15 August 2003]

The film opens to a flashback of the Vietnam war and in particular, one soldier's plights of that war - it is a horrible intense sequence. As the movie progresses, we get to see what has happened to that solider. He is now living with a nagging wife and deformed baby son on the extreme poverty line in New York City. They haven't eaten for days and he wanders the streets, trying to look for work with no luck at all.

He suffers flashbacks and hallucinations throughout the film, where he is being tortured in 'Nam and then his supposed recovery in a hospital after. He is cut off from the world and desperate for money. We then meet one of his friends, a drug addict who is in equal dire straits. At one point, the addict uses a coat hanger to open his vein and pour in the drug whilst he bleeds - a truly horrifying moment.

This is very strong stuff. It has no budget but that somehow suits the story - it's totally gritty and real, no gloss whatsoever. It's probably the bleakest, most depressing film I've ever seen and all I can say is, if you're having a bad day or work or a bad day in general, just see what happens to this guy!

I got the excellent Troma DVD release which features the full uncut Director's version - the only one really worth seeing.

I don't know if I'd exactly recommend this; it's so hard going that it sure ain't entertainment, but it does have an appeal and is worth watching. However, if you're not used to zero-budget horror, avoid at all costs.

A depressing nomadic attempt to escape despair

[Afracious · 7/10 · 22 February 2000]

Right from the start it is apparent that the film is very cheaply made. The initial Vietnam scenes were filmed in New Jersey, but it doesn't look like Vietnam at all and looks very amateur, but it is strangled by it's minute budget. Having said that it is a worthy attempt. The film features the director's brother Ricky Giovinazzo as Frankie, a Vietnam veteran returning home to find a very bleak and depressing New Jersey, where he wanders around aimlessly almost throughout the entire film. He lives in a squalid flat with his wife and deformed baby (which looks like a cross between E.T and the baby from Eraserhead, though not nearly as believable). That is all there really is to describe, just a confused and desperate guy who is on the edge and eventually has to explode, which he does in the film's shocking ending.

one of the darkest films ever put on screen

[hellraiser40 · 8/10 · 14 July 2002]

where "Requiem for a Dream" was the best movie in the category "drug movies", i think that this one certainly can competitor with other movies for best "post-war drama".

not that this is a perfect movie. it is still a low budget movie, a very low budget movie in fact, but that gives this movie just that specific feel and gritty look. really nothing is uplifting here. it's a story about a man who has experienced Vietnam, where he was tortured and went berserk. now, back home, where he lives with his wife and his deformed son, thanks to the fact that he has been in touch with Agent Orange, he just cannot get his life back on the rails and this movie portrays one day where everything seems to get as worse as it can be. we follow him from the morning, where he has again a terrible nightmare about Vietnam (he has hallucinations and flashbacks throughout the day) until the evening, where the film ends in a shocking way.

the acting is maybe not always top notch, but every character in this movie feels totally believable. the special effects and gore are low budget, but again believable and effective. maybe that's why the Troma people decided to pick this movie up and started to sell this movie as a Troma movie. or maybe they were looking for at least 1 movie so that they could say "hey, we are also producing serious flicks!!" you can say what you want, but i think it was great to give this movie a chance, it deserves it.

not a commercial movie, no, a very dark, convincing story about a man who lives a life we all want to avoid. this is not going to appeal to every person, but please, give it a shot. when you do so, you're in for a movie experience you will remember.

Gritty, dirty and disgusting...and strangely perfect

[Agent10 · 7/10 · 25 September 2020]

I think like most people, I stumbled onto this movie on YouTube and couldn't believe this flew under the radar. Needless to say, it looked like any other gritty B-movie/grindhouse leftover from the 70s, but there are a lot of things that make this film rather unique.

To begin with, let's talk about the setting. How in the world did this world exist? For historical sake, we all knew Reagan's America had a dirty underbelly, but dang. Every place in this film looks like it needs a serious cleaning, and one wall even begs "clean me." It seemed like they didn't have to do any dress setting. It would not surprise me. In truth, the setting is the real star of the film. You can't naturally reproduce this kind of world, which really immerses you in this place the main character named Frankie has to traverse. I felt like I could smell the rotting meat in one scene. I felt the discomfort of the people walking around the junk in only cheap, old Converses. I had this fear running through me that they might step on a nail or some glass. All I can say is you can feel the dirtiness and edginess.

The only complaint I have is a minor one, which was the acting. You can only ask so much but there was a lot of scenes where the acting was really natural and good. So while the unevenness is evident, it honestly never jarred me out of the flow of the film. This ain't Birdemic or some other intentionally bad film. And while the acting might not have been professional, the camera work certainly was. I was really impressed with how the film flowed. There weren't too many out of place shots or weird edits. Overall, a pretty decent film.

Now is this a perfect movie? Absolutely not. Is this a movie worth saying you have experienced? Yes! Go to YouTube and fins this movie.

Stark urban nightmare!

[sanzar · 5/10 · 29 March 2001]

"Combat Shock' differs from most Troma releases it that it is not "intentionally" cheap and idiotic (a la "A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell" to name but one, of many). Filmed amidst the squalor of inner city slums, and admittedly mounted with an ultra-low budget, this initial film of Director Buddy Giovinazzo is a stark portrait of urban poverty and hopelessness that is both repellent and somehow, captivating, despite the amateurish thesping & technical execution.

Definitely not a film for everyone, this picture paints a bleak portrait of a veteran GI and former POW, Frankie Dunlan (played by Rick Giovinazzo, brother of the Director), whose memories of his experiences in Viet-Nam have left him functionally deficient upon his return to civilian life. Incapable of holding a job, but saddled with the responsibilities of supporting a wife and deformed child ( a side effect of his Agent-Orange exposure), Frankie awakens each day to a dead-end future, with no perceivable way out. He eventually comes to grips with his hopeless situation in a stark and shocking climax.

This film will never win any acting awards, but the overall milieu is realistically captured and the final effect is powerful, albeit depressing in the extreme.

Worth viewing (particularly via the Troma DVD, released in '98), despite the production drawbacks. And kudos to Troma for being the (only) apparent distribution firm willing to release this film. Troma also recently rescued Dario Argento's "The Stendahl Syndrome" from distribution limbo, so despite Lloyd Kaufman's (Troma topliner and tacit "official" spokesman)outright pandering to the video market's lowest (and I mean lowest) common denominator, he proves that, at least once in a while, he has some genuine "Taste".

A gritty film about a Viet-Nam veteran who cannot adjust to civilian life.

[Captain_Couth · 9/10 · 3 November 2004]

Combat Shock (1986) was a low budget film about a battle scarred veteran who just cannot erase the memories of his horrific experinces in Viet-Nam. He's also having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. The economy is in the dumps and unemployment is at an all time high in his area. With a family to support and no hope, the surrounding environment and his family's fianancial problems begin to take a toll upon his sanity and well being.

Buddy Giovinazzo has created a grim and gritty look about life in the inner city and for those veterans who were one of the few to escape from the bloody jungles of Viet-Nam seemingly unscathed. But he has wounds that are not visible to the naked eye. Abandoned by society and the government that he served, he represents a lot of people who were ignored when they returned back to the "world".

I have to recommend this film for people who want to see a another side of life. One where people struggle to survive by preying on the weak. They can also bear witness to the life that surprisingly many Viet-Nam era veterans lived with when

their tour of duty and time with the military was completed. According to several interviews with the director, he has stated that he did a lot of research on the topic. A perfect companion piece to this film would be "Deadbeat by Dawn".

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The disturbing depressing life of an ex war hero living in New York

[cool_cool_1 · 7/10 · 10 April 2006]

Combat Shock (1986) is a hard-hitting, disturbing film with some very strong scenes, it's about a young man called Frankie who fought in the war, and now hes living back in New York in a slum of an apartment, with his girlfriend and deformed baby!!! Frankie has no job or money to support his family and he also owes money to the local drug lords, Frankie is in a bad way for sure!! We follow Frankie around as he starts to go crazy with visions of the terrible sights he saw in Nam, he wanders aimlessly and thinks about turning to crime in a desperate bid to lead a normal life!!! Combat Shock is actually a Troma film, and it's definitely one of their best, but be warned there is various violence and gory images throughout the movie, and the climax is very disturbing and horrific, be warned!!! I give this movie 7/10, well worth a viewing.

Trash! Trash! Pure Trash!

[angelsunchained · 1/10 · 30 March 2010]

Come on! This "shock" film is nothing but a series of rip-offs and stereotypes and is pure TRASH! The film tries to present a bleak look at "Viet-Nam Vets" who can't fit back into society following their combat experiences. Themes stolen from Midnight Cowboy (bleak New York City), The Taxi Driver (crazed vet shoots it out with three thugs at the end), Rolling Thunder (crazed and disturbed P.O.W. haunted by wartime nightmares), and Soldier Blue (hacked up bodies, severed heads, in a war setting) are chopped together to make this dull, and boring mess. Each character is too over-the-top and all come across as cartoonish. The acting is terrible and stiff. Honestly, the whole cast looks like heroin addicts. The mutant baby was borrowed from the horror film, It's Alive!. I'm sure the movie was made with good intentions to show the plight of Vets exposed to Agent Orange and Shell Shock, but it just doesn't get it's message across. Instead of wasting your money and time on this trash, you should rent The Best Years of Our Lives or Coming Home.

Deeply disturbing and pessimistic film.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 10/10 · 29 August 2004]

"Combat Shock" stars Ricky Giovinazzo as Frankie Dunlan,a depressed Vietnam veteran living a meaningless life in Staten Island.With no money,no job and little hope,Frankie takes to the streets,shocked by the depravity of the neighborhood-of childhood friends turned junkies and prostitutes.The viewer watches Frankie meander through his bleak existence before a bloody and nihilistic finale that is not for the squeamish."Combat Shock" is a deeply disturbing film that left me stunned.The cast of unknowns is fine and the direction is well-handled.The film is filled with incredibly dirty and depressing atmosphere of urban decay and the gore effects are disgustingly real."Combat Shock" deals with the mental anguish one veteran goes through once back home.It's not as disturbing as "Cannibal Holocaust" or "Man Behind the Sun",but it's close.Check it out.10 out of 10.

Not exactly fair...

[ghost-9 · 7/10 · 24 June 2001]

Not really fair to call this a Troma film because Troma bought the rights to distribute this low budget film but had nothing to do with it's creation. It was already complete when Troma bought the rights to it. Troma movies are gleefully bad, in fact, CLASS OF NUKEM HIGH is the worst movie that I have ever seen and I've seen many bad movies. COMBAT SHOCK is both a disturbing, boring, awful movie AND a gritty, ultra-realistic, shocking movie about the difficulty many Vietnam vets had getting jobs and fitting back into society. Though it is slow paced, I had difficulty taking my eyes off of it. It is rare to see cinema so stark and grim. The subject is dealt with in movies like FIRST BLOOD and THE DEAD PRESIDENTS but these, like many other movies are very sensationalistic unlike real life. COMBAT SHOCK is down to earth and shows the realistic effects of living in poverty and squallor in a drug-ridden neighborhood. I give it a 7/10. I found the lead character to be a sympathetic and likeable character trapped in a hell on earth that seems inescapable. If you think you have problems, it hard to imagine that they might be worse.

Slightly less shocking than the GI Joe animated movie

[rhyatt1 · 1/10 · 26 October 2009]

First of all here are some of the comments others have made about this movie: "gritty", "disturbing", "one of the best movies of all time", "don't watch this alone", "powerful".

Here are my comments on this movie: "ridiculous", "hilarious", "pile of feces", "made with a two dollar budget", "if any other human being is willing to watch this movie with you, murder them".

spoilers** I can't begin to say how many positive reviews I've read about this movie. If you haven't seen it and just read the reviews you'll think this is the most gripping and disturbing war movie ever made. If you have seen it you'll think some retarded apes got hold of a camera, an army-man Halloween costume, and the worst human actor in the world and made a movie in one day. This movie is so bad it's indescribable. So I'll describe it a little.

Right off the bat you'll be blown away by the horrible production value and the ridiculous acting in this movie. The first scene shows the main character having flashbacks of Vietnam. And by Vietnam I mean the woods behind the director's house. The set in no way looks like Vietnam, and this dude in no way looks like a soldier. I know the movie was shot in the 70's, but I can't stress enough how bad it looks. Movies like The Shining and Taxi Driver were also made in the 70's and they still look great. So this pile of garbage doesn't get a pass just because of when it was made. Also like I said the acting is bad and I'm way too lazy to break down why, but if you watch it you'll know that it's bad and you don't like it.

So anyway, this guy is in 'Nam and he runs into some Vietnamese and he unloads his machine gun rambo-style into some random 'Nam girl. This of course pisses off her family so when he sees this he throws his gun down and runs away like a true soldier. But they quickly catch up with him and begin beating him in some sort of real time slow motion. Meaning I don't think the director knew how to use slow motion effects so he told the actors to move at half speed, which is pretty obvious when they "bash" him in the face with the butt of a gun by gently tapping him on the head.

Next thing you know the guy is in New York with his wife and crying baby. His wife complains that he neglects her and the baby and you can't blame him when you see what his wife looks like or what the baby looks like for that matter. His wife isn't a mutant and his baby might be. For the first couple minutes the baby is hidden and you're supposed to assume it's a normal non-mutant baby, but then his wife holds the baby in the light and you see that their baby is in fact a rubber doll with a monster face. What it's supposed to be is a mutant created by this soldier's Agent Orange tainted seed, but what it really is is the worst special effects creature in the history of film. Seeing this infant is supposed to elicit a horrific gasp from the viewer, but the odds are much better that seeing it will make the viewer press pause so they can laugh at it for a while and maybe take a cell phone pic for their wallpaper. The funny thing is other reviewers commented on the sadness or disturbingness of this baby as if it could be taken halfway seriously. Words can't do justice to how hilarious and lame this baby is. The only thing sad about the baby is the fact that this movie isn't a comedy and it's not supposed to make you laugh when you see it.

The whole plot of the movie is this guy comes back from 'nam and wanders the streets of NY trying to find work to pay off the debts he owes to some street hoods. I'd have to say this is the most boring part of the movie and yes I realize I just said it's the entire plot. What I'm getting at is the entire movie is boring and terrible. I'd have to say the best part of the movie is the catchy tune they keep looping over and over as he walks the gritty streets. If there were a soundtrack to this debacle I would buy it just for that gritty elevator music.

While wandering around he encounters some old friend of his who's a drug addict and other people that you don't care about and can't take seriously.

Then as a gift to anyone watching, the movie comes to an end when the guy can't take it anymore and blows his brains out in his apt. Hopefully you didn't put one in the chamber yourself and end your life before this point in the movie. Once again this lame ending is in no way "gritty" or "shocking". Also it should be clear to anyone who's made it this far in my review that I fast forwarded through huge chunks of the movie.

So in summary this movie is indeed a nightmare for the viewer. However not in the way the director intended. Rather than shocking you or surprising you this movie will make you poop your pants in sheer amazement at how bad it is. I suppose if the whole point of this movie was to make the viewer relate to the horror and isolation that soldiers felt from being in Viet Nam then it did succeed at that. After sitting through this mess I definitely feel like I went through enough atrocities to be awarded a Purple Heart.

Gritty, disturbing urban nightmare

[squeezebox · 24 January 2003]

Gritty, disturbing nightmare movie about a pathetic Vietnam veteran living in poverty in New York City, who's slowly disintegrating mind finally snaps after one too many days of unemployment, loan sharks, a nagging wife, flashbacks and, worst of all, his constantly crying baby, monstrously deformed as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange. Relentlessly downbeat, and filled with horrific imagery of violence and drug abuse, this may be too much for many viewers to take. Borrows a bit from ERASERHEAD and TAXI DRIVER, but does so fairly well, with good performances, a seedy atmosphere and some imaginative directorial touches despite it's ultra low budget. Released on DVD by Troma for the first time in its uncut form, this is a movie truly worthy of rediscovery.

Depressing & Terrifying in its honesty!

[samxxxul · 7/10 · 10 May 2020]

Buddy Giovinazzo's Combat Shock, an unsettling cross between Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant (1992) and David Lynch's Eraserhead (1977) as far from the tone of your typical Troma movie in the offering. The film follows Ricky who is afflicted with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder trying to make ends meet for his family. He lives in an unsafe apartment along with his wife and their deformed baby (a consequence of Ricky being subjected to the poison Agent Orange during the war. Ricky is also plagued by nightmares from the war, where few scenes reminds you of classic Jacob's Ladder (1990) eventually causing him to lose his grip on his existence. Combat Shock (or, if you prefer, American Nightmares in its director's cut) , is somewhat unsatisfactory for the gore hounds , but it's a very bleak film driven by nihilism that captures depressing slice of life with music ques from Rick Giovinazzo who performs a haunting synth score. It's a must watch for fans of the genre, a lo-fi borderline horror film with a mutant baby that tops even the baby in Eraserhead for sheer creepiness.

Fictional soldier-in-poverty film is strong and powerful on fact.

[emm · 8/10 · 24 December 1998]

What another guilty pleasure this is! And a truly incredible one! COMBAT SHOCK is not what you'd expect from Troma, but it doesn't matter anyway. This is a strong and powerful account of Frankie, a former American P.O.W. in Saigon facing a harsh dilemma of society and family matters back home following the war. It's all based on true experiences with very disturbing levels of detail, and does become nerve-shattering. There possibly has never been a film that could deliver a high amount of intensifying power like this before, even outweighing its minimal plot and graphic violence. While some will find the infant looking like a stupid clone of E.T., others will worry about its povertic and dying state, but the character becomes a victim in its notorious shocking ending. This was the first "Tromatized" movie I've seen, and it sure ain't like the rest of 'em! A rock solid independent outing from Buddy G, whose brother plays the leading role as Frankie. Low budget, but delivers powerful meaning. Asks the all-important question of the hour: "Where will you be tomorrow?". Highly recommended!

Combat Vietnamese Shocker

[DarkSpotOn · 7/10 · 3 April 2022]

If Hobo with a Shotgun and a Serbian film had a child, this would be it. A very depressing, a bit slow at times, low-budget flick, that is a bit confusing at times. I kinda enjoyed it, but I think it could have been a bit better. The beginning is about war, and then the film completely changes with our main character struggling to live with his baby deformed son and wife. He tries his best to get a job and cash. He fails, which ends with him killing three of the gangsters that have been bothering him for years, and then when he came home he realized that there's nowhere to go, and decides to shoot his family and himself. This is pretty much a more ominous, darker, hard-hitting version of Full Metal Jacket.

drawn out and boring with some funny moments

[boomorbust · 5/10 · 12 July 2009]

This movie is so over the top in some aspects you cant help but laugh. The deformed baby that looks like an alien, his junkie friend mike who has bulging veins, etc. There is also some really funny scenes involving child prostitute sisters calling each other names and his junkie friend mike not being able to find a needle to shoot up his dime bag.

I seriously doubt if the director intended all of this to be taken seriously. The big problem with the movie is all the drawn out scenes that go nowhere. You get pointless scenes with the baby crying and his cow of a wife complaining and milling about. There is a bunch of scenes with him walking around the same part of slum over and over as synth music plays in the background.

This is a 90 min movie that needs about 30 mins cut out. The ending is very predictable although the baked baby was a nice touch. The director should have went for a more exciting "taxi driver" style ending but they probably didn't have the budget for that.

Misery!

[Jan Kjellin · 10/10 · 20 September 2002]

One of the strongest post-Vietnam movies I have ever seen. Like an unofficial sequel to Coppola's Apocalypse Now, the movie starts off with a nightmarish dream sequence that eventually passes over into a real nightmare. This is a slow-paced journey into poverty, misery and the psychological scars that mark the survivors of the horrors of war. With every frame, the situation grows worse for the people in the movie. And up until the "grand finale", you find yourself wondering when hell will break loose.

It must be pointed out that this is a low budget production. But with every dollar missing, the crew have managed to add feeling. This is a strong movie, and you'll either love it or hate it.

I love it.

An Abstract Nightmare Of Gritty Urban Realities. 1-2-Watch.

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 7/10 · 30 October 2022]

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Combat Shock; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.75 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.50 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 1.50

TOTAL: 7.25 out of 10.00.

If you're a David Lynch fan and can relatively understand the stories he films, you should like and have no trouble with Combat Shock. However, if your bag is a more realistic movie, you may have issues with the abstract imagery and storyline. Me, I loved it. It didn't hurt that the writer and director Buddy Giovinazzo is more of your working man's Lynch.

Giovinazzo brings us the dark tale of Frankie Dunlan, an ex-marine who's returned from Vietnam. Life's not been easy for Frankie. Born on the rich side of the tracks, he slid into degradation by having a child with a woman his family shunned. He entered manhood in 'Nam after witnessing the atrocities both sides committed, which brought a scarred and broken man home to his wife and their forever-crying baby and the damp ramshackle hovel they call home. And when you have a family, you do your best and whatever you can to survive. And now his family is being evicted, and Dunlan has one day to resolve his problem. What will he do?

The story is jarring and thought-provoking as Giovinazzo attempts to display the complete breakdown of Frankie Dunlan's life. And mostly, he does a brilliant job. The flashbacks help to build an image of what Dunlan suffered and survived. You wonder if Dunlan's continued existence was a good thing, particularly with the loathsome, but all too predictable, bloody climax. Giovinazzo also offers a few abstractions to the norm. The principal one is the Dunlan's babe: The newborn is deformed and looks unrealistic. Is it? Could all of this be a nightmare in Frankie's mind? Some of his flashbacks hint at the possibility. These slight phantasies promote the idea of Dunlan's mental state. Is it real...or is it Memorex?

One of the best elements of this movie is Giovinazzo's accompanying gritty filming style. It adds more power to the story's punch. I love how he opens up with a beautiful countryside shot, complete with light leaks and lens flare. But when Frankie awakens from this dream of remembered warfare, we see the dirty room. Both he and his wife appear not to have washed in quite a few days, and their clothes bear many a dark stain. This foulness is inner-city poverty at its appalling best. And when we go outside, the streets are littered with rubbish, shop windows are smashed and boarded, graffiti tags adorn every free space, and the homeless, prostitutes, dealers, and users walk, stand, and slouch on the pavements. Realism lends weight to the story unfolding before the viewer. With all this on offer, the director didn't have to do much to set his scenes. However, he utilises them perfectly. The end chase scene that sees Frankie pursued by the local crime boss is wonderfully constructed. He throws in some engaging camera angles and scene compositions to add to the segments' interest. And when he wants to display Frankie's breakdown, he employs quick cuts between cameras, uses movie clip projections on Dunlan's face, and emphasises auditory ticks, such as the dripping kitchen tap - and they work a treat.

But most surprising is the acting. For an indie flick from the eighties, it's not too bad. The lead performer, Rick Giovinazzo, gives a credible and powerful performance as the broken Frankie Dunlan. I especially liked Veronica Stork as his wife, Cathy. She emanates a realness which works superbly to embed the story with more realism.

I'd readily recommend Combat Shock for at least one viewing. But, it's not for everyone as it's not your average common-all-garden Dark Thriller. If you like art-house, grind-house, or you're looking for something different, then you could do worse than spend some time watching this flick.

I can't take it anymore. I JUST CAN'T! But before I bring the curtain down, take a look at my IMDb lists - Absolute Horror, Obsidian Dreams and Killer Thriller Chillers to see where I ranked Combat Shock.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Geared towards a specific crowd.

[ElijahCSkuggs · 5/10 · 12 January 2010]

Combat Shock is a seriously downbeat and bleak flick. I knew this going in, as it's been on my radar for a long time, so I was well-prepared for a depressing flick. And on that front, my expectations were met. I also had expectations that I would enjoy it. Those expectations were not met. The film is just not a fun movie watching experience. It's not entertaining either. But it has appeal with it's ugly atmosphere, surprisingly good dialog, and realistic telling of a Vietnam vet's tortured life.

I don't like admitting that the film bored me, but it did. On paper describing it would do the scenes more justice. But with a style very similar to the gritty and depressing 'Last House on Dead End Street', another film I didn't really like, there is a unique feeling this type of movie gives off. One that I don't like. Since it does affect me in this way, I do give it points for that. But phewy, it's slow-going, unlikeable, and altogether ugly. But with it's ridiculous finale, the message it delivers, the baby, and things I mentioned above, it's a film that I will recommend...carefully.

"Sometimes you're better off in jail".

[lost-in-limbo · 8/10 · 11 October 2011]

If you want to see a very effective, considerably penniless drama filled with horror and despair you can't go past the Troma released "Combat Shock". Looking at the cover artwork, it doesn't do it any justice because it's far more than just an exploitative actioner but a thoughtfully raw and unsettling psychological character piece on the struggle to cope with the hardship of unflinching reality that faced Frankie a Vietnam Vet returning back to a decayed society that just doesn't care. It's a dog eat dog world. Other than the nightmares and flashbacks that plague his mind, he finds himself still battling a war and trying to survive along with his wife and baby son (which is a disturbing sight); only the jungle this time is in his own backyard. An urban jungle --- where pimps and thugs rule the nest. Nothing seems to go right, even when he tries it goes from bad to worse with no real luck and the powerfully downbeat finale is hard to wipe from your mind. It's as depressing as you can get, because the story actually gets your into this character's mindset making you feel every bit of pain and torture. There is some action and violence, but like I mentioned earlier it's more than just that. Ugly to look at with its seedy shot on locations, but the script emotionally unfolds slowly and remains captivating in its bleak intensity. Sometimes it might lull about with the spaced-out central character's aimless wandering, but it grimy edginess just sticks with you. Although the accompanying electronic score does amplify some oddly sounding cues. Performances are credible and Ricky Giovinazzo moodily solitude turn is picture-perfect as Frankie. Director/writer/producer Buddy Giovinazzo straight-up compact handling is tough and unsparing, making the production a true labour of love. Primitive, but challenging entertainment.

"I can't go home empty handed tonight"

Rough still after all these years

[ykjdh · 6/10 · 15 May 2023]

I first saw this in a neighborhood theater that was cheap and independently owned and operated. Today they're remembered as Grindhouse but back then it was the $1.50 theater down the street. Cheap The other movie was Rawhead Rex, so this says a lot about the theater's movie line up. Within the first fifteen minutes you get the idea of how rough this movie is. Depressing to say the least. A Vietnam vet has nightmares so depressing it makes you cry. Add to the mix a deformed kid caused by his time in Vietnam. What else can go worse? A lot actually, including drug use, hallucinations, and murder. The ending left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Even after all these decades, it's still a rough conclusion to watch. See at your own risk.

Worst Movie Ever

[hottie-fan-1973 · 1/10 · 29 January 1999]

This movie has got to be the worst movie I've ever had the displeasure of seeing. The acting was horrible, the story was ludicrous and to insult the audience with gray E.T. was just ridiculous. I usually like Troma films but I have to say that if I never see this movie again it will be too soon.