Customer Reviews

Combat Shock (Two-Disc Uncut 25th Anniversary Edition)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Combat Shock is one of those movies you watch not because it's good. but because it is interesting. The story of a man's struggle with life after the Vietnam War, and what he cannot remember about what happened. When he starts remembering it changes his life. In conclusion I would like to say Combat Shock is the best movie I have seen about a man trying to cope with life after a war.

"Combat Shock" is one of those rare microbudget films that has a lasting impact on its viewers. Originally titled, "American Nightmares", "Combat Shock" plays like a really grimy, amateurish version of "Eraserhead" with a little bit of "First Blood" and "Taxi Driver" thrown in. The commentary is extremely helpful, and Buddy went on to direct "No Way Home" with Tim Roth. If you're expecting an over-the-top satire Troma style, you're in for a surprise. The last 15 minutes of the movie may very well blow your mind. Also, the plotline predates "Jacob's Ladder", which is an almost exact word-for-word descendant of this sometimes cheesy, but mostly honest film of urban decay and psychopathy in the mind of a Vietnam vet. Lloyd, you sure know how to pick 'em! Buy the dvd and see what I mean. Remember, it is pretty shocking though, with that special graphic violence that will Tromatize you forever!

Forget Henry Winkler in HEROES, Jon Voight in COMING HOME, or Stallone in FIRST BLOOD. If any film released by the notorious schlock distributor Troma has a claim to art, this is it. I'm not kidding. This Vietnam-flashback psychodrama, probably the most savagely depressing film ever made, brings you inside the splintered mind of a 'Nam vet and never lets you out. (In the few scenes having nothing to do with him, we see guys even worse off than he is.) The film is best described as a cross between ERASERHEAD and the last two hours of THE DEER HUNTER. Frank Dunlan (Ricky Giovinazzo) has blocked out his painful memories of combat - captivity, torture, atrocity, the works - but they keep creeping up on him. Unskilled and unwashed, he can't hold a job. This annoys his wife Kathy (Veronica Stork), who must take care of their baby - which has been mutated by his exposure to Agent Orange. Frank spends his days standing on unemployment lines, avoiding loan sharks, and hanging out with heroin addicts. This is the best Harvey Keitel/Abel Ferrara movie they never made; if you appreciated BAD LIEUTENANT, you've got to see this. The last reel (if you're still with it by then) will leave you in a sickened stupor. Sometimes low-rent and amateurish, but it gets under your skin in ways that a more polished movie never could. The DVD includes often amusing commentary by director Buddy Giovinazzo, always eager to goof on his own movie; he's not one of those gasbags who go on and on about how brilliant their film is and what every scene signifies. NOT FOR EVERYONE! - but an unforgettable ride for those who feel that movies should be more than Tom Hanks acting cute.

Boy, is this a downbeat movie. If you're looking for something redemptive, look elsewhere. From the opening Vietnam sequence full of gore to the sorrowful conclusion, Combat Shock is a nightmarish trip through a warren of haunting images and sounds.

Frankie came back from Vietnam and has had nothing but trouble. He has a deformed baby, a nagging woman, and no job. He is also in dutch with a loanshark. Frankie walks the desolate streets of the slums, wondering what he's going to do. He eventually explodes in a fit of despair and rage, resulting in some bloody and gory scenes.

What makes this movie so effective is the voiceovers and the flashbacks of Frankie. They are truly haunting and they give the film great atmosphere. So do the settings, especially Frankie's apartment, which is so gritty and sleazy looking that I felt like taking a shower after watching the movie. It's that sleazy!

This movie will bring you down, so don't watch it on a rainy day or if you're depressed. If you aren't exhausted at the end of the film, there might be something wrong with you. This is distributed by Troma, so look for some nifty trailers. Also, pay a little more and avoid the Extended Play tape.

so, right after watching this, I said to myself 'wow, that movie really sucked.' however, i spent the next 2 days replaying parts of it over and over in my head. the fact that the budget was so non existent and that it has had such a profoundly disturbing and lasting effect on my brain make me highly recommend it. If you like challenging cinema and you're a weirdo, pick this up. So unbeleivably horrid its beautiful

When you buy a movie from Troma, you would expect the usual ingredients (T&A, gross-out humor, explicit violence, bad acting). If you're expecting that out of Combat Shock, you will be disappointed. Combat Shock is a surprisingly great film despite its low budget. Like other films before it, it deals with life after Vietnam.

The story centers a day in the life around Frankie, a Vietnam vet living in poverty in New York City. He returned after being a POW for a number of years. He has a wife, who always nags him about their living conditions and him being unemployed, and a son who is deformed due to Agent Orange. They basically live in the slums. To make matters worse, Frankie owes a local thug and his cronies money. After an argument with his wife, he goes out walking around New York, disgusted with what he sees. His journey in Vietnam will result in tragedy for him and his family.

Combat Shock was made by Buddy Giovinazzo on a low (extremely low) shoe-string budget. The opening sequences were stock footage from Vietnam. Even the "battlefield" was filmed basically in someone's backyard. Buddy's brother Ricky starred in the leading role as Frankie and even was behind the film's score, which can grow on you in a bad or good way. Basically, everyone who was from New York was in the film(the director himself, students from a local college in New York, people who worked behind the camera, family members, friends, etc.).

One thing that distinguishes Combat Shock from other Troma films is the film itself. Like I said earlier, it doesn't contain the usual stuff that an average Troma fan like myself would expect from other films (The Toxic Avenger flims, Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD, Class of Nuke 'Em High films, etc.). It is more of a psychological film focusing on a man who is soul searching as to how he got himself into the mess he is in now.
Eveything around him is decaying (childhood friend of his is on drugs, local thug running the city, young girls prostituting). Even the scene when he calls his father is sad as to how his life has been after returning from Vietnam. Buddy G did a great job with this and basically created a gem that was heavily censored (and rightfully so) due to its content, particularly with the ending. It is unfortunate that he doesn't direct films like this anymore.

Another great thing with this DVD release is the interesting commentary with Buddy G and fellow director Jörg Buttgereit. It is very amazing that he can still remember the film being made (remember, he is a New Yorker). After you finish watching the movie, you can just start over and select the commentary and believe me, you will not be bored.

The first time I watched Combat Shock, I felt cheated and was ready to put it on amazon.com for sale. But looking at it again, I was amazed. Either you like it or don't. If you can get past some of the loopholes, you will be OK. Just give this film a view.

Let me start by saying that this is the most depressing films ever.Also although the cover has Troma written all over it it's not really a Troma movie, for one thing it has above average acting, the gore is limiting and there is no nudity but that doesn't mean it's a bad film.

The storys about a guy who was in the veitnam war and was captured and tortured for a few mounths but later rescued.When he comes home he finds out that his life has gone bad.His wife is always nagging,His rent is due and if he doen't get the money he and his family get kicked out,His baby is deformed and thats just some of his problems.Combat Shock is a great film that not only Troma fans like me should see.

The DVD is excellent as always except for the picture quility.The extras are a directors commentary,Troma Intelligence Test 2, Tour of Troma and more.

All in all Combat Shock is a great film and the DVD has good extras so I recommend you buy this now.

Well, our friends at Troma have done it again. "Combat Shock" is a grimy, unflinching look at the effects of war that left me feeling unclean. In a word, I loved it! Definitely not for the faint of heart, this depressing little gem is like a wart on the rear end of the movie industry which, when you think of it, is really saying something. The entire cast looks like they were found standing on line waiting for unemployment checks back in 1974. I found it much more enjoyable than dreck like "Saving Private Ryan." Loses one star for depressing the hell out of me.

"Combat Shock" is more raw in terms of the emotional impact it has than other films in the same vein: "Platoon", "Jacob's Ladder". Which isn't to say it is better or even equals either of those films, but with a bit more of a budget and some of the cheesier aspects cut out, it very well could have.

The acting isn't exactly Oscar material but the mood the film creates is undeniable. Frankie, a Vietnam Veteran down on his luck in a major way, suffers from almost hourly flashbacks to his time in the war when he was tortured after his squad was killed (or did he kill them? this question is never answered definitively). Frankie wakes up from these nightmares to a living one: he is completely destitute of money, he has what seems to be a mutant baby (this element of the move is so whacked out--the baby looks like a miscarried ET--that you wonder if it's supposed to be funny or sickening; it's both), and a wife who constantly nags at him to call his father who he had a falling out with in order to obtain some money at least to feed his family.

Frankie is essentially a good guy, but this does not last very long. Constantly muscled by the neighborhood toughs who dress like they watched "The Karate Kid" one too many times, trying to help his deathly looking junkie friend Mike, and trying with no success to get a job, his mind slowly comes apart.

The thing is, it is never explained how Frankie all the sudden goes from being a solid guy (Rick Giovinazzo does turn in a fantastic performance here) to a homicidal maniac. The timing simply isn't right. He mugs a woman after an extremely rough day, massacres the thugs who have been tormenting him, kills his wife and bakes the baby/thing in the oven, treating himself to some rotten milk before blowing his head off. The movie is so believable up to this point that it is actually hard to watch.
There is not an ounce of hope in this film. Frankie is on a downward spiral from the time he wakes up till the time the movie ends and catches no breaks whatsoever.

This is not standard Troma fare, fortunately. This is undoubtedly the best movie they ever made, which wouldn't be saying much normally, but "Combat Shock" stands on it's own. If you're in the mood for an "Apocalypse Now" type film with a Grade Bish flavor, this is a must.

I bought this movie(DVD) at a Tromathon in Chicago ....
About two months after buying it i watched it. I truely belive
that Buddy G. is brilliant. The story is told great, it really makes you feel what he's going through. He keeps haveing violent flashback from war, cant find a job, owes people money, a nagging wife, and a deformed child. The ending is amazing, i seriously went back at watched it 5 times. I recomend this movie to everyone.
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