Michael_Elliott Combat Shock (1984)*** (out of 4)Frankie Dunlan (Ricky Giovinazzo) returns home from Vietnam after some bizarre experiments were done on him and he's hit a string of bad luck. His wife is pregnant and also trying to take care of their deformed one-year-old son. Frankie has lost his job, all three are starving and the future doesn't look too bright but he heads out one day in search of something better.Buddy Giovinazzo's COMBAT SHOCK is without question one of the most raw, depressing and bleak character studies ever created. The director stated that the film was meant to be something in between TAXI DRIVER and ERASERHEAD and that's the best way to describe it. The movie isn't the best made film that you'll ever see and it's certainly very raw in regards to various technical things but at the same time there's just something so wrong and so off about the subject matter that you can't help but be drawn into its nightmare.The film certainly has a lot to say about mental illness as well as the troubles that faced vets when they returned home. The film is extremely bleak to say the least as there's not even a glimmer of comedy or even a brief smile to be bad. You certainly wouldn't want to show this film to anyone suffering from a depression because it would probably push them over the edge. The flashbacks to Vietnam are all that convincing and there are other technical problems with the film but at the same time this is a lot deeper and a lot more troubling than what most filmmakers would try on a $40,000 budget.Giovinazzo does a very good job in the lead role as he's certainly believable as this broken man who really is at the very end of things. He certainly comes across as a real person and this helps give the film a more realistic approach to the dark material. The direction is spot on and this is certainly true during the incredibly disturbing final fifteen-minutes of the picture.

Grim Frog I've seen this movie on countless "most disturbing movies" lists and being a..errrr...disturbing movie junkie(?) i gave it a watch. Wow, was it a let down. The plot is very generic, the pacing is excruciating and there are dozens of scenes that add absolutely nothing to the plot. I don't think I've shrugged and said "What the fu** was that?" while watching a movie so many times in my life. One of the things that bugged me most about this movie is its score. its so god damned annoying that it gave me a headache and i had to turn the volume down but not only that the sound effects used for simple things such as water dripping from the faucet drove me into a fit of annoying digitized bad stock sound rage. For you gore hounds there is maybe 30 seconds of somewhat decent effects around the 13 minute mark, other than that the other "gore" effects consists of what appear to be ketchup and rootbeer. The things i liked about this film? The baby. I loved the puppet they used, not because its disturbing but because it has this just awesome low budget creepy look to it and i was impressed with the fact that it blinks. Oh, but don't forget that you are watching combat shock....so the baby constantly makes an absolutely horrible digitized cry in every scene it is in. I also liked the bleak slummy atmosphere of the apartment/neighborhood andddd thats about it. So should you watch combat shock? my recommendation is pass up this one. If you do end up watching it don't be afraid to fast forward a hour into the film. you wont be missing a thing at all.

dworldeater Combat Shock has been described as a cross between Eraserhead and Taxi Driver. I would find that statement to be accurate . However, Taxi Driver is a shiny happy movie compared to this . This movie shows the crime of poverty , the horrors of war and how some veterans fall under real hard times when they return home. Very low budget , limited resources really set the tone for this filthy , bleak, urban hell . The most well made of anything under the Troma banner , and artistic even. I do enjoy a lot of Troma 's campy titles , but this is stone cold serious , depressing , and well done. The pace is slow, but hits hard and heavy like a Black Sabbath riff. Very good.

lost-in-limbo 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"