bkoganbing Shock To The System begins on a dark night with Chad Allen as openly gay private eye Donald Strachey meeting Jared Keeso who wants him to find somebody. No sooner does he hand Allen a $5000.00 retainer check than someone tries to run him down with a car. The next day he's found dead of a pill and liquor combination and the coroner calls it suicide.To even the dumbest cops you'll find in any detective story you don't hire a PI for a job and then kill yourself. But the Albany cops don't want to go any farther, but Allen has the scent. Young Keeso was the poster boy for an Ex-Gay therapy group the Phoenix Foundation headed by Michael Woods and his wife Anne Marie DeLuise. That seems the place to start though Keeso's mother Morgan Fairchild tells Allen that it was some gay seeking vengeance on her son for betraying the movement.In a move that requires real acting on his part, out and proud detective Chad Allen goes undercover in the foundation claiming to be a troubled gay man seeking a cure from the curse of homosexuality. Some of these scenes and later some scenes of self examination and introspection on his own life with partner Sebastian Spence show some really moving acting by Chad Allen.Shock To The System throws us a ton of red herrings as suspects and believe me you will never figure out the real motive for this and another homicide of one of the patients. That being said you won't figure out who the killer is. I didn't until about 30 seconds before it was revealed.Chad Allen has made four Strachey stories and hopefully will do more. Having the series shot in Canada I have to say that British Columbia doesn't look anything like Albany, New York so that's a bit of let down in the sense I'm familiar with Albany. But there is a more fundamental difference between these stories and most pulp detective work.Be it Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, Mike Hammer or any of a thousand lesser imitations your basic straight detective is a love them and leave them type with a new dame in every story. But the Donald Strachey stories emphasize that Strachey is a domestic type who has settled down with the love of his life who works for a State Senator in Albany. The two are very much in love and the films and books show that at every opportunity.The books were written and the films made at a time when LGBT folks are pushing for marriage rights and in 2006 when this film was made we didn't have them in New York. It's interesting to speculate that the idea for a gay private eye originated 20 year previously or if such stories are written 20 years in the future when marriage is secured whether a pulp hero like Donald Strachey will be your typical detective loner dealing with a bar crowd and loving and leaving a succession of young party boys. And I would not dare speculate on what lesbian detective fiction might be like if someone is inspired to write a series of those stories.But at this point in time Donald Strachey is a hero of those times and hopefully we'll see more of him in future work.

Lechuguilla A young gay man affiliated with a so-called "gay no more" program seeks help in finding someone, from gay PI Donald Strachey (well played by Chad Allen), in this second in a series of gay detective stories, from Director Ron Oliver. Before Strachey can pursue the investigation, the young man turns up dead.My impression is that the filmmakers here want the audience to focus on the dubious nature of the "gay therapy" pushed by political conservatives. However, I chose to watch this film as I would any other murder mystery.The killer was a person who was not high on my suspect list; so I enjoyed the surprise ending. However, Ron Oliver's apparent objective to spotlight the hideous agenda of social conservatives seemed to override the need for intricate plotting, necessary for a truly effective whodunit puzzle. Still, the mystery element was sufficiently credible, and I did spend quite a bit of time with it. The mystery's outcome has some clever irony.The visuals have a noir, retro look and feel, especially in Strachey's office, with those window blinds, the table fan, and the light and shadows. The opening credits sequence features some great B&W schematics and a terrific jazz score. In the second half, light and shadows, together with eerie music, and the image of a hooded figure running down a dark corridor combine to create some excellent suspense.Film direction is unobtrusive and simple, probably by design. I could have wished for fewer close-up shots. At times, the pace grinds almost to a halt in scenes with lengthy dialogue; however, this is not a problem if your attention is on the murder mystery.To watch this film as a social commentary on those dreadful "gay no more" programs can be enlightening and informative. But I enjoyed the murder mystery element. "Shock To The System" wasn't quite as good as "Third Man Out", in my opinion. But it was as good or better than countless other whodunit films I have seen.

gradyharp Richard Stevenson's gay mystery novels based on his creation of Donald Strachey, Private Investigator have found the perfect crew to transform these very interesting and entertaining stories to film. SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM is the second in the series and as adapted for the screen by Ron McGee, directed with panache by Ron Oliver, and starring the very fine actor Chad Allen as the sleuth with couth and style and charisma the results are a polished little gem of a film. But aside from the fact that the film is so well put together, it presents gay people in roles that are so far away from the usual stereotypical types that their sexual proclivity is in many ways simply incidental: you have to look long and hard to find a solid healthy gay relationship as well portrayed as that between Strachey and his life partner Tim (the very fine Sebastian Spence).The story this time around involves Strachey's being asked to help one Paul Hale (Jared Keeso), the supposed poster boy for the Phoenix Foundation, a 'turn gay people straight' institute run by Dr. Trevor Cornell (Michael Woods) and his wife Lynn (Anne Marie Loder). Paul is soon found dead and the implications are suicide. But Strachey suspects foul play (we later discover Hale was his first love in the Army!) and aided by Hale's mother Phyllis (Morgan Fairchild looking terrific and acting well) who encouraged her son's joining the Phoenix Foundation, he begins his own style of investigation.Strachey wisely 'becomes a patient' with Dr. Cornell and in group therapy makes discoveries and friends with those who eventually help to solve the case: a strong group of actors including Rikki Gagne, Stephen Huszar, Ryan Kennedy, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Shawn Roberts, Dany Papineau, and Gerry Morton. The clues are laid out, the deaths follow and the truths finally surface. And all the while Strachey is supported by Tim, by a very fine comic actor Nelson Wong as his 'office manager', and by his 'boss' Detective Bailey (Daryl Shuttleworth).The dialogue is crisp, relevant, intense when it needs to be and funny when it relaxes, the cinematography takes a beautiful bow to the old Hollywood film noir techniques, and the cast is excellent, filled with not only a lot of eye candy but also with some very well realized characterizations. In the end the film belongs to the very hunky and versatile Chad Allen, only making wait for the next installment in this very successful series! Highly recommended for all audiences. Grady Harp

afhick This is a well-plotted, superbly cast follow up to the first Donald Strachey film, "Third Man Out." I personally found the subject matter—-sexual "healing" for gays—-more engrossing than the "outing" theme of the first film. Once again, Chad Allen is fascinating as the macho gay detective. And his back story—-he's an ex-soldier who was drummed out of the service for being gay—-more ably serves the screenplay this time around. The regulars all seem more comfortable in their roles, and it's nice to see Nelson Wong returning as Donald's secretary. Morgan Fairchild appears in a rather thankless cameo, and, although Sebastian Spence is a little less ditsy as Donald's lawyer boyfriend (Nora to Allen's Nick), Timmy, Allen's banter with Daryl Shuttleworth, as Detective Bub Bailey, and the other guys at the precinct is more fun. It's a first-class production, with director Ron Oliver making all the right moves, and Allen's acting is nothing short of brilliant: he does Emmy-caliber work in a surprisingly literate script.