Not that there aren't atrocious TV-movies anymore, but nowadays nothing so blunt and openly-cardboard would be considered for primetime. One in a long series of ultra low-budget genre flicks from Emmeritus films, this movie is also a rare reminder that local TV stations (in Canada no less) once had the guts and wherewithal to produce their own feature films (or so-called). Apparently this movie also had partial Telefilm funding. It's hard to imagine CHCH making its own dramas these days, let alone features, and Telefilm putting cash forward for a non-union B-movie is a stranger anomaly. Alas, neither funding source put up much (I've heard these were made for around $30k). Given the mainstream-market aims and miniscule budget it's not surprising how this turned out; somewhere between a cheap soap and a bad dream.
The description for this film is about as lazy and misleading as the script; the first story isn't about a teenager (or if it is, it's one who looks 30 and has apparently completed many college degrees, although this assertion isn't supported by his lack of intelligence). Likewise, the second story isn't particularly about the 'waitress' (who actually owns the establishment) so much as an ensemble cast of criminal characters. Speaking of characters, none of them are intriguing or likable in any way, although the best thing in the film is the bizarre bit part of a landlord (Sue Morrison) who dresses (and acts) like a 6-year-old who got into her mother's makeup and probably swallowed a good deal of it. Another highlight is the criminal trickster who thoughtfully prepares a printed-out label ('4- Second Infinite Loop') so we can all understand his unbelievably clever audio-cassette decoy. Perhaps the producers ripped that label from the film's soundtrack source of endless, drab synth music.
I saw this film as 'Greedy Terror' which is a more appropriate title than 'Shock Chamber' seeing as all the characters are greedy and there's no shock and no chamber. In fact, not a single death or any other element of action is really captured on camera. What remains is a lot of suspicious glances and threatening chit chat, some mildly amusing corner-cutting techniques and a pox for anyone who's ever felt nostalgic about Canadian TV in the 80s.
If it weren't so dang conventional, the sheer awkwardness of this film may have invoked something approaching creepy. As is, the only scary thing is how it ever got made.
