 | Combat Shock |
|
I suppose I'll start off here by saying that I used to play in a punk band called Troma Team. Which isn't to say that America's premier ultra low-budget/high-shlock production company were heroes of the band. We merely used the name because, just like Troma's films, our songs were also quickly and cheaply put together, with little interest in the production values of the finished product...
Combat Shock is Troma's Vietnam Vet narrative, focussing on one ex-soldier who, back in American society, is having one or two problems adjusting. Which is stating the case pretty lightly; this guy's life is utter hell. He lives in a small run-down apartment with his girlfriend and their severely deformed child, there's no food, and finding any sort of employment is apparently an impossibility. And to top it all, the toilet's broken, and his shoelace snapped when he tried to tie it...the sheer anguish of it all. The film's subject matter has already been covered in a number of productions, and you can't help but think of films like Taxi Driver and Jacob's Ladder when watching Combat Shock. Which, in a way, is quite good, as it means that you don't have to think about Combat Shock all that much. The whole film has the finesse and subtlety of a sledgehammer. Whereas Jacob's Ladder isn't all that subtle for much of the film, Combat Shock never misses the chance to rub your face in just how terrible life is for its central protaganist, and in fact for everyone else, whether it's his junkie friends, his distant father who has lost his fortune, or his girlfriend who just sits at home all day in their fetid apartment looking after their child who wheezes horribly all the way through the film. Everything just adds up to being an entirely nihilistic portrayal of this section of American life. Or at least it would be if it wasn't done in such a shoddy way. The dialogue and acting throughout the film is dodgy at best, with the main guy having his face set firmly on 'desperate man' mode all the way through the film. The horrific baby looks like some kind of minute alien, and appears to just have been taken wholesale from Eraserhead. All the same, there is some enjoyment to be found in Combat Shock. Not so much in the film hitting its mark and making you feel for the character's situation, but more in the entirely over the top "what are they going to do now to make things even worse?" sense. Like any number of other Troma films, it's quite possibly worth watching just for that... Phil |
Back to the Reviews Page | Back To The Main Page