Friday, November 29, 2013

Shocker (1989)

After his masterpiece, A Nightmare on Elm Street, I was willing to give Deadly Friend a pass, however Shocker began to make me think Wes Craven was a one-hit wonder.  Or at the very least, his forte was in Krueger as his involvement in Dream Warriors and eventually New Nightmare somewhat proved.    Shocker is a favorite among some fans, and while it has some good ideas going for it, the final product still leaves a lot to be desired.   This kind of story would be ripe for a remake...


First up is the football field and stadium, which is Hilmer Lodge Stadium at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California.   Partially out of laziness, and partially because it look closed off, I just took a few snapshots from the road...


Screenshots....






Moving nearly 40 miles to the west, I tracked down this street using the former Sam Levy Department store in Torrance.   That particular store is long gone and the street has been revamped, but here it is....




Screenshots...






I also tracked down the tavern which was located in Santa Monica....





Screenshots....





And here is the exterior/sidewalk of the tavern....



Screenshots...




An establishing shot of the Dewey hotel...


Screenshots....


Back to Torrance for the El Prado Apartments....










Screenshots....











The park was located in El Monte, California.   This bridge was the easiest spot to find...





Screenshots....






Because of some re-landscaping and many years of change, I couldn't quite figure out the exact spots of the other scenes in the park, but here are some shots....








Screenshots...









UPDATE April 2014:  Thanks to a reader, I was able to visit Peter Berg's house used in the film....







Screenshots...













I met Peter Berg twice at Madonna concerts, but didn't get a shot with him... who knew he would turn into a blockbuster director??