Did you people see the same film I saw?

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Released by Troma of all studios, "Combat Shock" is a deeply troubling dramatic thriller about a traumatized veteran's daily struggles. It provides a bleak and pessimistic outlook on life in which poverty runs rampant and positive resolutions cannot be found anywhere. The streets of New York slums are portrayed with a complete lack of any hope whatsoever, the characters never truly conquer their deep inner (and outer) pains, and there is NO HAPPY ENDING. Clearly, a movie so depressing and upsetting will not appeal to everybody, and it will likely divide viewers furthermore because of its low budget, sometimes iffy acting, graphic violence, and bitter philosophy. However, I for one absolutely loved this film. It is like an exploitation film that refuses to be exploitative, a REAL horror story, one that does not focus on the typical traits of the horror genre, but one that manages to fit under the genre's vast umbrella simply because of the sheer cruelty of it. "Combat Shock" is many things, it is a war drama, a psychological thriller, a work of astounding realism, a dark nihilistic tragedy, and a gory, shocking, boundary pushing horror film. It grapples the viewer by the neck with unstoppable rage, sucking them into a world of hopelessness and depravity, forcing them to witness the cruelest, darkest, and saddest aspects of humanity, always obscuring that glimmer of hope and lightheartedness your heart knows is there somewhere but just simply cannot find.After watching this it's safe to say that you may want to try to lighten up your mood because, although this movie is a masterpiece of tensity and shocks, this is a goddamn BUMMER!

The effectiveness of "Combat Shock" just goes to show that the movies which the notorious Troma company picks up for distribution are typically better than their own productions. The movie is not what this viewer would consider "enjoyable", but that's entirely the point. This is gut wrenching, raw, uncompromising, brutal stuff that unfortunately feels all too real. Clearly filmed on a shoestring, this only enhances the impact of the material, as we are witness to a variety of extremely down and out Staten Island citizens, with one person in particular serving as the focus. He's Frankie (Rick Giovinazzo, brother of the writer / director Buddy Giovinazzo, and also composer of the music), a man with a mind that's steadily deteriorating. He can't forget his haunting Vietnam War experience, and now he lives in squalor with a nagging wife (Veronica Stork), and a deformed child who has taken ill. He can't find work, is about to be evicted from his apartment, and is in debt to a gangster (Mitch Maglio), to boot. The story is largely confined to a single day as Frankie wanders the streets, sometimes with a purpose (such as going to the employment agency, or placing a desperate call to his father), sometimes not. Along the way he meets assorted other people living miserable lives. When he finally gives in to temptation and commits a crime (believing that being in jail isn't the worst situation in which he could find himself), he's presented with what will truly turn out to be his means of release. If you know going in that this movie is going to be a walk on the dark side of life, you may figure out where this is all going, but that still doesn't make the ultimate resolution any less tragic. The characters, by and large, aren't all that sympathetic, but remain compelling, flaws and all. The acting is often as rough as one could expect from something of this budget, but Rick G. gives a really heartfelt effort, and he and Buddy G. pull no punches when it comes to the cold hard reality of any moment. The pacing is very deliberate, as one will notice, all the way from start to finish; Buddy G. lets each scene play out for as long as possible, and the camera never flinches from the horrors that occur. This is far and away one of the grimmest productions with which Troma ever associated, a long way from the camp and schlock of their in-house projects. By the time this is all over, it would be very hard not to feel *something* as the end credits start rolling. This is the kind of thing one would cautiously recommend unless the prospective viewer can appreciate bleakness in their movies. Eight out of 10.

I had never seen This movie it somehow slipped by me until i found it on DVD recently (both versions). I gave it full ten stars because it is a masterpiece in its own kinda bizarre way. It captures the poor Vietnam vet's daily life back in the world, the poverty, hopelessness and horrors of a nagging wife and a horrific mutant son (and that boy has a whine that made me sick) A so simple yet shocking sound effect... The details of the interior of their apartment is truly sickening, from the filth on the walls to the overfilled malfunctioning toilet. What struck me most about this movie is that i can relate to it. I have gone trough some similar back to the world experience. The utterly total hopelessness! And a screaming 24/7 little kid too....As for quality it is what you might expect of a full frame DVD, 4:3, mono sound and no extras except two versions of the movie.A deeper look at the absolute bottom of decay a highly recommended buy if you can find it on DVD.

However, very boring throughout the entire middle of the movie. Seriously, after the first 10 minutes of the film's start (which was the most interesting part of the movie) we are treated with watching a man walk around town for like an hour. Wow, that was so exhilarating just watching this guy walk around and talk to people, it had me on the edge of my seat! The only time it gets exciting is at the end. And I won't say that it was worth the wait, but nevertheless, it was the highlight of the movie.I thought the "baby" character was.....special. The wife was decent. The main lead was, like his "baby",...special.Not Troma's worst film, but definitely not their best on either.