Combat Shock is the story of a Vietnam veteran named Frankie(Rick Giovinazzo). During the war, Frankie was taken hostage and tortured. However, he can not seem to remember the exact reasons as to why this happened. His post-war life is just as close to being tortured: he's unemployed, his one-year old son is deformed and retarded from the chemicals sprayed during the war, he and the family are starving and living in a shithole apartment, and his best friend has turned into a thieving junkie. Not to mention past bickering with his father and money Frankie owes to a gang leader named Paco. This all tortures Frankie, until he realizes what exactly happened while he was over in Vietnam, which leads to the extremely shocking conclusion to the film.

Many films in the Troma library have been described as being shocking and disturbing, but Combat Shock definately deserves the title. The final few minutes of the film, where Frankie breaks down, is one of the most uncomfortable, jaw-dropping, and fascinating scenes I've ever seen. The Troma fans who are used to the cartoonish gore and wackiness of the in-house Troma productions will be knocked off of their seats with Combat Shock. It's not your usual Troma fare, but instead an incredibly shocking film that only Troma would have the guts to release.

However, there are still some flaws. The budget of the film is quite evident, with less-than-stellar acting performances, mediocre cinematography, and scenes meant to be in Vietnam that blatantly aren't. The effects aren't anything to rave about, but look quite good for the budget and such (especially the "Napalm Baby"). Also, the music by Rick Giovinazzo(the lead actor and director's brother) is composed of excruciatingly bad 80s synth. However, he's went on to compose and conduct music for several Hollywood films and such.

The biggest flaw of the film, in my opinion, is the lag of the middle portion of the film. The subplot about Frankie's junkie best friend goes on way too long, as well as the scene where Frankie visits the unemployment office, which goes on for at least 10 minutes. I think everyone watching this film knows what it's like to stand in a line for a long period of time. It's not enjoyable and we don't want to see it replicated on film. However, as mentioned before, the awe-inspiring ending definately makes up for this.

Not exactly a Troma film in the usual sense, but most definately an entertaining shocker, Combat Shock is very highly recommended.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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