SHOCK TREATMENT (1973)
aka Traitement de choc
Article 2325 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-7-2007
Posting Date: 12-24-2007
Directed by Alain Jessua
Featuring Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, Robert Hirsch

A woman undergoes an innovative age rejuvenation treatment at a secluded clinic. However, she begins to wonder about the treatment that is used when she notices that the foreign workers have a high turnover rate and tend to fall from exhaustion from time to time. She stays to investigate…

There really isn’t a whole lot in the way of surprises in this French thriller; I could quickly list a couple of movies that if I were to mention them by name, you’d have a good idea of what is going on in this movie. It’s also a bit short on thrills; the movie takes a rather laid-back, deliberately paced approach to the story; the movie is nearly half over before you even begin hitting the plot points that hint that something is awry. As a result, though the movie isn’t really bad, I’d have to say it’s a bit on the dull side. Some people may have their attention hooked by the nude sequence on the beach, but that scene doesn’t advance the plot. For the record, the movie dips into both horror and science fiction in its final revelations, and my print was very well dubbed, so that helps matters. Nevertheless, this is a fairly minor genre film.