Shock to the System *** (2006, Chad Allen, Sebastian Spence, Michael Woods) – Classic Movie Review 12,824

Shock to the System (2006, Chad Allen).

The 2006 mystery film Shock to the System is the very welcome second film adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel starring Chad Allen as gay private detective Donald Strachey, who tries to solve the murder of a college student.

America’s favourite gay private eye is back. And he is America’s first gay private eye too, apparently. The 2006 gay-themed mystery film Shock to the System is the very welcome second film adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel featuring fictional detective Donald Strachey. The film premiered at the 2006 Outfest film festival before going into rotation on the Here! TV network.

Chad Allen again stars as private detective Donald Strachey, who meets his new client and is given a check for $5000 to find someone, but then the client disappears and soon is found dead. The trail leads to a sinister therapy group for gay people who want to become straight. Strachey infiltrates the group and takes on its founder, Dr Trevor Cornell (Michael Woods), to prove that his client’s death was not a suicide.

Strong pro-gay material with some quite challenging ideas mixes with fairly standard neo-noir detective thriller material to considerable success and satisfaction. Standard and familiar it may be, but it’s a good mystery, with a useful array of dodgy suspects so the villain isn’t at all obvious, and there’s plenty of food for thought as it goes along. Chad Allen is perhaps an unlikely private detective but he makes it work. Nothing says this character has to be appealing, just tough. Unusually, though, for a PI, Strachey doesn’t have a cynical bone in his body, and he’s in a loving, harmonious, monogamous relationship.

Sebastian Spence oozes strength and sincerity as Strachey’s lover/ life partner Timmy Callahan. Michael Woods makes a persuasively sweaty villain, Dr Trevor Cornell, and Morgan Fairchild is a strong asset as femme fatale Phyllis Hale. Daryl Shuttleworth and Nelson Wong return as useful series regulars Detective ‘Bub’ Bailey and Kenny Kwon.

Visually there’s a goodish attempt to make it look noir. It looks pretty neat most of the time. There are a few retro hints. Aren’t they Maltese Falcons we can see? And plot point too!

The film continues the subplot that explores Strachey’s past in the armed services, started in the first film adaptation Third Man Out. On the Other Hand, Death (2008) is the third released film adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel featuring fictional detective Donald Strachey. Ice Blues (2008) is actually the third adaptation of a Richard Stevenson novel, though it was the fourth released.

Richard Stevenson [Richard Stevenson Lipez] (November 30, 1938 – March 16, 2022) was an American journalist and mystery author, best known for his Donald Strachey mysteries. They are Death Trick (1981), On the Other Hand, Death (1984), Ice Blues (1986), Third Man Out (1992), Shock to the System (1995), Chain of Fools (1996), Strachey’s Folly (1998), Tongue Tied (2003), Death Vows (2008), The 38 Million Dollar Smile (2009), Cockeyed (2010), Red White Black and Blue (2011), The Last Thing I Saw (2012), Why Stop at Vengeance (2015), WWW.Dropdead (2016), and Killer Reunion (2019).

Lipez was openly gay and married Joe Wheaton in 2004.

In April 2015, Chad Allen confirmed in a YouTube video that he had quit his acting career to become a clinical psychologist. Allen noted that Strachey is the first gay character he played outside the theatre.

The cast are Chad Allen as Donald Strachey, Sebastian Spence as Timmy Callahan, Michael Woods as Dr Trevor Cornell, Daryl Shuttleworth as Detective ‘Bub’ Bailey, Morgan Fairchild as Phyllis Hale, Anne Marie DeLuise as Lynn Cornell, Rikki Gagne as Katey Simmons, Stephen Huszar as Grey, Nelson Wong as Kenny Kwon, Ryan Kennedy as Walter, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman as Levon, and Shawn Roberts as Larry Phelps.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,824

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