A Shock To The System is an early 1990s mix of largely reserved thriller and low-key dark comedy- featuring Micheal Cain, as an executive who can seemingly get away with murder. Here from UK’s 101 Films is a new Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a commentary track, and a few other things.

A Shock To The System is from the year 1990- it was directed by New York-born Jan Egleson.  He has six features and twenty TV credits to his name. His features take in low-budget drama regarding a convict trying to reconnect with his father Billy In The Lowlands (1979). Onto immigrant romantic drama The Blue Dinner (2001).

The film focuses on middle-aged executive Graham Marshall (Cain)- who works in a large New York firm, and voices over a fair bit of the film's runtime. He lives with his greedy & obnoxious wife Leslie (Swoosie Kurtz). When we first meet him, he’s hoping he’s going to lead his dept, but instead, the rather smug Pete (Graham Marshall) gets the job instead- so he’s lightly smouldering with rage. 

One night after work a homeless man falls on the tube tracks nearby him- he worries he was seen near the man, and that the law will come a-knocking- but nothing happens, and he feels little or no guilt. So, he decides this is the solution to his problems- setting up a series of accidents/ deadly set-ups.

Added in the mix we have the initially rather gullible thirtysomething Stella (Elizabeth McGovern) who Graham, butters up, beds & uses as an alibi. There’s also suspicious & balding long-hair cop Lt. Laker (Will Patton).

Acting-wise Cain is good- with some nice fiery sweary moments, as well as moments of panic when he thinks he’s going to be discovered. The rest of the cast is good enough. The blend of light thriller & subtle dark humour is done well enough, and you get generally wrapped up in whether Cain will get caught.

The film runs at a fairly standard one hour & twenty-seven minutes, there are a few pacing issues here & there- when we drop into rather dialogue-heavy blandness.  The concept/ idea behind the film is effective enough, though I did wish maybe the accidents occurred a bit more often. On the whole, A Shock To The System is a decent enough thriller/ dark comedy blend, and without Cain, it certainly wouldn't have been as engaging/ appealing.

Moving onto this new Blu-Ray. The scan looks nice & clean, though this being a 90’s film you wouldn't expect anything else. On the extras side, we have a few things- not sure if these are new or not- but I checked them out. First, we have a commentary track from Jan Egleson, and this is a good/ informative director's track. He begins by saying the film was a lot of film to make, though it had its challenges. He talks about how it was originally going to be a much darker affair, and how he had worked with many of the same crew he'd worked with before. He discusses the use of fluid camera work, and how they built the offices set to enhance this. He talks about how he watched businessmen films from between the 50’s & 70’s to inspire the tone of the film. He chats about how the film started off with lighter & airy tones/ feel, but these darken as the film goes on.  Later on, he touches on the notes of power & magic in the film. He talks about the plot key cigarette lighter, and much more. Otherwise, we get an on-film interview with the director (9.09), an alternative ending (5.47), and a trailer.

A Shock To The System will appeal to those who enjoy a blend of low thriller & dark comedy. It’s always nice to see reissues of Mr Cain films, and this is certainly a worthy addition to 90’s filmography.