Combat Shock 1986
Directed by
Buddy Giovinazzo
Made by
Troma Entertainment
Combat Shock Plot Summary
Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for Combat Shock (1986). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.
Frankie Dunlan, Frankie Dunlan, a Vietnam War veteran, runs alone through the jungle in a memory-drenched opening, and his narration reveals that he “goes back there every night.” He then wakes up in a rundown New York apartment, where he lies beside his wife Cathy Dunlan and their deformed infant son. The couple argue over Frankie’s unemployment and the baby’s health, with Frankie convinced the deformities stem from chemical weapons used during the war.
A junkie scores from the local kingpin, Paco. Frankie waits in line outside the unemployment office while the junkie frantically searches for a needle to shoot up. A random woman snatches the junkie’s gun and ammunition, stuffing them into her purse. The scene unfolds with Frankie killing time, even as he witnesses despair and theft collide with danger.
Frankie visits the unemployment office but finds no work, and his social worker urges him to return to school, noting he has been unemployed for four months. He calls his father for money, and learns that his father believes him dead—killed in Saigon. Frankie explains that he was reported killed 15 years ago, but he survived and spent three years in an army hospital. He tells his father that his wife is pregnant again and they’re facing eviction, while his father admits he is broke and near death.
Seemingly broken, Frankie encounters the woman who stole the junkie’s gun and forces a tense confrontation that ends with Paco and his thugs pursuing him. In the scramble, the gun falls from the purse, and Frankie shoots and kills Paco and the three men, an act he rationalizes as a desperate attempt to “save” his family.
A chilling voice-over then reveals a brutal truth: Frankie’s father was right about the war’s reach—he had died in Saigon, and the village his unit encountered had killed themselves to avoid rape and murder by soldiers. Realizing the horror of that memory, Frankie resolves that he must perform a grim salvation of his own, and he returns home with a cold, haunted resolve.
Back with Cathy, she is horrified by his scarred appearance and briefly tends to his wounds before he sinks into catatonia, staring at the TV. He reloads the gun and experiences a hallucinatory moment involving Cathy, which pushes him toward a horrific act: he murders Cathy and the baby. In a chilling finale, he places the baby’s body in the oven, pours himself a glass of spoiled milk, and then shoots himself in the head. The film ends with a train passing into the night, leaving the memory of war and a broken family to linger.
Combat Shock Timeline
Follow the complete movie timeline of Combat Shock (1986) with every major event in chronological order. Great for understanding complex plots and story progression.
Vietnam jungle memory
Frankie runs alone through the Vietnam jungle, and his voiceover reveals that he returns to this war-ravaged landscape every night. The scene establishes the trauma that haunts his present life. It foreshadows how past violence intrudes on his family.
Awakens in New York with family
He wakes in a rundown New York apartment beside his wife Cathy and their deformed infant son. The couple argues about unemployment and the baby’s health, and Frankie blames Agent Orange for the deformity. The moment blends memory with the hard reality of his domestic life.
Unemployment line and drug scene
Frankie waits in line outside the unemployment office as a junkie desperately searches for a needle. A random woman nearby steals the junkie’s gun and ammunition when opportunity presents itself. The encounter foreshadows the violence that will come later.
Unemployment office denial and advice
Inside the office, Frankie learns there is no work available. A social worker urges him to go back to school to gain marketable skills. He reveals he has been unemployed for four months.
Phone call to his father
He calls his father to ask for money, but is dismissed as a prank by a man who believes his son died in Saigon. Frankie explains the truth: he was reported dead 15 years ago, spent years in an army hospital, and his wife is pregnant again. The conversation underscores their financial and emotional estrangement.
Purse thief confrontation and chase
Seemingly broken, Frankie corners the woman who stole the junkie’s purse. Paco and his thugs chase him through the streets, turning the street into a pressure cooker of danger. The confrontation ends with Frankie taking back the purse and facing violence.
Gunfight with Paco’s men
Paco’s gang closes in and the gun falls from the bag during the beating, giving Frankie a chance to grab it. He opens fire and shoots all three attackers, killing them. The act marks a turning point as he asserts lethal control over his fate.
Saigon memory and the village
In a voice-over, Frankie explains his father was right: he had died in Saigon. His unit stumbled upon a village where everyone had killed themselves to avoid rape and murder by US soldiers. The memory intensifies his sense of doomed mission to 'save' his family.
Return and resolve to protect family
He decides that he must save his family and returns home. The decision marks a shift from victim to attempted savior, even as the world around him remains broken. The film pivots toward a final act of violence.
Catatonia and hallucinatory TV
Frankie becomes catatonic, staring at the TV as hallucinations blur reality. The house feels unreal as memories flood back and threaten to overwhelm him. The domestic scene becomes a psychological trap.
Murder of Cathy and the baby
Recoiling from a Cathy hallucination, he reloads the gun and murders Cathy and the infant. The act mirrors his earlier obsession with 'saving' the family from harm through drastic action. The violence resolves his inner turmoil in the most tragic way.
Oven scene and suicide
He places the baby's corpse in the oven, pours spoiled milk, and shoots himself in the head. The killing and self-destruction finalize his descent into irreversible tragedy. The room closes in as the story ends.
Ending image
A train passes by as darkness falls, leaving the outcome of Frankie’s story ambiguously unresolved. The film ends on a bleak, moving note that echoes the character’s perpetual return to trauma. The closing image feels like a cycle without a clear resolution.
Combat Shock Characters
Explore all characters from Combat Shock (1986). Get detailed profiles with their roles, arcs, and key relationships explained.
Frankie Dunlan (Rick Giovinazzo)
Frankie is a Vietnam veteran living in a deteriorating New York apartment, whose war memories repeatedly collide with his attempt to provide for his family. His trauma manifests as flashbacks and volatile impulses that push him toward violence. He fixates on the infant’s deformities as a sign of the war’s lasting damage, driving morally fraught decisions. His downward spiral anchors the film’s tragedy.
Cathy Dunlan (Veronica Stork)
Cathy is Frankie's wife, pregnant and anxious about money, housing, and their fragile future. She endures Frankie’s deteriorating condition with fear and fatigue, highlighting how trauma affects family life. The couple's arguments reveal their fragile hopes amid mounting poverty. Her fear becomes a mirror of the film's brutal consequences.
Paco (Mitch Maglio)
Paco is the kingpin who controls the urban underworld Frankie encounters; he and his thugs brutalize Frankie, driving the violent confrontation. The power dynamic shows how crime and addiction networks entrap vulnerable individuals. His violence catalyzes the film’s turning point, culminating in a deadly shootout.
Terry (Eddie Pepitone)
Terry is a strung-out junkie who embodies the street-level desperation fueling the crime economy. He claws for a fix in a system that offers little help, illustrating the social decay of the era. His presence underscores how addiction and poverty drive the actions of those on the fringes.
Social Worker (Buddy Giovinazzo)
The social worker represents bureaucratic coldness that offers little real help to Frankie, reflecting the gap between welfare rhetoric and lived hardship. His interactions highlight the mismatch between systemic solutions and immediate family needs. This character grounds the film’s critique of social safety nets.
Frankie's Father (Leo Lunney)
Frankie’s Father is a hardened elder who doubts his son’s survival and resists pulling him out of danger. His skepticism reflects the weight of poverty and the toll of family strain across generations. He embodies a pragmatic counterpoint to the family’s fragile hopes.
Doctor (Martin Blank)
The Doctor treats wounded soldiers and civilians, a symbol of the overwhelmed medical system. He can validate injuries but cannot fully alleviate the family’s mounting misery. His presence underscores the limits of care within a war-torn urban environment.
Combat Shock Settings
Learn where and when Combat Shock (1986) takes place. Explore the film’s settings, era, and how they shape the narrative.
Time period
Late 1960s–1980s
The narrative shifts from the Vietnam War era in the late 1960s to the 1980s urban American landscape. It depicts the immediate aftermath of combat on a veteran’s return, including unemployment, poverty, and social hardship. The film traces how trauma from the war bleeds into civilian life across years.
Location
Vietnam War jungle, New York City
The story moves between the humid jungles of Vietnam and a cramped, deteriorating New York City apartment. The jungle sequences establish the brutal backdrop of combat that haunts Frankie. In New York, unemployment lines, street violence, and a collapsing family unit frame the veteran’s struggle.
Combat Shock Themes
Discover the main themes in Combat Shock (1986). Analyze the deeper meanings, emotional layers, and social commentary behind the film.
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Trauma
Frankie’s experience as a Vietnam veteran drives the core narrative. His memories erupt as vivid flashbacks and paranoia that spike into violence. The deformities of his infant son and his belief about Agent Orange anchor his fear that war has permanently damaged his life. The film shows how trauma shadows every decision and distorts reality.
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Poverty
Poverty threads through Frankie’s life as he scrambles for work, welfare, and scraps of cash in a crumbling city. The underworld economy and a junkie market push characters toward desperate acts. The grim urban environment magnifies the stakes, underscoring social neglect. The story uses stark realism to question whether survival justifies moral compromise.
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Desperation
Desperation drives Frankie to attempt to ‘save’ his family through extreme means, mirroring the violence he witnessed abroad. The line between protector and aggressor blurs as his actions spiral toward catastrophe. The film ends in a brutal reversal where salvation appears as destruction. This arc exposes the moral ambiguity born from war’s long shadows.
Combat Shock Spoiler-Free Summary
Discover the spoiler-free summary of Combat Shock (1986). Get a concise overview without any spoilers.
In the gritty shadows of a city that never sleeps, a Vietnam‑war veteran walks the line between memory and reality, his past a relentless echo that follows him into every cramped hallway and rain‑slick street. Fifteen years after the jungle was replaced by concrete, he carries the invisible scars of combat, exposure, and the slow, grinding wear of an urban landscape that seems intent on erasing any trace of peace.
Frankie Dunlan lives in a rundown apartment with his wife Cathy and their infant, whose fragile health fuels a growing suspicion that the chemical weapons of war have left a deeper, more insidious mark. Their home is a fragile sanctuary, yet even its walls reverberate with the strain of unemployment, mounting bills, and the unspoken fear that the world outside will swallow their dwindling hopes. The couple’s conversations hover between love and desperation, hinting at a bond strained by forces both seen and unseen.
The city itself feels like an extension of his trauma: bustling yet indifferent, its streets populated by strangers caught in their own cycles of addiction, poverty, and fleeting survival. Bureaucratic offices, crowded shelters, and the ever‑present hum of traffic form a backdrop that mirrors his internal chaos, offering little respite from the relentless pressure to “move on.” Every interaction feels like a test of whether he can keep his memories buried or if they will surface, pulling him back into the darkness he tries to outrun.
Against this bleak tableau, the veteran’s determination to protect his family becomes a quiet, desperate engine driving every choice. The film lingers on the tension between the haunting past and a present that refuses to be tamed, inviting viewers to wonder how far a man will go when the line between survival and surrender blurs into the night.
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