Customer Reviews

Shock Waves

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First, let me say that I like the 1975 horror flick "Shock Waves." Secondly, it must be the only film in history that has Peter Cushing, John Carradine, Brooke Adams AND scuba Nazis. After years of struggling to find this little known creepfest on video, I am pleased to see it has finally been released on DVD.

What I noticed after watching this film again recently (...), was how reliant "Shock Waves" was on mood and atmosphere to create its horror. Director Ken Wiederhorn has draped his film with creepy images of gothic mansions and decaying laboratories and, of course, hungover android Nazis standing on the ocean horizon, ready to destroy every living thing within sight.

Unlucky travelers, among them Brooke Adams and Fred Buch (?!), are in the wrong place at the wrong time when they are stranded on an island whose only inhabitant seems to be Peter Cushing in an old dark house. Van Helsing he's not. In fact, Ol' Pete's a former SS scientist who created a race of underwater-breathing Nazi androids for use as WW II submarine commanders. Naturally, these Aryan zombies are accidently released into what is already is very weird environment. Complete with tattered SS uniforms, black jack boots and dark sunglasses, these...scuba soldiers proceed to crush every thing in their path, including one especially artificial-looking shark.

But the mood is the key, and this flick thrives on a foreboding, ominous tone. In "Shock Waves," the trees are covered with hanging moss (this film must take place off the coast of the southern United States), walls are streaked with mold and cobwebs, the wind is constantly blowing, odd noises can be heard in the darkness, and then you have a manic John Carradine spouting gibberish as if he were still acting out the opening scene in "The Grapes of Wrath."

When watching "Shock Waves" today, I am reminded of many of those terrible Italian zombie films from the same period, in which unlucky travelers are stranded on an island and soon become the appetizers of the hungry undead. This film, thankfully, is not as graphically violent as those repulsive extravaganzas. In fact, "Shock Waves" relies far more on suspense and mood than violence.

If ever a film was deserving of cult status, the unique and utterly bizarre "Shock Waves" certainly is. For those not yet acquainted with its eerie allure, this Nazi-zombie-shocker will be a pleasant surprise.

Saw the trailer for this as a sophomore in high school, circa 1977. The second I saw the begoggled undead shock troops emerge from the ocean I was hooked - SHOCK WAVES has gone on to be my favorite low-budget film of all time, and I've seen a-plenty. No cannibalism here, no gore, no entrails - just bizarre, creepy atmosphere to burn and the claustrophic paranoia that is at the very heart of this classic Florida-shot mood piece. And if that ain't enough, you also have John Carradine, Peter Cushing, Luke Halpin (all grown up from his "Flipper" days) and the excellent Brooke Adams, who wears a bathing suit better than anyone since Julie Adams (no relation as far as I know) in CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Blue Underground has done an excellent job with this package. In addition to enlightening, entertaining commentary from director/co-writer Ken Wiederhorn, filmmaker/photographer Fred Olen Ray and make-up designer Alan Ormsby, there is a wealth of advert media: original trailer, a Luke Halpin interview, TV and radio spots and a gallery of stills and newspaper ads for double feature and drive-in showings. To have this in your library is to have a bona-fide minimalist cult classic. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!

On a desolate, nondescript Caribbean island, shipwreck survivors are surprised to discover that an eccentric old German doctor resides there in an abandoned and dilapidated hotel. They soon learn, however, that the old Teutonic medical man is more that just eccentric; he's a former S.S. officer who has continued with the experiments assigned to him by Der Führer. And it isn't long before the castaways find themselves battling for survival against a corps of amphibious Nazi zombies!

This off-the-wall, low-budget horror film is just as goofy as it sounds, but it's still pretty good fun. And believe it or not, it actually spawned a bizarre sub-genre of Nazi zombie films that includes 1981's THE LAKE OF THE LIVING DEAD (a.k.a. ZOMBIE LAKE), 1981's NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES, and 1983's THE OASIS OF THE LIVING DEAD (a.k.a. BLOODSUCKING NAZI ZOMBIES), to name just a few. None of its cinematic offspring quite reach the guilty-pleasure or cult status of SHOCK WAVES, though.

British horror icon Peter Cushing portrays the former S.S. officer, his interpretation somewhat reminiscent of his turns as Dr. Frankenstein in the films that came out of England's Hammer Studios in the 1960s and early 1970s. Actor John Carradine, a familiar face in American horror from the 1930s through the 1980s, appears in the minor role of the captain of the shipwrecked vessel. Carradine's character dies early in the film, however, so the two great horror veterans never get to share any screen time. A very unfortunate missed opportunity, as such a pairing certainly could've pushed SHOCK WAVES just a smidgen closer to notability.

Actress Brooke Adams has a prominent role as one of the shipwreck survivors. (Indeed, the story actually unfolds like a sort of flashback as her character thinks back to the experience.) Genre fans will recognize her from such films as the 1978 remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, the 1983 film version of Stephen King's THE DEAD ZONE, a cameo in Larry Cohen's 1985 horror satire THE STUFF, and many others.

The edition of SHOCK WAVES on DVD from the folks at Blue Underground is pretty good. Considering that the film was shot on 16mm and blown up to 35mm, and taking into account the fact that the disc was digitized from the director's personal copy of the film (the only complete version known to exist, according to the DVD jacket notes), this transfer--in anamorphic widescreen at the film's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1--looks quite good. In fact, when compared to the crappy video versions previously available, it's easy to forgive the minor filmic artifacts and the sometimes soft details.

And the DVD has some great bonus material, too. The best is the feature commentary with director Ken Wiederhorn, make-up man Alan Ormsby, and filmmaker Fred Olen Ray. The trio are delightfully glib and candid, offering lots of humorous and informative anecdotes regarding their experiences in making low-budget horror. There's an interview with star Luke Halpin, who offers some info about his costars and some of his memories about making the film, and there are also a few radio spots, a television spot, and the film's theatrical trailer.

As far as films go, SHOCK WAVES is not the best that Blue Underground has to offer, but it's nonetheless one of those fun guilty pleasures that fans of schlocky low-budget horror will want to add to their DVD collections.

One of the most impressive things about this little shocker is how it makes its point without resorting to slashing, gore, blood or similar affects.

This little movie, from 1975, is up there with "Squirm" and "The Ring" as creepy films that will keep you on edge throughout. This was one of Peter Cushing's final films and the film debut of young Brooke Adams, who really looks good in opening scenes swimming in a yellow bikini.

The drama revolves around a bunch of witless "Gilligan's Island" types whose tour boat first conks out, then runs aground. The captain is the first to be killed mysteriously. The crew and passengers trek to a nearby island, where Cushing discloses the existence of Nazi underwater shock troopers leftover from World War II.

These guys arrive on a ship that doesn't really exist. You can probably figure out what they do afterward although the way they do it may surprise you.

This film has a very effective "music" score that aids the action and plot. Using electronic devices popular in the 1970s and later used to strong effect in John Carpenter movies, this film moves along slowly but effectively with the musical sequences helping unleash the action to come.

This was an unusual low budget flick in that it featured two aged stars (Cushing and John Carradine) and no other male leads of note. Adams was anything but a household name when this film was released, although she went onto a nice career in the movies.

I can't agree with those that equate this film with gory opuses such as "Dawn of the Dead". This movie reiles on the intensity of its musical descriptions to build anticipation of things to come that results in high suspense. It is similar to the quality that made "Blair Witch Project" such a success at the theaters.

This is what makes this movie worth watching almost three decades later, while the actors are dated by the long hair and odd attire prevalent in the era of Disco. It is the classic virtues of terror, anticipation and psychology that make this little movie memorable.

this is one of my better loved horror movies from my youth. this tale of gene splised nazis who can live underwater or on land is good creepy fun and it doesn't gross you out like so of todays zombie movies do.
a group of tourist are traveling in the carabbian sea with captain john carradine(big mistake!!!!) and his first mate when one night the run into a ship that is stuck under the water. in the daylight they find the captain gone and set off toward and island very close by to look for him. there the meet a mad nazi doctor (cushing,with lighting bolt scar down his cheek!!!) who becomes very upset when he hears their story about the ship. he relates to them how during the war he helped invent a squad of underwater nazis to fight for the german army and as the war ended he took the soldiers and ran to this island and sank the boat and the zombies in hope they would stay there forever. no such luck and one by one the people are picked off by these creepy zombies.
as a kid this scared me to death and now i still feel a little chill when i see the zombies pop up. give this movie atry and i think you will love it.

The 70's was the breeding ground for great horror films. The mainstream audiance was being treated to a slur of religious themed horror films (Exorcist, its sequel, The Omen, Beyond The Door) etc, and there was a big underground scene going on. In 1977, this indie shocker crept to theatres and made a small impact. But it's reputation since then has grown and it has been dubbed a classic, rightfully so. Of course there are many clones, the most obvious being the truely horrible Zombie Lake. But this movie, utilizing the underwater nazi zombie idea is very well crafted and lives up to its title. Although some might find it slow and lacking by modern standards, for those who like horror from the era when real horrror was being done, this one is a near essential. Staring an unknown Brooke Adams, and horror legends John Carradine and Peter Cushing, the low budget on this flick is apparent. Like Halloween a year after it, the writers wisely cast one (or 2) highly famaliar face to reel in their target crowd. Although they play the same usual "warning theres something bad going on here" character they've both always played, they do it with the bravado you'd expect of both the veterans. Some island tourists aboard a boat captaine'd by Caradine has some kind of equipment problems, loses its way, and gets sideswiped by a large unknown ship. They take refuge on a nearby island and not to give too much away, Cushing living there in isolation, is the former head of a core of superhuman killers (not dead nor alive but somewhere in between) that have just so happen to be rising from their watery grave on this day. Of course, on paper this sounds cheesy, however director Ken Wiederhorn really treats this flick as if it were the kind of late 60s Hammer film Cushing himself comes from. It's extremely eerie indeed. The music by Richard Einhorn is what really fills this movie with great tension and a very chilling atmosphere. Of course the shots of the monsters rising from the sea are the trademark image of the movie, this is one of the best horror films of it's decade, at least in the top 30. One thing that might irritate some waters is the lack of gore or any real violence, although others might find this a good thing. That doesn't mean this a kid movie, it's mood more than makes up for the lack of blood, and the raw low budget look will turn off anyone from the younger generation that is used to the typical Hollywood 10 million dollar slasher remake crap. This is a classic yet underlooked horror nugget.

It can be a tricky business to revisit the favorite scary films from one's youth. Grounded in nostalgia, they can be inexorably tied to memories of going to see the movie with a group of friends, plunking down your allowance money, and afterwards having each friend reenact their favorite terrifying scene for the entertainment of the others. To see these films again can sometimes spoil a fond memory when the film just doesn't hold up. Happily, I did not have that experience with "Shock Waves," the 1977 cult zombie flick directed by Ken Wiederhorn.

After a brief opening scene which provides a big clue (and a spoiler) as to what the final zombies versus people outcome will be (as the story is told in an extended flashback), the movie begins aboard a small, privately-chartered boat. Freak weather conditions, instrument failure and a nighttime close encounter with the wreckage of a derelict vessel combine to run the little boat into the reef just off a tropical island. The crew consists of a congenitally crabby and sarcastic captain (John Carradine), his novice first mate (Luke Halpin) and a disheveled cook. The tiny passenger list is composed of an annoying used car salesman, his slightly less annoying wife, an aging beach boy type and an ingenue (Brooke Adams). Although the characters are fairly stock, they are fleshed out by the better-than-average talent of the actors involved. (As the group starts to unravel further into the picture, splintering off to become zombie fodder, you find yourself actually caring about the fate of several of the characters, which is not always the case in movies of this fare.)

Sometime during the night the captain goes missing and, as their boat is taking on water, the crew and passengers disembark. The island is anything but a tropical paradise - rather, a tangled jungle of inhospitable vegetation, mangroves, swampy water and rocky coastline. Discovering the captain's unfortunate body, the parties set out to explore, hoping to find an alternate way off the island and soon discover a dilapidated hotel.

The sole resident of the hotel is a former S.S. Commander (Peter Cushing) who relates that he was involved in an experiment to reanimate the bodies of dead soldiers at the end of World War II. This movie has built-in horrific villains: Soldiers culled from the most depraved and murderous ranks of the S.S. and Wehrmacht. Designed to be super soldiers, they killed indiscriminately, including the soldiers on their own side. When the project was scrapped, Cushing took a ship with the remaining soldiers of the Death Corps and sank it just off the coast. It turns out that it is this very ship which has resurfaced, crashing into the pleasure boat, and reawakening its long-dormant cargo. The filmmakers rely heavily on Hitler's well known and barking mad interest in the occult to give the story plausibility.

These zombies vary from the shambling, disoriented undead of the wonderful Romero movies or the frenzied, berserk plague victims of "28 Days Later." These are soldiers who move with purpose, in close military formation. Their eyes hidden behind goggles, expressionless, they nevertheless appear to be assessing the situation. They move with wordless uniform precision, disappearing silently beneath the water's surface or into the tree line, only to reappear again at a more strategic and opportune moment. Indifferent to whether or not they are seen, these soldiers are in no hurry to take down their prey. Neither better nor worse, these zombies are simply different and, in my opinion, uber creepy. A remarkably eerie electronic score by Richard Einhorn serves as a sinister underpinning for the film.

The extras include a lively commentary track with the director and co-writer (Ken Wiederhorn), the makeup designer (Alan Ormsby) and the still photographer (and future filmmaker) (Fred Olen Ray), which I highly recommend. This is a good natured and entertaining discussion, full of colorful gossip about working with Cushing and Carradine, and the technical and physical hardships of the shoot. These men obviously like each other and have a great affection for their movie. The filmmakers also cleared up a couple of questions for me, including a very odd scene between Halpin and Cushing. Upon meeting, Cushing appears to turn to Halpin and spit at him for no apparent reason. (It turns out that this impression comes from the way the camera was angled and Cushing was simply acknowledging Halpin politely with a clipped, military-style bow of his head.) I was relieved that I hadn't imagined it or, worse still, projected bizarre and socially inappropriate behavior onto Cushing's character.

My recommendation is that you first watch the movie, and then watch the movie with the commentary track turned on. You will find a real appreciation for these then fledgling filmmakers who managed to make a dime look like a dollar.

Even though the print has been restored, it is important to keep in mind that this is a low budget movie made in the 70's. The film stock looks a bit degraded, giving it a slightly fuzzy quality. There are some problems with the audio - many of the scenes containing dialogue have a hollow, tinny quality to them. It won't pop you out of the movie, but you are aware of them. Apparent budgetary constraints did not allow for smooth transitional shots or clear segues, and there is a great deal of scene hopping (now they are at the hotel, now suddenly they are in the jungle), but the story is nevertheless coherent and easy to follow. Although there is a fair amount of violence, there is virtually no blood or carnage. If you are willing to adjust your expectations accordingly, I am sure you will enjoy this moody and atmospheric low-budget shocker classic.

Other extras on the DVD include a theatrical trailer, chapter selection, a brief contemporary interview with Luke Halpin, a photo and poster gallery, and various television and radio promotional spots.

A neat movie, with great scenic locations. The android-genetic humans makeup are outstanding considering this was a low budget film, yet with great acting and direction that has made this film a cult classic in its genre.

As for this DVD edition the picture quality is pretty good. The interview with Luke Halpin (Also known as Sandy Ricks in 1960's `Flipper') is superb. It was great to see him how he looks today and talks about the actors in `Shock Waves' especially Peter Cushing. (Incidentally it would be great if the entire TV Flipper could be release on DVD!!)

Here in the UK `Shock Waves' was already officially release on DVD a couple of years ago where the source use were direct from old film prints giving a slight grainy look yet sharp DVD quality as expected on DVD releases. Where on this US version it is from the Director's prints and digitally restored in places to show less grain and is cut down to size from the original full screen (4.3) to 16.9 to give a widescreen effect as it probably was shown in certain US cinemas. Apparently `Shock Waves' was originally a TV movie and was filmed in 4.3 and NOT widescreen. The UK DVD Version is the original 4.3. When I compared it to this recent US Version it was trimmed top and bottom missing part of the film to give it's widescreen effect. Nether the less still an enjoyable watchable DVD!

The other extras features an enjoyable audio commentary and an extensive photo gallery displaying various posters from around the world, cast and crew plus behind the scenes `rare' photos. Also included are Theatrical trailers presumably used for cinema purposes.

A great buy. And sure to please viewers/fans who been waiting for this DVD release!

I can't argue with some of the critical reviews, from slow pacing to misuse of Peter Cushing, to laughably ineffective Nazi scuba zombies.

That said, what can I say -- I really enjoyed this movie.

First off, you have a great premise, great location (the film was shot in Miami and features many scenes in the then-shuttered historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables), and the beautiful Brooke Adams in a bikini.

Add Peter Cushing, a wry John Carradine, creepy soundtrack and atmospheric directing, and you have a pulpy, fun B-movie zombie fest.

I fully understand why this film was a midnight movie staple at the Grove cinema back in the day.

I also enjoyed the extras, including interviews and old Miami Herald press clippings from when they filmed this in South Florida back in 1975.

The Death Corps. are storm troopers killed in action during World War II and part of a Nazi supernatural experiment to create the indestructible soldier out of the most evil men they could find.Using their bodies making them into zombie soldiers.30 years later and a small ship carring a group of vacationers and a 3 man crew have awaken these Nazi zombies.Peter Cushing once commandered these troops,saying they were not able to control the squad,being that they were unpredictable and eratic in nature killing soldiers on their own side.Cushing is the soul occupant on an island they have become shipwrecked on.You can pretty much take it from there.Great soundtrack.Totally creepy atmosphere.Not a lot of blood and gore as this movie doesn't really need these elements to help make this little gem a great horror movie.If you like Peter Cushing ,pick this up.You will thank me for it.The one zombie nazi movie that really counts.Stay away from "Zombie Lake" and "Oasis of Zombies".These two turds came out in 1980 and 1981."Shock Waves" is the one to have in your collection.

P.S. I do own 'Zombie Lake' and 'Oasis of Zombies',but do not recommend them(cuz the're so BAD)unless you are a total nazi zombie junkie like me,if so while your at it pick up 'Dead Snow'