That was an excellent one.

Simply A Masterpiece

Boring

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

I AM SUCH A SUCKER FOR NAZI ZOMBIES. Don't ask me why, but my love was ignited when I first saw Dead Snow, and now Shock Waves has just sealed the deal (really, it's too bad I didn't see them in reverse order).A group of tourists are on a commercial boat and they start having some engine issues, naturally (because any time there is a boat in a horror movie expect some crap to go down). They see this eerie orange glow which perplexes everyone and sort of sets the mood, and soon its nighttime and they sideswipe an unknown object before spotting the apparent carcass of a huge vessel nearby. By morning they realize that not only is the captain missing but the boat is taking on water, so they escape via a dinghy to a nearby island where they find said captain… dead on the shore. They look around for help and find an old rundown hotel with a single reclusive resident (played by the awesome Peter Cushing). It turns out that the mysterious vessel they spotted had been previously sunk by Cushing, a retired SS Commander, because it contained The Death Corps, ultra-powerful aquatic soldiers that were meant to be a secret weapon for the Nazis during World War II but proved to be impossible to control. When Cushing realizes the soldiers are back, now zombified, he is convinced they are doomed… and he may be right.** SPOILERS! **The story itself vaguely reminded me of "Dagon", a short story by H.P. Lovecraft — not in all aspects, of course, but the boat landing on shore, a monster that lives in the water, and the survivor going mad re-telling the story.It is not your typical zombie movie in many senses. I mean, not only are they NAZI ZOMBIES (yesss), but they operate almost exclusively in the water. It's not nearly as gory as one might expect (or want) a zombie movie to be, but, honestly, I didn't mind that. It was just quirky and weird enough for me to not expect it to adhere to normal zombie standards. They also have a cool look to them — still the white, dead looking zombies that you expect, but with more water-logged goodness!There's a few particularly badass scenes. The glass bottom dinghy gliding over the dead body of the captain, for one. The first few scenes of the zombie soldiers emerging from the ship and walking, fully clothed, underwater… so freaking cool. Just this slow motion dread. The side shot of the zombies rising up out of the water… unnggghhh so good.The score — done by Richard Einhorn in his feature film debut — was pretty awesome as well.Overall, not the strongest plot in the world and the movie generally lacks a good deal of action (or strong character development), but it has this air of dread to it that I enjoyed — and, again, with waterlogged Nazi zombies, how can you really go wrong?

Ridiculously, SW starts with a spoiler. Brooke is the only survivor. That already makes the movie less interesting to watch – as if SW had excitement to spare. It doesn't.The movie's saving grace is that it was made in the 70s, hence has that non-reproducible mood, feel, and look. Look? Yes, 70s and 80s horror films had actual COLOUR, unlike this new spate of modern films with their computer-generated plastic looks. Otherwise, SW moves too slowly. The isolated island setting is quite nice though.The overly blond Nazis look ridiculous. Anybody who's actually been to Germany knows that at least half of the population are dark-haired, so for the movie-makers to actually paint the actors' hair mega-blond WHITE was a tad ridiculous. They're Nazis, we get it! They wear swastikas, they're evil, and they don't show emotions. Very few of Hitler's top Nazi chums were blond.The acting ranges from I'll-give-it-a-shot to nah-I-don't-feel-like-acting-today. Some of the cast look as if they might doze off at any moment. The only thing that possibly prevents them from yawning are the action scenes in which they are forced to run a lot. Peter Cushing's accent meanders; is he a German Nazi or a British traitor? He must have been so bored he couldn't even bother to stay in character.Brooke Adams is nice to look at. But I don't quite understand what that final "plot-twist" (?) was all about. Her hand-writing looks bizarre; yeah, so what? She's suffered major shock. I.e. SHOCK WAVES. Is the best way to convey this by making her write huge, illegible letters?

Shock waves was one of those movies in the mid eighties I picked up and just said wow, it so creepy. Later on I managed to find it on vipco. Although the vipco is a good print I wanted some more from DVD. So finally i got a copy of blue underground.Shock Waves. It stars Peter Cushing and John Carradine with the extremely yummy Brooke Adams from The Dead Zone.Plot. A motor boat cruiser is taking some holiday makers round the islands. In a similar way to the later filmed zombie flesh eaters. There is an underwater event and a ghost ship rises from the depths of the ocean. It hits their boat and they have to go ashore. Later they find that the ghost ship was inhabited by .... Nazi zombies... who come ashore for blood bones and sinews...Analysis. With a plot like the above this movie could have gone anywhere but being the classic movie it is. The director talks about wanting to put some comedy elements in it but the producer stopped him. Well done to the producer as this is a timeless classic. The make up is great with the zombies looking like true Aryans. Their bleach blond hair gives them a real sense of being left overs from the master race. The music sets the scene so well, and is probably the best thing that this movie has going for it. It is creepy and brooding. All the while it gives the impression of menace. The four main actors are superb. Luke Haplin who was the boy from Flipper shows that he has what it takes to be a major mainstream actor. Pity no one else thought this or he might have been the big star he deserved to be. Brooke Adams has long been a fave of mine from her role in David Cronenberg's Dead Zone. In this movie she shines so much. Another actress that I Carnot believe did not make the big time. John Carradine is a true gent and plays his cantankerous captain with a zeal that some of todays hero's should look at and emulate. Finally Peter Cushing in an American movie, who would have thought it possible. He is as always the elder statesman of horror and is brilliant. Summing up. This is one of my fave movies as it is scary and dark. It has zombies in it as well. Only a few people have managed both. 10/10The disc contains some extras. A commentary track which is pretty good but really needs someone to moderate it. I seem to like the movie more than they do and they made it. Also the is a short interview with Luke in it which is interesting. Then there are some trailers.

A group of passengers charter John Carradine's boat for a little pleasure cruise and find themselves on a mysterious island where an old SS Commander Peter Cushing is keeping an old experiment going from World War II. Back in the day when manpower was getting scarce the Nazis started creating zombies out of dead soldiers. A few even got into combat as legends tell. But it was too late and now Cushing sits out on Caribbean island waiting the day when the Reich shall rise again.The only surprise here is that John Carradine is not the mad scientist, but merely an eccentric old sea salt. The whole thing is fun and quite campy. But in an unintentional way.