In Case You Missed It: ‘Shock Waves’

What better combination is there for a horror movie than Nazi zombies? Flesh eating minions of der fuhrer? Now that sounds like a recipe for some gory fun. There are some out there who are making the claim that the new film ‘Dead Snow’ is an original idea. Fun as it might be, it’s a long ways away from being a groundbreaking scenario.

1943’s ‘Revenge of the Zombies’ is the first known film to feature zombies created by the Third Reich.  Then you have 1981’s ‘Zombie Lake, ‘Puppet Master III’ in ’91, and the success of the ‘Castle Wolfenstein’ PC games that took the idea of Nazi’s creating zombies to the first-person shooter genre. Somewhere in the middle, though, is the Ken Wiederhorn-directed ‘Shock Waves.’  Released in 1977, it features not one, but two legends of classic, horror cinema.  Those would be Peter Cushing and John Carradine, the latter of which starred in the aforementioned ‘Revenge of the Zombies’ over 30 years prior.   Each actor worked on the film for four days, and each earned $5000 for their performances.

The film centers on a group of vacationers who hire a boat for some deep sea diving.  Being a cheap rental, the boat is run-down and its captain, played by Carradine, is not at all helpful.  After a sunken freighter rises in their path, which damages the hull, the vacationers must take refuge on a near island.  Living on this island is an SS Commander, played by Cushing.  At one time, the commander was in charge of creating a group of Nazi soldiers who were “neither dead or alive” and could survive underwater without breathing.  Needless to say, these zombie soldiers are still hanging around and they awaken, taking their time picking off the vacationers one by one.

To note, ‘Shock Waves’ is anything but a perfect film.  The acting is less than stellar.  Even Cushing and Carradine, who make up all of about 20 minutes of screen time between them, seem to be phoning this one in.  It is also a shame that the two actors never share the screen at any time during this film.  Some might be turned off by the film’s slow pace.  Just about every death scene is choreographed beyond belief, and, in that area, ‘Shock Waves’ doesn’t offer up many surprises.  Those death scenes are awfully welcome, too, as most of the human characters here grate on your nerves.  A lot of that has to do with the acting, but the characters are pretty poorly written, as well.

However, the film is loaded with haunting imagery, the foremost of which is the sight of a handful of the zombies arising up out of the waist-high waters of the ocean.   There were only eight actors playing the zombies, but Wiederhorn shoots them in such a way that it appears there are many more.   The Nazi zombies have a pretty effective look to them, too.  With the blond bowl cut, the pale and rotting skin, German uniforms, and mad scientist goggles, the zombies in ‘Shock Waves’ definitely share a look that has stood the test of time.  This is probably more the case with the zombies’ look than it is with the film as a whole.

For the rabid horror hounds out there, take note that ‘Shock Waves’ isn’t your typical, guts running across the floor zombie movie, either.  There is very little in the way of gore, in fact.  Wiederhorn, instead, relies on the mood and somewhat surreal atmosphere created by the island setting, the zombies, and the effectively eerie score by Richard Einhorn (‘Don’t Go in the House’ and ‘The Prowler’).   There isn’t a whole lot in the department of scares and tension in this film, either.   Most of the horror found in ‘Shock Waves’ stems from the atmosphere Wiederhorn creates, and, in that area, the film is a resounding success.

‘Shock Waves’ was released in the US on July 15th, 1977, the same day as another, horror movie that might terrify people away from the water, ‘Orca.’   The original negatives for the film mysteriously disappeared over 20 years ago, so, when it was time for the film to get a DVD release, Blue Underground used the print from Wiederhorn’s personal collection.   The DVD is available on Region 1 and includes an audio commentary from director Wiederhorn, still photographer Fred Olen Ray, and special makeup designer Alan Ormsby.   The DVD also includes the theatrical trailer, TV spots, radio spots, poster, still and production art galleries.