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Shock WavesRating:
Release Date: 03 September, 2002 Retail Price: $24.99 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Complete Cast (10 total) |
Shock Waves Reviews
Highly Effective Low Budget Chiller With Great Atmosphere and Scary Zombie Characters
The 1977 horror effort "Shock Waves", has been a film I have long wanted to see. After my first screening of it I can say it most definately proves the adage that a film need not necessarily have a big budget to be highly effective in creating great atmosphere with heaps of tension and sheer horror. It's story should prove irresistable to any horror lover with the visual image of sinister waterlogged Nazi Zombies rising out of their watery graves to terrorise unsuspecting holiday makers trapped on an island with a scarred former SS commander almost a guarantee of a tension filled viewing experience. I most certainly found it that way and was really surprised by just how effective this little effort was in creating just the right eerie effect. Hopping on the undead zombie bandwagon "Shock Waves", actually manages to rise above many of the cliches of this genrre which was so popular in the 1970's. Aided as it is by some truly superb under water photography, a creepy musical score which is highly effective in creating the great sense of unease and a really interesting cast including legendary horror greats Peter Cushing and John Carradine, and former child star Luke Halpin, "Shock Waves", has all the right ingredients for a highly enjoyable and at times quite disturbing horror story.
A great cult classic
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 ingénue (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, über 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.
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