SHOCK WAVES (1977), aka DEATH CORPS

 

Director: Ken Wiederhorn

Writers: John Harrison, Ken Weiderhorn, Ken Pare (uncredited)

Producer: Reuben Trane

Cast: Brooke Adams, Luke Halpin, John Carradine, Peter Cushing, Fred Buch, Don Stout, D.J. Sidney, Jack Davidson, Clarence Thomas, Jay Maeder, Talmedge Scott, Preston White, Sammy Graham, Mike Kennedy, Reid Finger, Donahue Guillory, Gary Levinson, Robert Miller, Wayne Hood (uncredited) 

Four people vacationing on a rickety charter boat at sea encounter a strange disturbance in the sky and the water. Later that night, a derelict freighter strikes the boat. The next day the charter boat captain (John Carradine) has disappeared. The boat has run aground on a reef, so the first mate Keith (Luke Halpin) and the cook Dobbs (Don Stout) take their passengers ashore in the dinghy to a nearby island. Unfortunately, the strange disturbance of the day before has roused water-breathing zombies in Nazi uniforms from the ruins of their derelict World War II vessel. The undead soldiers head toward the island to stalk the castaways. 

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

Shock Waves is the simple story of a small cast of characters stuck in a remote place with a very strange threat to deal with. It relies on a sense of isolation and atmosphere to generate almost all of its interest. It does not rely on character arcs and back stories for any of its characters except for Peter Cushing’s island hermit. Aside from their personalities, we know almost nothing about any of the people in this story. The movie’s greatest assets are the isolated locations and the Nazi zombies. This minimalist approach provides much more of a you-are-there vibe than more costly and expansive films can usually achieve. 

There seems to be a real split of opinion about this film. There are those, like myself, that can appreciate its unique menace and atmosphere. Then there are those who think that everything about zombies requires lots of explicit gore, cannibalism, and a ton of kills. Does the world really need anymore Romero rip-offs? 

Director Ken Wiederhorn made his feature film debut with Shock Waves. It became a late '70s and early '80s television and videotape staple. Wiederhorn says that he has no great affinity for the horror genre, and that may explain why he created something unique with this film. It does not give you what you expect or comfort you with its characters. These characters are all in over their heads, and no one is going to suddenly become an improvisational warrior to save the day. 

Richard Einhorn provides the synthesized score that emphasizes the eerie isolation of the setting and the inhumanity of the Nazi zombies. He would go on to provide more horror film scores for Don’t Go in the House (1979), The Prowler (1981), Blood Rage (1983), Dead of Winter (1987) and compose again for director Wiederhorn on Eyes of a Stranger (1982), Dark Tower (1989), and A House in the Hills (1993). 

Alan Ormsby creates some fine make-up for his Nazi zombies. With their shriveled gray skin, peroxide blonde hair, black goggles, and SS uniforms, these aquatic beings are quite striking when marching underwater or rising from the sea. They are incapable of expressing any emotion except through physical violence. 

Brooke Adams, as Rose, has her first leading role in this film. Like everyone else in the cast, her character is not given any depth. She still manages some charm and provides the film’s best special effect in her yellow bikini. 

My favorite performance is by crusty, old John Carradine as the charter boat captain Ben Morris. He makes the most of his limited screen time by being cantankerous and funny as he berates his young first mate and brushes off the mounting concerns of his passengers early in the story. He also provides a nice shock a bit later. 

That other horror movie stalwart Peter Cushing is also memorable as the island hermit that provides some important exposition to the other characters and to the audience. Let’s get something straight right here and now: Exposition is not always a bad thing. When you have the one and only Peter Cushing to deliver it you can’t go wrong. 

Speaking of exposition, the opening narration to this film efficiently and compellingly establishes the modern mythology this story deals with. That documentary-style declaration of weird World War II history followed by the synthesized music stinger and the film title stamped with a swastika immediately hammers home a sense of dread. 

Shock Waves is another fine example of the minimalist approach to horror in the '70s that made that decade an era of unique and unpredictable independent fright films. Like Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), this film uses its location to isolate its characters and stresses how average and vulnerable all of those characters are. It quite honestly reflects how most of us would fare in such a situation. That may not be the only effective approach to horror, but it involves an audience that is not looking for the cinematic equivalent of a video game.