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The tourists Rose (Brooke Adams), Chuck (Fred Buch), Norman (Jack Davidson) and Beverly (D.J. Sidney) hire the boat of Captain Ben Morris (John Carradine) and his crew, the pilot Keith (Luke Halpin) and the cook Dobbs (Don Stout). While navigating during the night, Keith crashes on a ship and on the next morning they realize that the vessel is stranded and Ben is missing. They go to a nearby island on a small boat and they find Ben drowned. They find a derelict hotel and soon they find they are not alone. A weird man asks them to go away since they are in danger. Later he explains that he was a SS Commander (Peter Cushing) responsible for his powerful troop of zombie Nazis. Now they are returning and soon the group will die.

"Shock Waves" is a funny movie with aquatic zombies. The cast is great with John Carradine, Peter Cushing and Brooke Adams in the beginning of her career. However the story does not give much explanation why the zombies return to the island and how the group of tourist is fed while in the island. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Ondas do Horror" ("Waves of Dread")

A must see! Peter Cushing, Nazis, and Zombies...who could ask for more? Brooke Adams, shortly before dealing with an invasion of body snatchers in '78 got her start in this mind-bending tale of a group of Nazi zombies lurking off the coast of Florida...their leader is lunatic Peter Cushing. John Carridine and one-time FLIPPER star Luke Halpin are in it too. Cushing is fantastic and Adams is very appealing. A fun horror movie that benefits greatly from very stylish direction by Ken Wiederhorn. Wiederhorn makes the most out of an obviously small budget. Along with HALLOWEEN, this is one of the best horror movie released in the few years between JAWS and ALIEN, this would make a great double bill with HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP.

As a pre-production assistant and sound recordist on this film, I remember producer Reuben Trane and Director Ken Wiedernorn returning to the production office after taking co-star John Carradine from Miami's airport to his hotel.

Everyone on the crew was interested in how Carradine, in his late '70's and a movie icon if ever there was one, looked, acted, felt, etc. We were all keen to know if he seemed fit and ready for a role that required quite a bit of physical action, including moving as rapidly as possible from a small dinghy to a larger boat, while both were bobbing at sea.

Reuben and Ken came into the office looking morose as someone asked, "So, how IS he?" I don't remember which of them responded, but one of them said, "Let's put it this way, he has trouble walking on flat land with a cane!"

But, trooper that he was, Carradine did everything asked of him without complaint. He was also often "the life of the set", and in between takes or after a days' shooting, he would regale us all with wild tales of Hollywood and the stars and moguls he had known so well.

It's been about 25 years since I worked on "Shock Waves", but the memory of old man Carradine lives on vividly. He was a helluva guy.

To my knowledge, Shock Waves has the distinction of being the first bona fide Nazi Zombie movie (a couple of films dallied with the idea in the forties and fifties, but they don't really count). It's a concept that has proved rather popular with horror film-makers over the years, with titles like Zombie Lake, Oasis of the Zombies, Outpost, and Dead Snow amongst those that have appropriated the idea. But just because it was the first, doesn't make it any good.

The film's prologue recounts how the Nazis conducted bizarre experiments during WWII, exploring the supernatural in the pursuit of creating an invincible army of the undead. The film then cuts to the present as a catatonic woman, Rose (Brooke Adams), is rescued from a dinghy found adrift in the sea. The rest of the film is a flashback, in which we learn that Rose is the only survivor of a group shipwrecked on a remote island after their pleasure cruise collides with a freighter in the night. As if that wasn't bad enough, a strange solar phenomenon has awoken the long dormant Nazi zombies that lurk at the bottom of the sea.

The problem with Shock Waves is that it really doesn't do anything of interest with its promising premise, with a long, tedious build up to the arrival on the island, followed by lots of aimless and extremely boring meandering through swamps and undergrowth, and a succession of rather dull and completely bloodless deaths. Peter Cushing crops up as the German officer in charge of creating the 'Death Corps', but is given very little to do, and John Carradine plays the salty sea captain of the damaged boat, but even the presence of these two horror legends cannot save this one from being a total waste of time.

According to the DVD details, the original film print for "Shock Waves" mysteriously disappeared some twenty years before its 21st century re-release. The setting is the (then) present year of 1977, but we recall, "In the dark days of World War II, the Nazi High Command ordered its scientists to create a top secret race of indestructible zombie storm troopers - un-living, unfeeling, unstoppable monstrosities that killed with their bare hands. They were known as 'The Death Corps'. No member of this horrific SS unit was ever captured by the allied forces - and, somewhere off the coast of Florida, they have survived…"

Next, we meet pretty bikini-loving Brooke Adams (as Rose) in a dinghy, being rescued by fisherman Clarence Thomas (not the Supreme Court justice). Obviously, Ms. Adams has survived some tragedy, but breaks her seeming catatonic state to help narrate the story, in flashback. This is unfortunate, because we are given way too much information about a survivor; although you could guess the damsel stood a better than average chance, it kills the suspense by showing this before placing her in serious danger. Adams, the heroine of the story, has gone sailing with Fred Buch (as Chuck), and another couple...

But, the story's hero is handsome Luke Halpin (as Keith), who learned all about the waters off the coast of Florida in "Flipper" (1963-68). If you are worried about whether or not young "Sandy" retained his good looks into manhood, fret no further. Crusty ship Captain John Carradine (as Ben) comments on Mr. Halpin's attractiveness, inviting a shrug. Halpin, Mr. Carradine, and cook Don Stout (as Dobbs) are the boatmen. D.J. Sidney (as Beverly) and Jack Davidson (as Norman) are the other couple. They're seven stranded castaways getting ready to meet creepy Commander Peter Cushing, if they get to the island…

With lingering shots of fish looking bored at the camera, "Shock Waves" seems to waste a lot of time doing absolutely nothing. When the Nazi zombies make their move, they do so without much gore. But, this works in the film's favor. While you expect horror movies to smear the screen with blood and guts, it's nice when someone comes along to show that a different style still works. This is evident, especially, during the sequence when the Nazis rise from their swampy slumber. Credit director Ken Wiederhorn and his crew with something stylish and surprising. And, Richard Einhorn's music scores high marks.

******* Shock Waves (7/15/77) Ken Wiederhorn ~ Brooke Adams, Luke Halpin, Peter Cushing, John Carradine

It took me awhile to get around to seeing "Shock Waves." I have to say, I wasn't missing a whole lot. I saw "Zombie Lake" awhile back and while "Shock Waves," by conventional standards is clearly better than that, it was kind of dull.

I liked the whole plot: a group of vacationers break down in the Caribbean and find a deserted (mostly) island. Nazi-zombies rise out of the sea to kill. Nazi-zombies maul and munch and mutilate. Doesn't that sound great? Yea, not so much. They hardly maul and they do not eat their victims which really doesn't qualify them as zombies in my book. At least we don't get to see them eating anyone. They mostly just pull them down under water.

There is no gore in this flick. I don't even remember seeing any blood. The zombies are pretty well-done with good make-up and decent costumes. I liked how they kept popping up in any body of water on the island whether it be a tidal pool, a stream or right out of the sea. Those little buggers must have morphed into guppies when they weren't busy being the socialist undead...

The film does boast a creepy atmosphere and a decent soundtrack, but it wasn't quite enough to save it. Could have used a lot better zombie killings and several buckets of fake blood.

On the back of the DVD I got it refers to this as a "70's horror sleeper..." I think I know why. Yawn.

4 out of 10, kids.

Ken Wiederhorn, who went on to direct the dull EYES OF A STRANGER, hits celluloid paydirt with this thoughtful, creepy and lyrical horror flick.

Mostly a work of effective moments, its images of dead Nazi soldiers emerging from the sea and advancing towards a distant shoreline have never left me or lost their power to evoke a sense of horror.

The story is a simple one, as the best horror stories are. Members of The Death Corps, an SS unit never apprehended by Allied Forces, return to menace holidaymakers with a little help from a friend.

The moderate pacing works in favor of the off-kilter narrative and the numerous sequences in which the undead soldiers attack the living are swift and highly effective.

Peter Cushing turns in a small but sincere performance, as does genre stalwart John Carradine.

Score by Richard Einhorn is memorable.

SHOCK WAVES has nothing in common with recent Hollywood horror films, but it has plenty in common with mostly unseen (outside their country of origin) Japanese horror outings such as LIVING SKELETON.

In the 1970s and 80s, there were quite a few films like "Shock Waves"...films involving Nazi zombies or some other zombies living on some island and which harass a group of tourists. So, when I saw this film on YouTube I thought I'd seen it before...but hadn't. Instead, I saw a film a lot like it...and there's a good chance you have as well!

The picture begins with a short prologue about Nazi super soldiers who were developed by scientists near the end of the war. The credits roll and the story then begins. A young woman is found adrift in a dingy out in what you assume is the Caribbean. She's hysterical at first and when she composes herself, she thinks back to what she's been through...and this extended flashback makes up nearly all the film.

Some tourists are out on a really crappy boat run by a weird old captain (John Carradine). They run adrift on a reef and are stuck. The next day, the captain is missing and everyone else makes there way to shore...as there is an island nearby. But they also discover the captain's body on the way....and that's really not a good sign! They also discover that this abandoned island isn't so abandoned after all, an old German guy with a mega-cool scar on his face (Peter Cushing) is living in what looks like an abandoned mansion. He insists that their timing stinks and they must get off the island ASAP....and then they discover another dead member of their group! He then explains that a ship filled with zombie-Nazi warriors has somehow returned to the island and the soldiers are pretty much unstoppable...so they need to HURRY and leave!!

So is any of this nonsense any good? In other words, although the plot is silly, is it entertaining and well made? While the idea of the film is cool and the make-up and special effects are effective, the characters and what they do are, at times, incredibly stupid. The character 'Norman' is a good example. He's NOT like a real person at all and is simply an annoying clichéd caricature. There's also a super-dopey scene involving a sailboat that simply defies logic. How could these folks be THAT stupid?! It's hard to fathom and group of survivors being this intent on offing themselves!! And, this sort of stupidity keeps occurring...making them too dumb to live! This severely impacts the film....taking it from a neat idea that COULD have worked to yet another schlocky low budget horror film that you could easily skip.

For a film about Zombie Nazi soldiers who rise from the sea to murder a group of shipwrecked tourists, you would expect blood and guts. Well "Shock Waves" is relatively bloodless. and yet, it is an extremely good horror film! Heavy on the tension and atmosphere, this is a film, much like John Carpenter's "Halloween," that relies on mood and setting to captivate it's audience. the fact that this movie was made with a larger budget, and big name actors, helps "Shock Waves" to avoid being categorized as cheap exploitation. The cast is great, but of course the dead Nazis are the centerpiece of the production. The images of these blond SS soldiers walking out of the water are haunting and almost beautiful to behold. The fact that they don't have any reason to kill the hapless tourists makes them seem a bit more soulless than if they were killing them for "food." They don't eat their victims; they just kill them and leave them where they lie.

Featuring a wonderful, creepy electronic score and imaginative camera-work throughout, this is a must-see for fans of the genre. Of course those looking for a bloodbath will be disappointed. but those looking for some good, old fashioned horror should be pleasantly surprised with this gem. Recommended.

This is a great little film that combines two of the 70s most popular horror movie themes: monsters in the water and undead zombies. It also features the always-wonderful Brooke Adams (from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers") in a major role, not to mention both John Carradine and Peter Cushing.

A group of vacationers being taken on a cruise around some unspecified tropical islands experiences some trouble when a decades-old ship appears out of nowhere and rams their boat. The "ghost ship" is populated by undead SS soldiers who were created to survive both underwater and on land, and it goes without saying that they have no friendly intentions.

The new castaways take refuge on an island inhabited solely by Peter Cushing, a former Nazi commander who was in charge of the "Death Corps", and their host gives them a hasty explanation about what they're all up against.

The rest of the film is the tourists and sailors being stalked and offed by the zombies, who have really wrinkled skin and wear groovy goggles. Unlike the standard flesh-eating zombies of 70s horror, these undead guys don't wanna bite you, they just wanna hold you under the water until the bubbles stop. Genre fans hoping for some cannibalism or guts will be disappointed.

The visuals in the movie are sometimes striking. The underwater shots of the zombies are bizarre, as are the scenes of them rising up out of the ocean (or whatever body of water happens to be handy). Most of the action takes place on the island, which features a deserted resort that is pretty creepy in itself. A couple of the shots reminded me of "Carnival of Souls", with one or two scenes of undead faces looming just under the surface of the water.

The editing is a bit choppy and slightly incoherent. It seems like a few scenes establishing the characters were excised, as well as some other exposition such as the fate of the tourists's boat (what DID happen to it, after all?). The pacing is also not for all tastes, since this movie never builds into a all-out assault or anything, but it's an enjoyably creepy chiller in the classic 70s style. This is a prime candidate for DVD rediscovery. Watch it if you can find it.

This seems to be my day for giving props to low-budget horror movies. No one can mistake "Shock Waves" for high art, but it is a remarkably good shocker, especially given its low budget and rushed production schedule. The movie features very effective (if too-often repeated) images of Nazi zombies crashing through the woods and slowly submerging in various bogs and rivers. I really liked it.

If you're looking for excessive violence, avoid this one; the Nazis kill off-screen, or using...ahem...non-piercing methods of dispatch.

I appreciated seeing longtime genre actors Peter Cushing and John Carradine, who "frame" the movie with a couple of scenes apiece at the beginning and end. The rest of the cast is pretty forgettable, though Luke Halpin is good enough as the hero and it's interesting to see the lovely genre actress Brooke Adams getting her start. (Is it just me, though, or is her default expression a frowny face?)

I'm not sure that I could make a horror movie this good, given so little time and so little cash. I admire the effort. Definitely pick up the cheap DVD if you see it sitting around Best Buy - the cover is so lurid, you can hardly miss it.

This should've been a great horror movie. It stars legends Peter Cushing as a Nazi scientist and John Carradine was a salty ship captain, an abandoned luxury hotel, and cool-looking Nazi zombies emerging from the sea. But nope, Cushing has little to do, Carradine is gone way too fast, the hotel is barely explored, and the zombies engage in just a couple lame bloodless kills. I blame the director for somehow failing to get a good movie out of a great setup. But he also directed "Return of the Living Dead Part 2," so I should've known.

'Shock Waves' is a low budget horror movie with few special effects... actually not very special effects at all. We're talking a half a dozen "zombies" which are basically people in Nazi uniforms holding their breath underwater. The cast apart from Brooke Adams ('Invasion Of The Body Snatchers', 'The Dead Zone') are unknowns, with guest appearances from horror legends John Carradine and Peter Cushing. One would think this would be a real turkey only good for a few laughs, but not so, it's a surprisingly effective thriller with atmosphere to spare. One of the reasons I enjoy horror movies is that creative directors are capable of making something special out of virtually nothing. 'Carnival Of Souls' and 'Night Of The Living Dead' are obvious examples. El cheapo budgets, unknown actors, minimal effects, but two of the greatest horror movies ever made. I'm not saying 'Shock Waves' is anywhere near THAT good, but I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected from the cheesy packaging on the video box. The concept of underwater Nazi zombies is an intriguing one, and was subsequently used by Jean Rollin and Jess Franco in 'Zombie Lake' and 'Oasis Of The Zombies'. I always enjoy seeing John Carradine, but his role is, let's be honest, little more than a cameo. I have a major crush on Brooke Adams, she's goofy but beautiful, and admirers won't want to miss this one as she spends most of her time in a bikini. One minor complaint - I wished Peter Cushing had more screen time. He's my favourite horror actor after Vincent Price and I always enjoy his performances. All in all 'Shock Waves' is an underrated and creepy movie that all horror buffs should try and see. It's just one of many overlooked 1970s horror gems that deserve more attention than they get (see also 'Count Yorga, Vampire', 'The Brotherhood Of Satan', 'The Crazies', 'The Legend Of Hell House', 'Deranged', 'Alice, Sweet Alice', 'Thirst',etc.etc.)

Take the lo-fi stalk-and-kill style of Halloween, including the ominous, rarely seen silent killer....take the premise of The Fog, with a small isolated group of people under assault on an island by zombie-like figures who rise from the sea...and you have the best John Carpenter film not made by John Carpenter. It's all here - the unglamorous characters, the oppressive, pervasive sense of evil, the lonely scenic shots, the clanging, doom-ridden synthesizer chords - even a veteran British actor (in this case Peter Cushing) pops up to provide the exposition and tell the characters just how much danger they're in.

The plot of aquatic zombie Nazis sounds pure B-movie, but it's dealt with in a surprisingly effective way. As is so often the case with horror movies, less is more. They are kept offscreen as much as possible, seen only in silhouette much of the time, and when they do appear, waking up underwater and rising to stalk their victims, it's genuinely unsettling. They say nothing, they don't emote, and they don't have any kind of exaggerated zombie movements. They just silently and efficiently go about their business. Their backstory is also wisely kept to a bare minimum, and the result makes them, like the villains of the Carpenter films, a mysterious force.

A solid horror flick, well-produced and with a simplicity that gives it a nightmarish quality.

This movie was definitely cult, in that only a FEW people actually like the movie and with good reason. I like cult movies, but this one is NOT one of them.

As far-fetched and ridiculous as the idea is, alone, it is not bad enough to ruin this movie. I've enjoyed movies with worse premises/plots and still found something to like. Ken Wiederhorn's presentation, pace, and timing were awful. His direction is the main reason why I dislike this movie. He did absolutely nothing with the story. Amateurs have been able to evoke more emotion and fear than what Wiederhorn did.

I was yawning 15 to 20 minutes into the movie. He set a very serious tone from the beginning and genuinely tried to get the audience to be scarred. What is there to be afraid of? Is it the idea of Nazis? Is it the idea of zombies? I say "idea" because these zombies have virtually no impact in the movie. Not even in the end. Also, the movie takes place in broad daylight. Yeah, really frightening.

The death scenes are not violent, but implied. Usually tackling into water or bushes is the preferred method of Nazi zombies. Very little special effects here. I understand the budget was small, I mean it was shot in broad daylight for financial reasons not aesthetic ones. Not even cheesy blood was used in this thing. I don't care what budget this movie was on, but a toddler's weekly allowance could have purchased some fake blood.

My main argument is that Wiederhorn could have used timing and brutality to make up for these shortcomings, and he didn't. Shockwaves was pathetic and boring. There was NOTHING redeeming about this movie. I gave it a 1 out of 10 only because the scale goes from 1 to 10. It really deserves a fraction in between 0 and 1.

They used to show this one a lot late at night on TV when there wasn't anything else to show.

"Shock Waves" gives us a mad Nazi doctor (is there any other kind?) who is engineering a kind of amphibious SS corp that can attack by land or sea (if he had put wings on them, he could have had all the regiments covered. Oh well....).

But along come a bunch of boating tourists who discover his deserted isle and spoil all his fun. They're Americans, so what's a Nazi to do?

Aside from some effective shots of amphibious zombies bobbing about in the water and goose-stepping about looking for victims, this is about as "b-movie" as it gets. Not very scary, but if you're in a silly mood....

TIDBIT - Weiderhorn, the director, went on to direct that classic "Meatballs 2", and when the kids are shown a movie one night, which one do you think they show? Very good. At least he got "Shock Waves" shown once more.

Two stars.

Cushing did this one just before "Star Wars" came out. Hope he didn't look to this one as the classier gig.

This is an underrated cult classic from the 70s, a great decade for atmospheric horror films. The eerie score, excellent location and spooky zombie makeup are all great. A few reviewers have complained about the makeup for the zombies but I thought it was good for the purposes and budget of this film. I assume these naysayers also belong to the "show us more guts" crowd. Some other complaints are about the daylight shooting. Apparently, according to some, this detracts from the movie's effectiveness to scare people. Hogwash. It takes more talent to create atmosphere and terror in broad daylight than at night. The director accomplishes this quite well and deserves to be applauded for it.

The cast is solid. Brooke Adams is a young and sexy lead. Solid support from horror vets Peter Cushing and John Carradine (whose arthritic hands are painful to look at and I can only imagine the poor man's suffering). The male lead is the mustachioed Luke Halpin (from Flipper) and he's very rootable.

On a side note I have to roll my eyes at some of the reviewers bemoaning the lack of gore and guts. This is not a zombie movie in the Romero mold. These are reanimated dead Nazis who kill. They don't eat brains or rip out guts. Why some need to see such visceral imagery to enjoy a horror film is perplexing to me but it takes all kinds I guess.

A group of tourists have some boat trouble and find themselves on a spooky, deserted island. Once there they try to explore and come upon a mysterious stranger and than one by one they are offed by undead Nazi super soldiers. The movie is a very slow burn and it takes a while to get going. Once it does it still maintains a drawn out pace but it's highly atmospheric and kind of nightmarish. This may be one of the only serious films to broach the subject of Nazi zombies and the reasoning behind such a project. Although it never fully fleshes out what's happening it gives us just enough information to keep our interest as well as keeping us on the edge of our seats.

If this is supposed to be a horror movie, where's the horror? I didn't find any. This movie absolutely fails at creating suspense. The score which is obviously supposed to be eerie just gets on my nerves. As pooped as the concept is, I don't have anything against Nazis as movie villains. They make good movie villains. But a bunch of mute tall blonde men with pale faces, wearing diving goggles and Third Reich uniforms aren't scary at all.

If you've read the plot summary for "Shock Waves" here at the IMDb you know almost everything there is to tell about the story. There are no twists and turns. The final outcome (who survives and who doesn't) is already spoiled by the movie itself at the very beginning.

The only two persons in this movie that can actually be called "actors" are Peter Cushing (SS commander) and John Carradine (Captain Ben) and their screen time is rather limited. The other characters are about as three dimensional as a sheet of paper. The most noticeable thing about this movie is Cushings fake German accent, which is actually quite good.

Settings, props and costumes are as cheap as it can get. Well, not everyone has a multi million dollar budget, but you can make better movies with less money. If you want to see good low budget horror, watch Blair Witch Project or the early works of Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson.

There may be people who enjoy this kind of trash. I for sure didn't. Wasted another 90 minutes of my life.