Horror em Alto Mar

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.

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

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.

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.

This film isn't a big budget film which may put off some viewers from the outset. It is very good if you're into this kind of thing though. The horror is not too explicit, but is more suggestive, and this actually makes the film genuinely creepy in parts. The performances are a little amateurish by the lower cast members, but Peter Cushing is in commanding- if all too brief - form and John Carradine gives a good perf. Brooke Adams also registers well in her acting debut. The plot is daft yet manages to convince, mainly because there is a really neat exposition scene in which Cushing explains what is going on. He's such a persuasive actor that even though the whole idea is so preposterous, when he says it you kind of feel compeeled to believe him. I rate this flick and would hope that anyone reading this at the moment would go out of their way to try to see it. It's worth the time and has a weirdly effective way of sticking in your mind for a long time afterwards.