The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I AM SUCH A SUCKER FOR NAZI ZOMBIES. Don't ask me why, but my love was ignited when I first saw Dead Snow, and now Shock Waves has just sealed the deal (really, it's too bad I didn't see them in reverse order).A group of tourists are on a commercial boat and they start having some engine issues, naturally (because any time there is a boat in a horror movie expect some crap to go down). They see this eerie orange glow which perplexes everyone and sort of sets the mood, and soon its nighttime and they sideswipe an unknown object before spotting the apparent carcass of a huge vessel nearby. By morning they realize that not only is the captain missing but the boat is taking on water, so they escape via a dinghy to a nearby island where they find said captain… dead on the shore. They look around for help and find an old rundown hotel with a single reclusive resident (played by the awesome Peter Cushing). It turns out that the mysterious vessel they spotted had been previously sunk by Cushing, a retired SS Commander, because it contained The Death Corps, ultra-powerful aquatic soldiers that were meant to be a secret weapon for the Nazis during World War II but proved to be impossible to control. When Cushing realizes the soldiers are back, now zombified, he is convinced they are doomed… and he may be right.** SPOILERS! **The story itself vaguely reminded me of "Dagon", a short story by H.P. Lovecraft — not in all aspects, of course, but the boat landing on shore, a monster that lives in the water, and the survivor going mad re-telling the story.It is not your typical zombie movie in many senses. I mean, not only are they NAZI ZOMBIES (yesss), but they operate almost exclusively in the water. It's not nearly as gory as one might expect (or want) a zombie movie to be, but, honestly, I didn't mind that. It was just quirky and weird enough for me to not expect it to adhere to normal zombie standards. They also have a cool look to them — still the white, dead looking zombies that you expect, but with more water-logged goodness!There's a few particularly badass scenes. The glass bottom dinghy gliding over the dead body of the captain, for one. The first few scenes of the zombie soldiers emerging from the ship and walking, fully clothed, underwater… so freaking cool. Just this slow motion dread. The side shot of the zombies rising up out of the water… unnggghhh so good.The score — done by Richard Einhorn in his feature film debut — was pretty awesome as well.Overall, not the strongest plot in the world and the movie generally lacks a good deal of action (or strong character development), but it has this air of dread to it that I enjoyed — and, again, with waterlogged Nazi zombies, how can you really go wrong?

Moody thriller about a yachting party that,after encountering weird weather, and a mysterious derelict ship, finds themselves shipwrecked on an island run by a former Nazi commander(Peter Cushing, fine as always) who realizes that the secret program run during the last days of World War II, that produced super soldiers who ran amok, have now resurfaced, and intend to murder everyone...Despite a low budget, this is a genuinely eerie and atmospheric film, helped immensely by an effective nautical score that creates a memorable aura for this whole dream-like film. Brooke Adams, Luke Halpin, John Carradine, among others round out the cast of unfortunate castaways.Other plus is that the soldiers(basically zombies) are presented in the old-school manner(think Val Lewton).Well worth seeking out, and is on DVD.

Just watched it again today and it doesn't freak me out or scare me but still a very cool flick. The movie has some true atmosphere that so many movies are lacking now. Great electronic music score that just goes so well with the movie. Saw this movie when I was like 9 or 10 on a Saturday afternoon matinée in around the late 70's when there were only three stations in my area in my small Texas town that I grew up in. After watching it, it completely left me in a sense of dread. I can distinctly remember riding my bike to a friends house and discussing it with a friend who happened to watch it as well and we made up a game long forgotten until today of re-watching it of us being attacked by the zombies and that we had to get away. It was probably during one of my summers off from school. Crazy memory to remember but like I said a long forgotten until today upon writing the review. What else can I say, Peter Cushing is solid as always. Who else can have a scene talking about the totem corp and how they came to be and make it not sound completely nuts. The rest of the cast is good, Brooke Adams and Luke Halpin carry the movie quite well.I think what I truly take away from the picture is like I said it doesn't have the power to freak me out but still creep me out enough that it leaves me with a weird feeling afterwords. True cult movie if there ever was one....

Visitors to a remote island discover that a reclusive Nazi commandant (Peter Cushing) has been breeding a group of Zombie soldiers.This film features underwater Nazi Zombies, in a sense anticipating Lucio Fulci's "Zombie". In fact, Mike Mayo jokes (I assume he's joking) that it's the best in the "underwater Nazi zombie" genre.The Netflix copy is kind of grainy, and allegedly the original negative has been destroyed. I do not know how clear the Blue Underground print is, but I have to assume that it is the best available because BU doesn't mess around.As far as zombie Nazis go, I think "Dead Snow" is the better film... but it took over thirty years to try and match this one.