Sunday Night at the Movies: Shock Waves

Shock Waves was a staple of my weekly visits to the video store (remember those, kids?). Not because I rented it repeatedly, but because my eyes kept gravitating to the VHS case. Loved the artwork. Loved the idea of Nazi zombies, even in my early teens. But I was never allowed to rent it because . . . well, parents! Damn them!

But now I'm finally able to catch up with a movie that has intrigued me since the age of eight, and introduced the world to Nazi zombies long before Dead Snow and its brilliant sequel. Does the flick hold up to 35 years of expectation? Stick with me!

The short answer is no. Shock Waves came out in 1977, when I was five. Hit VHS in 1980, when I was eight. And it's haunted my memories since. There is no no way this movie could live up to expectations. But that doesn't mean I hated it.

Yah, it's slow. And there's little to no gore. But we still get Nazi zombies, and Brooke Adams spends 90 per cent of the movie in some variation of a yellow bikini, which is not unpleasant. I never thought of her as much of a looker until this movie. But I tell you, I am sold!

There's some effective set pieces, and a few cool zombie attacks. Peter Cushing alway brings the goods, and so do the Nazi zombies. This isn't high art, but it is what it is. Sure, it's a 70s movie, but it works well enough.

I won't watch Shock Waves again, but it's still a pretty good Sunday Night at the Movies fare. Worth the watch just once for shizzle.

FYI: director Ken Wiederhorn also directed the earlier Sunday Night at the Movies feature Return of the Living Dead Part 2.

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