|
 SHOCK
WAVES (Blue
Underground) 1976. Horror. 85 minutes. Not rated. Off the coast of
Florida, a small pleasure cruise boat is nearly plowed over by a huge
ship, which appeared out of nowhere. With their boat too damaged to move,
the passengers and crew find refuge on a nearby island. Thinking the
island is deserted, the survivors are pleased to find a hermit occupying
an abandoned resort and ask him for help. However, the pleasure soon turns
ugly as the hermit threatens the intruders and orders them off the island.
As the frightened clan tries to get off the island, their escape is
hindered by death seeking Nazi zombies who have risen from the ocean’s
floor.
I remember seeing this movie as a youngster and being fairly
creeped out by it. However, nowadays I am a crusty old bastard, and a more
mature movie fan, and have changed my opinion of Shock Waves. Although
still fairly creepy (I think anything that comes up from the water is
creepy), Shock Waves is more frustrating than anything. My biggest
compliant is how what could be a shocking scene is ruined due to the
director giving it away before it happens. This happens over and over. Why
not just have the shocking parts happen and let the viewer/s jump out of
their seat/s? Equally frustrating is the fact of why the zombies “woke
up” is never clearly revealed. Were they always there but never
disturbed, or did the odd sunset at the beginning of the movie wake them
from their slumber? Also, the same shocking revelation of a dead body was
used twice in this movie. The first scene was cool, but the creativity
juices must have dried up when the filmmakers decided to use the same idea
later in the movie. Perhaps the oddest thing about Shock Waves is the
Captain’s (John Carradine) elbows. More specifically the extra three
inches of skin that hangs off his elbows. Kind of looks like the little
nubs that hang off of Popeye’s elbows. What else can I bitch about? Oh
ya, somebody should have told Peter Cushing to lose the red scarf. On the
positive side; the water Nazi zombies are pretty cool looking. The picture
and all of its watery shadows is ok, but there are a lot of white speckles
and scratches littered throughout the print. The DVD extras include;
commentary by the Director, make-up designer, and filmmaker Fred Olin Ray
(I didn’t listen to this because I was mad at the director for ruining
the scary moments), trailer, tv/radio spots, etc.
– Denis Sheehan
|
