Ken Wiederhorn

A ragtag bunch of tourists are on a cruise in some unspecified tropical location when their cruiser is rammed by a derelict. Shipwrecked, they find their way to a nearby island where they encounter a former SS Commander (Peter Cushing) who warns them away. They soon discover the reason why: the mysterious German was the former commander of the "Totten Korps", an undead SS unit of kill crazy Nazi zombies. With new victims in the vicinity, the goggle shades-wearing Nazi zombies are soon raising from their watery graves to wreak murderous havoc. John Kent Harrison's story is preposterous, simplistic and fun. The direction by Ken Wiederhorn is slow and uneven, but he does well in the development of a sombre atmosphere and excels in his portrayal of the zombies. He imbues the zombie sequences with an odd eeriness and a strange otherworldliness. Scenes of the zombies either walking across the ocean floor or rising silently up out of the water are genuinely odd and Wiederhorn cleverly finds multiple angles and different ways to show them. The film is atypical of the zombie genre of the period as there are few special effects and zero blood and guts, with Wiederhorn looking for atmosphere rather than gore - he succeds to some extent but the film is definitely lacking in the horror quotient. The cast are okay with the great Peter Cushing affable as ever, even as an SS Commander in charge of a Nazi SS zombie Death's Head unit. Brooke Adams is good in the lead female role and John Carradine was most likely drunk for the duration of his screen time. Overall "Shock Waves" is a slow-moving but fun and creepy low-budget Nazisploitation effort that unfortunately doesn't reach the full potential of its premise.… (more)

Shockwaves is a unique YA story that is filled with FUN action. There’s lots of tumbling and jumping, which kept my interest pumping. I loved the characters, they were easy to relate to, and they will be great together in the following sequels. The special friendship that Paige and Lee developed, through the trials in this story, will naturally lead them to more adventures.
The young teenagers were everything we love to read about – energetic, optimistic, loyal, full of emotion, and best of all telepathic! I loved this story line – two teenagers, bound to each other via the mind! The trials kept punching and Lee kept tumbling using PARKOUR, how unique. I am looking forward to more in this YA series by Suzanna Williams.
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