A group of tourists on a boat trip near Miami find themselves heading to an unknown location. They eventually arrive at a peculiar island featuring a decaying resort and a solitary German man (Peter Cushing). What follows is a horror experience. “Shock Waves” (1977) borrows the fundamental storyline and feel of “The Lost Continent” (1968), adding in the distinctive ‘Death Corps’ concept. Elements can also be found from “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” (1971), “Haunts of the Very Rich” (1972), “Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things” (1972), and even shares aspects with the movie “Empire of the Ants.” The film creates a good unsettling mood that gradually turns into something truly gruesome. The 1970s setting and cast are strong points, as is the eerie electronic music. Brooke Adams, playing Rose, has a strikingly beautiful face, though her character isn't particularly voluptuous. Redhead D. J. Sidney appears too, portraying an older woman, perhaps around twelve years older than Rose. Cushing, looking quite thin in his later roles after his time with Hammer Films, delivers a solid performance. It requires considerable skill and experience to portray such a character and deliver the appropriate ominous dialogue without any amusement. The initial setup is enjoyable enough, but the movie’s latter half regrettably becomes repetitive, filled with scenes of zombies emerging from the water and people running through the woods or swamp. Despite some brief moments of suspense early on, the title is misleading. Still, “Shock Waves” is worth seeing, though I would prefer “The Lost Continent” and “Humongous” (1982) instead; they are more entertaining overall for this kind of film. The movie has a running time of 1 hour, 25 minutes, and was filmed primarily in Florida: Biscayne Bay provided the beach locations, Coral Gables stood in for the deserted hotel, and Palm Beach was used for other shots. The shipwreck scenes were shot in the Bimini Islands, Bahamas, which are approximately 60 miles east of Miami. GRADE: B-/C+

Source on TMDB