Last week I caught up with the little horror thriller cum slasher film EYES OF A STRANGER (1981). During the film I was amused to spot that a future victim was watching a late night broadcast of SHOCK WAVES (1977) on a black & white TV. I grinned as I said to myself "I bet this was directed by the same fellow." Indeed Ken Wiederhorn did direct both movies and while the earlier film is definitely better EYES isn't too bad.
SHOCK WAVES stands out as a solid member of what used to be a very rare sub-genre – the Nazi Zombie Film. In the 70s Nazi zombies were a difficult thing to see as opposed to now where you almost trip over the damned things on the way to lunch. You can easily understand the thinking behind choosing them as your monster in much the same way the third Indiana Jones film reverted to Nazis as villains- if you throw a Nazi onscreen you have a ready made bad guy and all you need to do is add a few details. In THE LAST CRUSADE I rolled my eyes at this facile short cut to creating a hiss-able villain but I have to admit that once you make the Nazi a zombie I'm suddenly much more forgiving. Bring on more of this sub-genre! I love'em all! (Or, at least most of them.)
The best of the recent spate of NZ films is the amazingly fun EVIL DEAD riff from Norway DEAD SNOW (2008). Here's the trailer.
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