Shock Waves is where the occult conspiracy theories that surround WWII Nazis combine with the nightmare of having the undead walk the Earth. The panic of isolation is woven into the tangible fears of the zombie horde that begins to walk on the island, overtaking the stranded tourists one by one. There are some mild jump scares, but the real fear the film is able to invoke is the reality that these poor souls are trapped with pursuers who are as evil as they are cunning.
The zombies in Shock Waves are a pleasant departure from those in other zombie films of the era. The lumbering, brain and flesh-hungry hordes from Dawn of the Dead and Zombie are replaced with intelligent versions of the undead. Their ability to seemingly plan coordinated attacks, as well as act with pure malice rather than out of instinctual hunger, elevate them to a new level of horror monster.
