Zombie Tidal Wave (2019) User Reviews

Interest concept, but botched delivery...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 7 September 2020]

Well, with this 2019 movie being a SyFy On Demand movie, you shouldn't and couldn't really expect much from the movie. And you just know that this will most definitely be one of those zombie movies that came and went without as much as a groan, much less a bite.

Still, with it being a zombie movie, of course I had to sit down and watch it. After all, I do like zombies quite a lot.

And then I saw that Ian Ziering was the lead in the movie, and I thought right well it could perhaps be so bad that it was entertaining, just like "Sharknado" was. So I must admit that things were starting to be interesting.

But the movie wasn't as much fun or entertaining, nor as campy and goofy as "Sharknado" was, so this 2019 "Zombie Tidal Wave" didn't really prove to be much of anything. Sure, it was watchable, but that was about it.

The storyline was so simplistic that you could watch it, leave for a long period, come back and not have missed out on anything crucial. "Zombie Tidal Wave" was as generic of a zombie movie as they come, so you knew the exact outcome of the movie from the beginning.

"Zombie Tidal Wave" had an adequate cast ensemble, to be honest. Sure, it wasn't outstanding, nor were there award winning performances to be experienced here. But hey, you know what you get with a SyFy movie.

Now, for a zombie movie, having proper zombie make-up and special effects is usually a make or break thing. And the effects and make-up in "Zombie Tidal Wave" was, well, different. Let's just say that. I am puzzled why zombies that have been submerged in water would become blue in their skin tones and have blue blood. That just made absolutely no sense to me. Sure, the barnacles on the water zombies was interesting and actually looked good, but they failed the most essential thing; to have the zombie be wet and drenched. That was just a horrible mistake to make.

And while we are on the special effects, the tidal waves - yeah, there were two of them - were kind of horrible to look at, and they didn't even feel destructive or anything. That was so very, very anti-climatic to witness.

Well, I managed to sit through the entire ordeal that is "Zombie Tidal Wave", and I was only mildly entertained. Which means that I am rating director Anthony C. Ferrante's 2019 movie a mere three out of ten stars. This was by no account an interesting addition to the zombie genre.

it is what it is

[nedloc · 4/10 · 18 August 2019]

Firstly I want to address some of the previous reviews, in fact, all of them. It seems the writers have all been suckered in by the hype and for some unknown reason were expecting some sort of summer blockbuster type of deal and then reviewed it based on that.

The deal with a movie like this is that you MUST always set your expectations accordingly. The movie is bad, it clearly didn't set out to have a comedic overtone like most of the Sharnado movies, it had many cheesy elements which you should always expect from something like this and it delivered, which is why I gave it 4/10.

For me, it was better than at least half the Sharknado movies, at least it had a basic plot and a semi-likeable hero and no doubt we'll be seeing more of Hunter Shaw.

Zombie Tsunami

[spikeroo-29333 · 5/10 · 30 August 2019]

There must have been a sale on blue makeup or paint. Pretty laughable effects. When the tidal wave washes the boat ashore and the guys don't have wet clothes or a hair out of place well you get the idea. It is what I expected.

Bad Movie. No matter the perspective

[chavellek · 1/10 · 28 September 2019]

This movie is bad. I've watched tons of syfy movies with super low expectations and was entertained. This is NOT that movie!!!!! I've watched sharknado and laughed. This movie is so bad. Your lowest expectations are not low enough for this movie.

Here's 90 minutes and 2 quid I've wasted!

[guenevere1975 · 1/10 · 29 July 2020]

I love zombie movies and I loved the Sharknado film series as they were so goofy and crazy that they end up being real fun to watch. In this rationale I thought that this movie would be similar. How wrong was I? Awful scenario and not even funny. Awful performances but without the laugh it was just impossible to watch. Awful everything. I rented the movie through prime video and I had 48 hours to watch. I watched it in 4 intervals as I could not watch it all at once, whoever could, I consider heroic or patient like Job! I usually enjoy SyFy movies without having high expectations but this one was the worse of the worst, the king of the Golden Raspberry Awards with the 10 in 10 wins in all categories!!! Time is money, and I'm way poorer at the moment! Keep away to keep your sanity, your good taste and your financial resources intact!!!

Worst makeup ever

[nimuyn-309-648394 · 2/10 · 18 August 2019]

The zombie face paint was of a skill level normally only seen in primary school musicals, or on students during Halloween. It looked like an enthousiastic crafts teacher had tried really hard to make it look scary but working with the pallette of the springfestival children's fairy facepaint kinda really hampered their creative ambitions. The acting was bad, comedic without the jokes, that bad.. but still it could distract me from that stunningly awfull facepaint, who in their right mind could think that was a good idea? It is a blight on a genre that has produced such gems as Z Nation and the Walking Dead, the producers of this thing really need to be ashamed of themselves. Even Zombieland was way better than this.

Just hideous

[sixshooterbob · 1/10 · 18 August 2019]

It's like somebody drove a minivan by a 1st year acting class on campus and a bunch of students jumped in. Then off they went to make a movie. Oh, and the students had all been kicked out of the class.

Team Zombie

[three8s2013 · 2/10 · 18 August 2019]

Why is the acting and writing so bad? It's like they do it deliberately. The Walking Dead, iZombie, and Z Nation are good tv so why do they put out garbage like this? If the cast of BH90210 were fighting the zombies that would make must watch tv. Skip this Zombie poo.

poor

[petepiano · 1/10 · 18 August 2019]

A complete waste of money making this dross, i wont get that time back.

After a Sharknado blitz try a Zombie Tidal Wave

[michaelRokeefe · 3/10 · 1 April 2020]

Plenty of practical gore. At a busy pace zombies are being shipped from the sea to the shore. The beach is filled with mini-battles and significant encounters with zombies and vacation victims being pulled down by the creatures and reanimated villagers. Soon it is zombies against citizen/vacationing zombies. And a shot or blow to the head is not the key to bringing them down. The CGI is terrible and even a bigger mess with blood-splatter changing the appearance of the scenery. Blue zombie juice may not be your cup of tea. How can this be more interesting than sharks falling from the sky?

Your main man is, who else but, Ian Ziering leading a cast featuring Shelton Jolivette, Cheree Cassidy, Erich Chikashi Linzbichler and Teodora Dick.

To whom this may concern

[buckbarnes · 10/10 · 20 August 2019]

So...the scene where the zombies are thrown into the wood chipper and the blue zombie juice is sprayed all over the flowers...can we get a sequel where bees land on said....now blue flowers and have ZOMBEEZ??? So bad so good so ZomBEElicious....

Plain Stupid fun

[ninjaboyballer · 7/10 · 18 August 2019]

This movie was really corny, cheesy and had terrible effects. But that is what made it fun. The acting was pretty terrible there were only like two decent actors in this film and I'm alright with that. To all you haters out there this is not supposed to be taken seriously. You just have to have a fun time watching these type of movies, turn your Brain off. And that's what I did for the most part. Overall this was a really its so bad that it's good movie with lots of ridiculousness to enjoy.

Final rating: 7.1/10

Not good enough to be a bad movie

[P_e_t_e · 1/10 · 18 August 2019]

I have seen a lot of bad movies; many of those with the understanding that they are in fact bad movies, and given that, there might be some unintended twisted comedic value during a couple of hours of my life watching them (I know I'm not alone). This film does not belong in that category. From the very beginning, all aspects of creative and quality film making are abandoned. Acting cannot be described even as poor, because that would be an acknowledgement that there is in fact some kind of attempt at acting. The creativity in makeup and costumes are surpassed by 4th graders who have done their Halloween shopping at Value Village (with a last stop at Mom and Dad's refrigerator for the ketchup). The only thumbs-up for unintended comedic appeal is for the scene where the trolling motor is thrust into a zombies face, and the film motion was slowed to the point that we easily witness the destruction of a rubber mask. Thank you for the slow-mo there, but it would have been even funnier if the mask was on a styrofoam wig stand, and slow-mo would also reveal styro bits scattering. So I cannot even give it more than a star for that 3 second scene. Story, plot, any other audience interest retention value - well, it's just another film about zombies attacking. We all get that movie producers are always attempting to reach out to some paying fan base. This is just my opinion of course, but this one just doesn't have anything in it that will keep me from shutting it down before it ends. There's nothing could top that rubber mask destruction scene.

Huh?

[tylerwestb · 1/10 · 18 August 2019]

I'll just never understand the hype now a days behind these terrible sharknado shartanteater sharkgarbagemam movies. I just don't understand the humor it just makes me cringe

Absolutely terrible, yet surprisingly charming at the same time

[fsimpson-23439 · 4/10 · 18 August 2019]

This is a bad movie, no doubt about it. With horrible CGI, bad dialogue, acting and characters, this would be considered a disaster if it was made and taken seriously. It wasn't, and what we have left is this film from the producers of Sharknado that looks like a Playstation 1 game, make that what you will. The film also tries to have some emotional scenes of people dying, but when that's in the same movie as blue zombies from the deep blue sea causing huge tidal waves containing them, it's not a good tone.The zombies are also curious. There could be many surrounding an area, and by the next time we see them, there is only like 4 or 5. Also, at the end there is a zombie that can actually hold and fight the character Hunter, even though every single other zombie couldn't. What is this movie, and why is it so bad, yet sometimes charming and entertaining?

Somebody PLEASE call the Riff Tracks Crew!

[trishpellerito · 1/10 · 4 June 2021]

Love Zombies, HATED this hot mess. The other reviewers summed it up quite well - dreck. My review title says it all: only Riff Tracks could possible salvage this hot mess of a movie and gross waste of time.

Not bad

[Lalith_S · 5/10 · 11 June 2021]

Starts somewhat stupid, but the story gets interesting eventually, though acting is below par.

Try to watch the film from a comic angle and you will find the film entertaining.

Cheap and awful

[thedarkestshadow-32785 · 1/10 · 23 August 2021]

The zombie make up in this is awful. I did better makeup with cheap crap I bought at the local party store. You can even see the blue paint in their chair and spots where it doesn't cover all of their skin.!If you thought sharknado is bad you'll think this is worse.

Also, if you have a shotgun pointed at someone and they have a pistol pointed at you while you are about five feet apart DON'T PUT THE GUN DOWN!!!!!!!!!!! YOU have the advantage.

One actor you see in a orderly outfit. Later on you see him as one of the tidal wave zombies in the white shirts with blue skin and blood. If he'd been bitten he'd just look like a normal zombie.

So bad it's good

[m-42653 · 1/10 · 24 December 2020]

A very bad z movie. The movie makes me laugh a lot, but I felt secondhand embarrassment for director and actors...

Decent enough...

[hannaman2000 · 5/10 · 21 August 2019]

... that I didn't notice there were no celebrity cameos until I was halfway through..

I really do not understand these low reviews

[shawninaugusta · 10/10 · 18 August 2019]

Ok so this is SyFy and the movie is as stupid as all Sharknados! But that is the point. Take it for what it is and don't analyze it or compare to more well funded zombie flicks. It is listed as an adventure comedy btw. I found it hilarious and a fun film to watch. Again take it for what it is and have a few good laughs!

Fulci's Zombi's Come Up To Date In This Wonderful B-Movie...

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 7/10 · 25 August 2019]

It looks like a lot of people have forgotten how to use their remote controls... Hey guys, if you don't like the movie then hit the OFF button. I, like a few reviewers, cannot understand why this film is getting so many low ratings. Though unlike them I won't increase the overall rating by increasing mine. My rating comes in at 6.75 - 7 for IMDb.

The main thing you have to remember before watching this flick is What's In A Name? Zombie Tidal Wave... So, is this going to be the Shakespear of the Zombie Horror sub-genre? No! It's Zombie Tidal Wave and not Maggie (A 2015 Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin Zombie film. Which, because I suffer from depression, I couldn't make it all the way through. Shame because it was a strong serious movie). So if you enjoyed the Sharknado films and that style of filmmaking (tongue-in-cheek and fun) this should make you happy. If you don't like that style of film change the channel or hit the Off button. This isn't for you.

The only bad thing I found in this film is the tidal wave itself. There was no cause for the Tsunami and no reason to have one, let alone two. Truth be said, the film would have been a lot better had the writers and director decided to have the dead walk out of the sea from the sunken ship.

The thing I liked most about it was it's similarity to Lucio Fulci's Zombi films. In fact, remove the tidal wave and rename the film Zombi4 would probably be a good idea. Even the zombies themselves bare an uncanny resemblance to his, especially Zombi2 Zombie Flesh Eaters. The similitude isn't just skin deep either. The homage continues with the band, who are called The Fulci's. Even the lead singers description of the band's music is also a modest depiction of Lucio Fulci's work (and this film), "He likes it loud and to punch it out."

As for the colour of the Zombies (a nice aqua blue) this is explained away by the chemicals used to create them. The very same chemical is causing a fluorescent shimmer in the ocean around the wrecked ship. The nice bits are the additional features such as barnacles and seaweed that are attached or growing from their rotting flesh. The special effects for a TV-Movie are above par. The main effect I loved, which a lot of Zombie film directors miss, is the arterial spray. Ferrante, goes overboard with this great visual effect. Then there's the outboard motor shredding a zombie of his face. There are also a good beheading and a shotgunned exploding head thrown into the bloody mix.

Ferrante has a great eye for iconic shots. The aerial shot looking down on Hunter's boat while the living dead swim toward it is awesome. He is great at setting the pace and the film tears away at a rapid beat. It only decelerates when it's good for the story and to add those strange little incidents... like the one where The Fulci's singer climbs onto the roof of the band wagon and serenades the Zombies with a ballad he wrote. Stupid. Silly. But excellent. The only thing I wish was better was the lighting. Fulci liked to use natural light and shadows to create tension and unease. That wouldn't have gone amiss here.

Then we come to the acting. This is better than some of Fulci's Zombi flicks. Though, to be honest that could be down to very bad dubbing. But you have Ian Ziering as the lead, Hunter Shaw, and once again he's in Sharknado form. Hey if the character fits wear it. Though it's the rest of the cast which makes this work well. Especially, Chikashi Linzbichler as the Sheriff and Randy Charach as the independent loner with a dubious past, Marty Driscoll. The only one who didn't quite make the grade was Eliza D'Souza. The funny thing is she was okay as the living breathing Jada McCray but was risible as the living dead Jada McCray.

This is a very enjoyable, leave your brain at the door, Zombi picture. If you like or love Fulci's work then give this homage a look-see. I think you may enjoy it too. If you like your horror with tongue-in-cheek (whose tongue is up to you) then this should be your thing too. If Sharknado was your thing then Zombie Tidal Wave is going to be a wonderful waste of an hour and a half. I would recommend this film to all. It's worth one watch at least.

Feel free to check out my lists - Absolute Horror and Just For Laughs to see where I chart this little bit of entertainment.

3.9 of Average? Are you kidding me?

[fjprado66 · 1/10 · 5 May 2022]

I gave 1 because I laughed sometimes. Everything in this movie is weak. A complete waste of time. Have you seen Sharknado??Comparing with Sharknado, Sharknado is much more better, logical and realistic.

Another campy horror spoof

[donald-powell-sr · 10/10 · 18 August 2019]

A funny horror spoof film from the creators of Sharknado. Can't wait for a five sequels.

It's a action/adventure/comedy B-Movie.

[cartercaddy-575-332111 · 7/10 · 31 May 2021]

If you like watching Zombie movie's than you will be ok watching this movie, but do not pay money to view it. The acting is bad and the special effects are even worse. I would only recommend this movie to Die Hard Zombie Fans.