Blood Tide

For a low-budget, occult thriller, 80's-era B-movie, I really enjoyed it, though I love occult thrillers as guilty pleasures. The direction is unexceptional but decent, the cinematography (easy, because of the gorgeous locales and mostly outdoor shooting) was surprisingly very good and the soundtrack was passable. I loved the casting, with Martin Kove (from The Karate Kid trilogy), James Earl Jones and Jose Ferrer (who always makes a great nasty, what with his cosmopolitan look, like Anthony Quinn, and his condescending, 'I'm better than you, and why do you think you can even exist on the same planet as me?' sneer and attitude), and, of course, the gorgeous women. Though the special effects were low-budget and quaint, they worked on this scale, and how they were executed. There's gratuitous nudity and sex at every conceivable opportunity (and a lot of inconceivable ones!) and even incestuous overtones, so it's terrifically entertaining, if not a cinephilic masterwork.

In short, it's worth a look, especially if you enjoy B-movies and occult thrillers, particularly from the 80's. It's both free online, or I found my copy in my legendary Mill Creek 50-pack, 'Nightmare Worlds'.

Americans encountering the ancient mysteries (and horrors) of Greece

A couple (Martin Kove & Mary Louise Weller) lands on a Greek island looking for the sister of the husband, but are stonewalled by the mayor (José Ferrer). When they find her (Deborah Shelton), she’s acting strange and in the company of a treasure hunter (James Earl Jones) who illegally uses plastic explosives in a secret cavern by the sea.

“Blood Tide” wasn’t released until 1982 in the USA, but it was shot in June, 1980, which was the same time “Dragonslayer” was filmed in Britain. I bring this up because they share the same basic plot, “Blood Tide” just switches the events to a Greek isle in the modern day. True, there’s no dragon, but there’s another ancient creature, which isn’t shown much. The creators probably cut footage of it because it wasn’t convincing, taking the “less is more” route. What’s shown is good enough, as far as I’m concerned, but I would’ve preferred to see more.

Yet, the monster isn’t the focus, but rather the exceptional locations, the ambiance of mystery and the characters. The milieu recalls Joe D'Amato’s “Anthropophagus” with a couple of bits taken straight from “Jaws” meshed with some elements of “The Wicker Man.” While both “Jaws” and “Dragonslayer” are superior, I’d watch this over “Anthropophagus,” aka “The Grim Reaper,” even though it lacks the horrific gore of that flick. It’s definitely superior to “Tentacles.”

Right out of the gate, Mary Louise Weller shines as Kove’s wife, but Lydia Cornell ends up outshining her on the beauty front (Lydia’s mostly known for the show Too Close For Comfort). Meanwhile, Deborah Shelton comes across deep and celestial, totally uninterested in mundane things.

On the masculine side of things, James Earl Jones almost steals the show with his commanding presence, often quoting “Othello.” He was 49 during shooting and lean enough to go shirtless. José Ferrer likewise has a commanding aura as the elder of the remote island while Kove works surprisingly well as the charismatic protagonist (I say “surprisingly” because he usually plays a villain).

It runs 1 hours, 27 minutes, and was shot in Greece.

GRADE: B-