MovieChat Forums > Blood Tide (1984) Discussion > Better than 3 1/3 stars; Lovecraft fans ...

Better than 3 1/3 stars; Lovecraft fans should enjoy it

posted 16 years ago by son_of_vazkor
4 replies | jump to latest

The production values on this movie are not the best but hardly poor. The main problem will be obtaining a clear copy of the film. I have the version that came with my "Sci-Fi Classics" 100 movie pack.

As noted by Sol, the cast is surprisingly strong. James Earl Jones is a joy to watch and basically carries the movie, while Kove provides manly support and Jose Ferrer lends additional credibility. The balance of the cast is made up of women who are either hot, competent actresses, or both. Also, many non-professional actors (ie, Greek locals) add depth to the story.

Fans of Lovecraft's stories or Lovecraftian movies like "Dagon" (which bears a striking resemblance to Blood Tide in many ways) should enjoy this one. The atmosphere is terrific, especially being shot in the Greek isles. The acting is strong and the story builds suspense. The effects are minimal, which allows the watcher to create frightening images in their own imagination. There are a few very brief creature effects that are mediocre.

Modern horror films depend on thin plots, CGI effects, and nonexistent performances. This film is a throwback to early horror, when performance and atmosphere came first. I'd rate it fairly high in comparison to stuff like "Saw" or "Cloverfield."

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 15 years ago

I saw this worthless piece of slime under the title of "Bozo's Bloodbath Bidet".

Nothing is more beautiful than nothing.

[–] skiop 14 years ago

I enjoyed it. It wasn't great, but it was reasonably entertaining. I give it 6/10. My only real complaint is that it lets too many things go unexplained (especially, why Madeline is acting so weird? Why does she poor the whole bottle of perfume on herself? Will she act normal after the monster is destroyed?). I probably would have rated it higher if they spent a little more time explaining WTF was going on.

[–] phillipsdan83 11 years ago

My personal guess is that Madeline is sexually repressed and substitutes other sensual stimuli like drenching herself in the perfume. And she still looks like she's got screws loose after the monster has been killed. Here's the real problem with the movie; you can take a serviceable script (check), get the best actors your budget can afford (check; with one arguable exception this is a heavy artillery cast for a low budget horror film), shoot it on gorgeous Greek locations (check), cast the most yummy looking chick you can find for your virgin sacrifice (Deborah Shelton before DePalma got a hold of her for BODY DOUBLE, so check, check, check!), but if you don't have a convincing monster, you have nothing!

[–] 11 years ago

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