Blood Tide

Decent plot and acting, but... if you're looking for a monster flick, this ain't it. The monster is in it for all of 4 seconds- literally. This is truly a shame, because this movie had all the earmarks of a great monster flick. So, I'd say pass on this one, unless you don't mind wasting your time.

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'.

It wouldn't be unfair to say that Greece hasn't got the best pedigree when it comes to movies. There doesn't really appear to have been a film industry in action there at any point in time. Probably the best effort I have seen from that country is the notorious Island of Death. Its director Nico Mastorakis was also responsible for the screenplay of, this film, Blood Tide. There's no way that the latter film is as good as the former but I have to say I didn't really find it all that bad either. It's about a shady archaeologist who inadvertently unleashes a legendary evil creature from its century's long sleep. It's true that it is fairly uneventful from a horror point-of-view but overall I thought that the events surrounding the sea monster had just enough intrigue to keep this one afloat.

The monster itself is hardly seen. Mostly we encounter it via point-of-view camera-work. When it is seen briefly, it doesn't in all honesty look that bad but I guess the film-makers thought otherwise. There are a couple of gory attacks in the water and a massacre of nuns at a monastery, while the chopped up remains of a victim are found on the beach. But mainly, this is a slow burner with little visceral material. I thought the plot strands about the ancient drawings that are found in the monastery that depict the monster was quite good as well and added a decent level of interest.

It never escapes the fact that it's obviously hampered by a low budget though but the exotic Greek location does add some worthwhile production value. And it also has James Earl Jones at its disposal too; seemingly he did the film in order to get a paid-for holiday. But much better is Deborah Shelton as the enigmatic woman who ultimately offers herself as a virginal sacrifice to the beast; she was very beautiful and added a welcome sensual aspect that didn't do the film any harm at all.

I bought this film with another 49 from amazon.com.It came within the famous sci-fi pack so many times here commented among IMDb-USERS.What surprises me more is this paradox,an 3.5(MARK) but 35 comments.

Generally speaking,it is a good adventure in a film with serious problems of photography(the copy that i have!),a monster that we rarely see,peasants of a small Greek island and a stupid blonde.

These characters were mixed-up with a gorgeous couple and a some sort of"archaeologist" who is fan of destroying monuments instead of study them to fulfill this story.Nothing great ,but one can watch it without commitment.

Visitors' curiosity while on a Greek island unleashes an ancient creature upon unsuspecting island goers. This very low-budget film suffers from poor lighting but has a solid cast (James Earl Jones, Jose Ferrer, Martin Kove and Oscar-winner Lila Kedrova) and an intriguing enough premise that it draws you in, even if it far from a classic.