The King Tide

A king tide is not only the exceptionally high waves that typically occur during a new or full moon but is also the name of the movie I'm reviewing today. THE KING TIDE is a tiny Canadian-made mystery thriller about a tiny island of people. So small that everybody knows everybody. They happen upon a baby, who seems to have some kind of power, who they call Isla. Much like the movie itself, I'm going to leave you to fill in the blanks. The best description I can think of for this movie is that it's a grim fairy tale. Canadian award-winning director Christian Sparkes takes an idyllic island village, makes one small change, and we the audience get to see how it affects everyone. I'm very hesitant in telling you more because I want you to go in mostly blind. Everybody does a great job, especially young Alix West Lefler, who I have no doubt will have a bright future in the business. This movie has a slow burn that completely pays off, accompanied by a creepy atmosphere and intriguing world-building that slowly draws you in. It's such a shame that almost nobody has even heard of THE KING TIDE. Luckily, I have so now you have too. Go see it before it goes away! Many thanks for reading this, and of course, "Many thanks to Isla."

This film seems to have really flown under the radar. In some ways it might not have a wide appeal but that is not because of its content and likely due to its marketing. I suspect the marketing budget is small for a Canadian made film. Horror seeking teens may find the trailer too slow and dry whereas some of the shall I say more "mature"/ sophisticated audiences seem to avoid anything that could be labelled horror.

The concept is quite clever. A small community that has lived on an island for quite some time is struggling until a young girl is delivered to them as a baby in a divine way. Isla, is able to essentially solve all of their ailments in one way or another. The start is a bit of a slow burn , but in this time the characters are developed and you become more invested. There are some really nice shots of Canada's East Coast as well.

Once the plot hits its climax it had my full undivided attention. Moral decisions are made and the consequences of actions have you on the edge of your seat.

Nothing in the film is frightening in a horror movie kind of way , however there is some intense violence in brief periods.

Overall, despite its simplicity it's one of my favourite movies of 2024.

This was a really interesting premise and the setting was great and the director obviously has an affection for the area he shot it in.

The story set up was good and they started to look into interesting perspectives of how people would handle a 'miracle' performing child, but then mostly went off the rails to darkness and illogical evil.

The actors all did a great job with the characters they were given but this went from being a potentially insightful and deep film into a same old same old but well staged, shot and acted slight disappointment.

Great to see the 2 core actors from Rectify on screen again too.

One of Cinema's greatest virtues is working with themes that discuss morals, belief, power and human nature. This proposal is never easy to execute, nor to be fully understood in the final production result. What is seen on the screen can often result in controversy, subversion and controversies even if the narrative there brings a portrait close to our reality.

The Canadian film The King Tide (2023) by Christian Sparkes aims to work with these issues. Here, the director intends to explore the changes in a peaceful, isolated and idyllic fishing village that changes its behavior after the unexpected arrival of a girl with extraordinary powers.

Of course, Sparkes uses Fiction, as well as metaphors and symbolism, to dialogue with much of what we see in society. Once again, Cinema reflects on the impacts of a community that will now need to deal with the powers at its disposal. Far from being another typical superhero film, the gift of the girl Isla (Alix West Lefler) will serve as the trigger for a series of changes in the village.

Another important resource for creating a dark atmosphere in the film is the desolate situation of the village itself. Furthermore, residents are determined not to have contact with other places, and they don't even look for doctors and clinics outside the island. This adds a tone of conservatism that ends up weighing on the girl's situation of extreme idolatry, in addition to impacting the antagonism of ideas among some inhabitants.

The final half hour also guarantees extra tension, all leading up to an explosive ending that will leave the viewer with varied interpretations and some questions. If this is what Cinema must be like, Sparkes is on a good path.

Watched this immediately after the Redlettermedia video came out today. I really enjoyed this film and as the title says I didn't want to turn it off once it was on. It's very bare bones and just a lot of talking but that's what makes it great. They were able to get so much out of the limited material they had. The cinematography is beautiful with a wonderful filming location.

All the acting is at least hood overall with some actors better than others. Maybe for a couple of scenes I would've done another take.

As another review said, some clever people don't do the smartest things. However, this is few and far between throughout.

I would also say you can get a bit lost scene to scene. It's from one scene in a kitchen to the next in annother vaguely similar but different room, maybe in the same house maybe not. Characters just turn up and they all look the same. Given the budget I can't fault this though, they did the best they could.

I wont spoil anything (don't read this just in case) but I did feel some of the characters at the end were a bit lacklustre. They could've been filled out more and they were just plonked into the story to see what happens. It could've been a bit more clever but shot slightly differently with a change to the dialogue and it would've worked well.