Rare Flix: BloodTide

An obscure flick in need of a visual upgrade.  Today's film is BloodTide, a fairly-forgotten film from 1982 with an odd, ensemble Cast.  The film comes to us from the man behind Island of Death and the Writer of Scarecrows.  It features the Stars of The Karate Kid (made 2 years later), Conan the Barbarian and Zoltan...Hound of Dracula.  Again- kind of a mixed bag there.  The film clearly features the same location as Island, which is, well, an Island in Greece.  That's Nico for you.  In the film, a young couple goes looking for the man's sister and finds her on a tiny island.  They also discover that the place is very secretive and is clearly hiding something.  It has a sort of Lovecraft vibe to it, but not too much is really done with it.  Can this random Cast come together to make a memorable film?  To find out, read on...

As the Credits roll, our young couple head to the Island.  Kove's missing sister is supposed to be there, but there's no reason that they can't have fun on the way.

One thing that is hard to get past is the piss-poor VHS-quality Rip on the DVD.  This is especially notable early on in this scene with bad lighting to begin with.  Just...just try to look at this.

Movin on...the pair find the sister, but she is a bit...well, out of it.  She has 'gone native' just a bit.

The pair meet another couple- a ditzy blonde and...Darth Vader('s voice)!

James Earl Jones plays a treasure seeker that is looking for some gold coins in the nearby water.

The secretive town- shown to be involved in some sort of ritual in the beginning- finally cracks down on them and says that they can't leave.  They are led by Jose Ferrer, because that is someone who totally looks Greek.

Can it be racist if a Greek guy wrote it?  Maybe just a little.

After getting a tease of some footage of the mysterious creature, we get...P.O.V. footage of it, blood in the water and her hand as she dies.

Oh, you tease- you Jaws-ripping off tease.

After some random, fairly-dull build up, the sister gets back to her work of uncovering some ancient art.  She finds proof that they have been worshipping some sort of sea monster.  I'd make that face too.

Later on, the two remaining ladies- the girlfriend and the sister- are set up to be sacrificed.  Kove and Jones show up to save them, but the latter is attacked by the beast.

Enjoy the only shot of the creature's 'head' in the film.  It took about 10 tries to get this millisecond sighting for you.  Enjoy, Internet.

In a noble (or dumb) moment, Jones sets off some dynamite he has with him to kill the beast (and himself).

In the aftermath, Kove leaves with the two ladies and dumps the coins back into the sea.  The End.

A lot of promise, but not a lot of results.  This movie is a real shame to watch- it could have been great.  The plot has a secretive Cult, a sea monster and hot babes on an island.  What could go wrong?  Well, there is pretty much no monster.  In theory, it is out there.  It apparently kills two people (three if you count Jones), but you never see it.  I almost wonder if this was just a matter of Budget.  We get all of the build-up, but no real pay-off.  I will see if I can find some answers on this one.  In defense of the film, the Acting is good and I liked the overall atmosphere.  As you watch the film waiting for the monster, it is enjoyable.  It is nothing special, but far better some dreck I have seen.  It is still nothing all that special.  As a wannabe Film Historian, it is neat to see a pre-Karate Kid Martin Kove and Jones playing a normal role in the same year he was Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian.  As a fan of good movies, it is just kind of sad to see what made it into the film and what didn't.  In fact, let me highlight just how this film has been treated in the ensuing years.  This is a picture of the DVD itself in all of its allegedly-gold 'glory.'  Just...wow.

Next up, I tackle a film classic and proof that not all Remakes suck.  Go to sleep, lose your soul, join the evil collective.  Stay tuned...