BLOOD TIDE (1982)
Article 4394 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 12-17-2013
Directed by Richard Jefferies
Featuring James Earl Jones, Jose Ferrer, Lila Kedrova
Country: UK / Greece
What it is: Monster movie

A treasure hunter releases an ancient evil from an underground cavern on a Greek island.

This movie doesn’t have much of a reputation, yet I didn’t quite dislike it as much as some others do. The direction is indifferent, the script is rather muddled at times, and the level of monster action is low for its intended audience. However, I am partial to the Greek atmosphere of the movie, and there’s always something satisfying about hearing James Earl Jones’ voice in any context, even if having him quote from “Othello” constantly is too cute. I also like Jose Ferrer’s solid, underplayed performance as the mayor of the island. Still, there is something disappointing in a monster movie that can’t seem to find more than a fleeting glimpse of the monster, and it would have been better if they had saved the glimpse for the end of the movie rather than in the middle. The movie also has quite a few dead spots. Nevertheless, I did find a little to enjoy in the movie, and even though it does owe a little bit to JAWS, it’s hardly a clone of that movie.