Yeah, this is pretty bad. None of the characters here are interesting or engaging. Horror icon John Saxon gives off a great performance (as expected) but it's nowhere near enough to carry the rest of the film.
The problem with an idea like this is that, if none of your characters are engaging, then you're pretty much guaranteed to be making a dud because once you've seen the first kill, you've basically seen them all. You can almost feel the screenwriter wondering if they should keep writing this thing around the halfway point or scrap it and move onto something else with a more broad-canvas possibility. The fact that said screenwriter decided he'd go as far as to direct this thing is surprising and a little gutsy.
I do love movies that are set on a beach, so I'll give this a generous 5/10 and say it's, at the very least, watchable for fans of Z-grade horror. A little pulpy cheese thrown into the mix could've done wonders for this flick. That, or they could've cut back on some of the swearing and tried the TV movie route. Either way, this flick took itself way too seriously and, as a result, it turned out to be pretty damn boring.
This was a multi-task watch for me. If I'd sat down and given this film my full, unbridled attention, I'd imagine I would've rated it much lower, generosity be damned.
What a great poster, though. I'm considering buying a print of it. It's a shame the film couldn't match its intensity.
