User reviews

**SPOILERS** Drawn to the Greek island of Synanon in the Aegean Sea young and pretty, as well as virgin, Madeline,Deborah Shelton, inadvertently with the help of Frye, James Earl Jones,and his girlfriend Barbara, Lydia Cornell, releases from a hidden underwater cave an ancient monster who goes on a bloody rampage. Killing islanders on the Island as well as those swimming off shore. Were told by the wise old men of the Island, from it's mayor on down, that the only way to stop the monster from it's deadly rounds is to offer up a young girl or woman virgin as a sacrifice to it.

Arriving on Synanon earlier in the movie is Nell,Martin Kove, Madeline's brother and Sherry,Mary Louise Weller, his wife who are going both on their honeymoon and looking for the elusive Madeline who hasn't been seen or heard from for almost four months. Thinking at first that the story of the Sea Monster is a lot of hogwash Nell Shelly and especially Fray become believers when a number of women end up missing,including Barbara, and later are found washed up on shore dead, and in pieces, as a result of the monster's actions.

Fray who was both cool and collective and very sure of himself flipped out when he later saw the monster devourer an Island woman who was trying to save her daughter, who fell into the water, and becomes a hopeless drunk. Seeing her call in life, by uncovering a hidden ancient painting, Madeline prepares to offer herself up to be killed and eaten by the Sea Monster in order to stop the slaughter. The monster went as far as attacking a church killing all the nuns except the Mother Superior Sister Anna, Llia Kedrova, who was badly injured. In the end Frye who released the ancient monster for it's cave destroyed it, as well as himself,by blowing it to shreds with modern explosives.

The acting in "Blood Tide"is far better then the story itself with top-notch actors James Earl Jones as the self-centered adventurer Frye. Jose Ferrer was very good as the Islands mayor Nerevs who knew more about what was going on then you at first would have thought. Besides the very good acting the scenic and breath-taking photography of the Greek Island and the surrounding Aegean Sea kept you awake and observant of what was happening on screen even though the very flimsy and mediocre story didn't.

Ah, horror garbage at its finest, at least in parts. Young couple goes to Greece on their honeymoon looking for his sister. That's exactly what I wanted to do on my honeymoon. Meet up with JEJ and his hot blond on an island that they are unwelcome on and meet an ancient curse. I should be basking in the cheesiness, but somehow it doesn't deliver. Don't get me wrong there were some truly classic moments including the children sacrificing their friend in a game, the whole 5 SECONDS of the paper mache monster, and the village drunk was good for a laugh. I just found myself dozing in between. Good news though I found out who David Hasselhoff based his acting techniques off of.

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.

This is a totally unique movie! Yes…UNIQUE!! And why? Because it has the most promising and potentially great sounding plot, about the sacrifice of young female virgins to a hideous sea creature on a remote island community, and yet somehow it manages to be an extremely boring and totally uneventful film! Is that unique or what? I watched this movie less than 12 hours ago and I already have a hard time remembering what went on, actually. It has a bunch of uninteresting people, among them James Earl Jones, gathering on this peculiar island to search for a missing girl. She's there all right, but so is a freshly resurrected sea monster the natives are forced to feed virgins to! After that, I kind of lost track of the plot. Though that doesn't really matter, as nothing happens. The characters talk and talk and talk…and, occasionally, they throw around cats for some reason. There are no gory death sequences or cool sea monster designs, not even a bit of delightful sleaze. The monster is hardly shown on screen and when it is (for about 5 seconds) it looks like the most ugliest sock puppet ever. James Earl Jones' imposing voice is usually joy to listen to, expect when he exclusively talks nonsense like it is the case here. It must have been weird for those few unlucky people who saw "Blood Tide" at the cinema back in 1982. The Star Wars movies were hugely popular and Jones' powerful voice was automatically linked to the image of Darth Vader. Can you imagine Vader to jibber about the cheesy sea creatures, ancient Greek myths and virgin sacrifices? Do your brain a favor and skip this film...

Wow, I got this movie at the dollar store on DVD. Not expecting much, I bought it along with some others. But this was by far the worst I bought. Yeah, monster is shown for 5 secs, maybe less. In some cases this is good...in this case bad. I had a hard time not falling asleep through this flick.It is boring. It is somewhat interesting but it just gets too boring. James Earl Jones is okay in his performance...I guess. SOme of the acting was okay. Special effects weren't great. Not much killing or gore, a little, but not much. It is not really that this film is low budget, no gore, shows no monster...just that it is seriously boring. lol. I'd stay away but what the heck, it is only a dollar. 3/10

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.

Nicely filmed stunning locations, brief moments of gore and horror, competent acting and sadly, one of the dullest films I've seen in a long time. There's not a lot else I can say about this film, and that's a shame, because the cast do as good a job as they possibly can.

José Ferrer as Nereus and Mary Louise Weller as Sherry are probably the best players, with Darth Vader James Earl Jones taking every opportunity to perform that famous growl and not much else. The monster that gives this project reason to describe itself as a horror film, is seen for barely five minutes before the perfunctory finale.

If you like looking at the beautiful country of Greece, you'll enjoy this. Otherwise, whilst it isn't a bad film, it is sadly bland and not really something I can highly recommend. My score is 4 out of 10.

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'.

Considering the talent involved, Blood Tide is a total disappointment. The film follows the emergence of a legendary sea monster after an unethical treasure hunter dynamites the wall that held it in its den for thousands of years. (Why didn't it starve to death?)

The acting is truly abysmal. James Earl Jones spends most of his time muttering quotes from Othello, while Jose Ferrer spends his time translating for the other Greek characters. (The film has no subtitles, even in scenes where all the characters speak Greek.) The supporting cast is completely useless, with terrible line deliveries. This is especially true of the virginal heroine.

The gore is extremely limited, and the monster is only seen very briefly. There is a rather interesting hint that the monster molests the women sacrificed to it, but this is never explored. In the hands of a more talented director such as David Cronenberg, it might have been interesting.

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.

Blood Tide is the brain child of Greek horror 'auteur' Nico Mastorakis. Nico probably has more films in IMDb's bottom 100 than any other director but this is more a reflection on the poor taste of most IMDb voters. Nico's films are generally pretty atrocious (with the exception of the great "Island Of Death") but at least his films won't induce insomnia like some of the movies populating the top 250. This film, directed by Richard Jefferies, is a good example of the Nico formula: blood, nudity and virgin sacrifice.

The plot of Blood Tide is pretty damn stupid. A treasure hunter, played by James Earl Jones, has awoken an evil demon that lies dormant under a Greek island. Unfortunately, this event coincides with Neil and Sherry's arrival on the island to search for Neil's missing sister, Madeline. Before too long, young women start disappearing and the villagers resort to sacrificial offerings in order to calm down the island demon. In other words, this is all a thinly veiled excuse for gratuitous nudity and cheap horror action - which is fine by me.

The strange thing about Blood Tide is that the film has quite a respectable cast for what is obviously a B-movie. James Earl Jones is always reliable and he doesn't disappoint with his turn as Frye. I'm convinced he only to took the role due to the character habit of incessantly reciting Othello, because the idea of playing a watermelon chomping stereotype could not have been all that appealing. Jose Ferrer is another great character actor and he makes his role count for more than it is worth. The same can be said for Lila Kedrova, who has to be the only Oscar winner to appear in a Mastorakis production. Genre fans will also be pleased to see Martin Kove, atypically playing a good guy.

Apart from the actors, the main reason to watch the film is to enjoy the gloriously inept creature effects. The demon is a plastic puppet that looks more like a sea horse than a monster. The rest of the special effects are equally as dubious. The film also strangely spends a significant amount of time 'paying homage' to (ie. shamelessly ripping off) "Exorcist II: The Heretic". Why anyone would want to take inspiration from that train wreck is beyond me, but someone was obviously a fan.

Blood Tide has many faults: crap special effects, a poor script and a lead actor who refuses to wear a shirt. However, it is also campy horror fun and contains one of the funniest displays of beach side aerobics that I can remember seeing. In any case, Blood Tide does not belong in the bottom 100.

Blood Tide is a horror film whose story is Lovecraftian in style.An t pagan intelligence has awoken from it's ancient slumber and is killing off residents of a sleepy Greek Island.The Elders of the Island intend to sacrifice one of the tourists to appease it. I really wanted to like this film. All the ingredients were there but done without any relish.An ancient sea monster that was glimpsed for all of 10 seconds and bad acting all around (yes, that includes James Earl Jones and Mel Ferrer!) just made viewing this turkey a mild endurance test.Although I did enjoy Lydia Cornell as the eye candy in this film but she wasn't enough to warrant forgiveness of this cinematic drip-of-a-horror film.

Honesty one of, if not the worst attempt at film I have ever seen. Failing boldly in every aspect of good cinema, this movie was so horrible that it transcended the "good because its bad" merit onto a completely new "bad because its seriously awful" stamp of disapproval. When browsing through the movie bin at wal-mart and seeing its tempting double feature title coupled with its .99 cent price tag, think again.

Oh and for anyone in anticipation of the sea monster that sacrifices virgins, I think they left him out of the footage? Surely the 1/3 second clip of a slime enshrouded, toothy, enlarged pencil topper-esquire monster wasn't it.

"A legendary sea monster is awakened from centuries of sleep on a Greek island by an American archaeologist (James Earl Jones). An island elder (Jose Ferrer) is aware of the legend of the beast, including its appetite for virgin sacrifices," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis. Elderly Lila Kedrova (as Anna), a knowing nun, is also aware of the monstrous danger. Hopefully, the monster isn't averse to snacking on a few tasty non-virgin women as well, because there are a few to wet one's appetite.

In fact, the main "Blood Tide" attraction is watching three very arousing thirty-something women. First, rise to attention for beautiful blonde model Mary-Louise Weller (as Sherry Grice), newlywed wife to handsome shirtless hero Martin Kove (as Neil Grice). Next, salute bouncy brunette Deborah Shelton (as Madeline), who looks swell in either wet clothes or the wind. Then, make it a third thumb up for busty blonde Lydia Cornell (as Barbara). Nobody shows too much skin, but everyone looks good.

*** Blood Tide (9/82) Richard Jefferies ~ Martin Kove, James Earl Jones, Deborah Shelton, Mary Louise Weller

Please tell me James Earl Jones did not star in this film.

He plays a drunken archaeologist who is given to recite Shakespeare (?!) - why? - I couldn't say. Could Jones? Then there's some banter between American tourists. Since the film is set in Greece, Jose Ferrer shows up to prove he can't speak Greek. The natives, terrified by the sudden death of some of their women folk, do what all Greek natives do in movies - drink, sing, eat, and dance! "Jones' Big Fat Greek Murder By Monster" movie.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention the monster; but, that's easy to do, since it rarely shows up and doesn't do anything spectacular.

"1982" ?! My god, did they still think they could get away with this script for an early '70s drive-in reject? And didn't Jones know we could never forgive him for this?!

No, it wasn't 'Jaws'. It was okay, though. You get to see a young, trim James Earl Jones, and he does a decent acting job for the most part. You get to see the bad guy from Karate Kid do a fair to good acting job as well. The rest of the cast includes veteran Jose Ferrer, Lila Kedrova, Lydia Cornell and Mary Weller. Lydia Cornell does a horrible acting job, but is fun to look at. The worst part is, there is no monster. I mean, yea, there IS, but, you never see him, except for about three seconds. What you DO see isn't that bad, just needs a little work. The location for shooting was awesome. Oh yea, there is one full frontal early on in the movie. Don't look for her again, or even another frontal. That's it. That's all you get. All in all, I'd say it's worth watching, if you're into 'B' horror like I am.

Let's just go ahead and skip the cinematography, character development, even the plot, and get right to the point:

There is a Dragon. It is well endowed. It rapes a bunch of nuns. We don't get to see that. What the heck. 2 out of 10.

Addendum: The only correct way to eat a melon is to punch it. Thank you James.

Seriously though, pretty shocking to think that virgin sacrifices are virgin for a reason. This cherry-popping' dragon has a lot of character development that we miss. I mean, what's his motivation?

More importantly, is the last surviving nun pregnant with his rape- dragon-baby?

Looking forward to the sequel!

It's not "Citizen Kane", but what do these people want?!?!? As a B Horror flick it's a good bit above average, and nowhere near the disaster that most of the comments here would have you believe. Yes, it does have a leisurely pace as did most films before MTV quick cutting became the norm and audience attention spans dropped to 1.5 seconds. The cinematography, especially the underwater work, is gorgeous, the direction is competent, and for the most part the performances are quite good. James Earl Jones is obviously enjoying himself, and Oscar winners Jose Ferrer and Lila Kedrova contribute very solid work. The young ladies- Mary Louise Weller, Deborah Shelton, and Lydia Cornell- are all lovely and quite satisfactory in their performances. Martin Kove isn't going to win any awards, but he's so nearly naked through most of the film and so sweatily gorgeous that his talent is a minor consideration. The creature, though sadly little seen, is decently designed and not at all bad for a film of this budget. The script is certainly not original, but goes about it's business quite competently. All in all, "Blood Tide" has something about it that I really enjoy. I've seen many, MANY worse horror films and it's head and shoulders above sick torture porn like "Hostel".

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.