It's October time again! And you know what means... my conscience pushing me to post more VHS Fridays leading up to Halloween. Okay, you win. Let's start with the 1994 thriller Dark Tide.
Andi (Brigette Bako) visits her husband Tim (Chris Sarandon) in a remote village where he is fishing for valuable sea snakes. Their relationship strained, Andi enters into an ill-advised tryst with Tim's boat captain Dak (Richard Tyson) and things go south quickly.
I originally thought this movie was a monster movie – I'm sure you can forgive me for thinking there was a giant snake involved given the above coverbox – but I quickly learned that this movie was more Dead Calm than Anaconda. I guess should've expected this as it was released post Basic Instinct where every third title on video store shelves was an erotic thriller looking to cash in. It might also explain why Tyson and Bako are listed on the coverbox and Chris Sarandon (the largest name in the cast) isn't. This ain't the eighties anymore, kiddies.
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Richard Tyson & Brigette Bako in Dark Tide. |
Speaking of which, I was initially confused about Sarandon and Bako's relationship. They share a long kiss upon greeting, but then she calls him “Dad” in the next scene, right before she proclaims, “We need to fuck!” I guess I missed the sarcasm, but I'm glad at least Dak later mentions to the age difference because we were all thinking it.
Dark Tide was directed by Luca Bercovici of Ghoulies fame, only in this one he's switched out the slimy puppets for sexual assault. Seriously, I don't remember these 90's erotic thrillers having so much rape. God bless Brigette Bako because she endured a lot in this one.
This is fairly standard fare, switching back and forth between pretty underwater footage – the opening Jaws homage was not lost on me – and the aforementioned ugliness, but the climax is pretty decent, with our protagonists holed up at their house, using makeshift weapons like snakes, harpoons and a literal boomstick to keep the the seedy townsfolk led by Dak at bay. This is definitely Dark Tide's best section.
That's all I got for now, but be sure to come back soon for that next tape in the stack.
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