King Tide

May 13 – 16

7pm Nightly
1:30 Thursday Matinée

Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Fantasy
PG – 1h 43m

In The King Tide, after the mayor of an idyllic island village discovers a child with mysterious powers awash on their shores, the once peaceful community devolves into civil war, torn over the belief that the child is the next savior. This gothic Canadian drama will wash over you with the power of a great novel. In this story of strong atmospherics and well-etched types, an isolated community discovers an otherworldly source of harmony, and the North Atlantic setting is as much a character as any of the villagers. Shooting in the tiny Newfoundland town of Keels, director Christian Sparkes (Hammer) plunges straight into a mood of crisis and foreboding with scenes of a pregnant woman’s bloody miscarriage and a disruptive storm.

All the performances are in sync with the rugged seclusion of the setting, as is the rustic-meets-old-timey aesthetic of the production design (by Adriana Bogaard) and costumes (Charlotte Reid). Against the wild natural beauty, calls for “solidarity” are coded warnings against dissent, and promises of “a safe place” are, as Beau drunkenly and accurately declares, a load of crap. But whatever punishment he faces, he’s made sure to give two wide-eyed kids a glimpse of a bigger world. Within the insular community of The King Tide, grainy footage of Granny Clampett, railing against her Beverly Hills neighbors, is pure subversion. On a technical level, the film’s beautiful cinematography goes without saying as the island becomes another character in the story.

The King Tide is a thrilling and unsettling character horror set across a beautiful backdrop, brought to life by a stellar ensemble cast. Premiering at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, The film is a Canadian production and a real gem. With an island off the coast of the beautiful province of Newfoundland and Labrador as a backdrop, this beautiful folk horror tale that isn’t so much the scary kind of horror but the kind that turns its focus on humanity, showing the deevolution of an island community who have essentially become a cult.