DVD
Review | Dark Tides
Written by: Kage
Alan
I'd never heard of "Dark Tides" before, but
I wasn't going to hold that
against the film since most people had never heard of
"Desperation Boulevard"
either and that was released by the same company. Low-budget
independents
are the way to go these days if one wants to maintain control over a
project
or get noticed. Unfortunately, what may sound good in a pitch or
read well
in a screenplay doesn't mean the final product will reflect the same
thing.
Unfortunately, that's the case here.
Sarah (Paige Turco, "Party of Five") has spent five years
trapped in a small
community on some remote island and all she wants to do is fly away
and
disappear. And why wouldn't she? I mean, the woman has
been through a lot. Her first husband was found dead under pretty mysterious circumstances
and her second husband, Ben (John Mese, "Night of the
Scarecrow"), is as mentally and physically abusive as they come. The only way she manages to
keep her sanity is to sleep with Ben's much cuter brother, Don (John Haymes
Newton, "Melrose Place"), and dream of being elsewhere. For
reasons she can't discuss with anybody, she can't leave Ben. I guess I'd sleep with
Don if I was in her situation too.
One evening when Sarah and Ben are out on their fishing boat, they
witness a
couple of guys some distance away on another boat dump a suitcase over
the
side with a buoy attached. Being the jackass that he is, Ben
waits for the
other boat to leave and then decides to see what they left behind.
Much to
their surprise and Ben's delight, it turns out to be $500,000 and he
has
absolutely no intention of sharing it with anybody, including his
wife.
Sweet guy, huh? No wonder she was drafting a letter to send in
to "Dear
Abby".
Well, the plot has to thicken at some point and it does. The
money actually
belongs to the two men and they want it back, mostly because it
doesn't
really belong to them either and they'll wind up dead if they don't
return
it. Throw in a couple of subplots, a few gunfights, some deaths
and
gratuitous shots of a naked male rear end and that pretty much sums up
the
whole film. While Paige Turco and John Haymes Newton are capable
actors, the material doesn't give them enough room to really let loose.
Worse yet, all
but one of the characters are completely unlikable and it's difficult
to feel
sorry for any of them, especially Sarah. That combined with
amateurish
action sequences and obvious product endorsements just kind of kills
the
momentum.
Navarre Home Entertainment has released "Dark Tides" in an
acceptable looking full screen transfer. I do have to wonder if this was filmed in
Widescreen, though. Picture quality is a bit murky and there are a few
specs, but it's nothing horrendous and probably due more to budget limitations than
with the mastering of the DVD. As for audio quality, it's a bit strange.
Voice
levels drop down below the music approximately 43 minutes in and
remain that
way for the rest of the film. This may just be a problem with
the promo disc
I was sent, but then it may not. As for extras, there is some
cast
information and a theatrical trailer.
"Dark Tides" probably sounded like a decent thriller when it
was being
planned. Unfortunately, without a budget that allowed for better
production
values and supporting actors, it just doesn't have enough going for
itself to
succeed. It's a shame too, because there is some wonderful
scenery the
director could have taken advantage of to help set the mood and it's
underutilized. Perhaps his next feature will fare better.
Film Rating:
D
DVD Special Features: N/A
FEATURED COMMENTS:
|
