Night Tide

Rating:
Summary: Poetic horror movie
Review: This film is a fine example of how low budget is sometimes better than big budget: its qualities come partly from moody black and white lighting on ordinary locations and subtle suggestions of fear and the supernatural with lighting and editing rather than blatant special effects. It has a quiet and eerie, dream-like atmosphere, with excellent acting by Dennis Hopper, Luana Anders, and Linda Lawson as "Mora the Mermaid." The music score by David Raksin is excellent, and a rare example of a major film composer working on a very small budgeted film. Curtis Harrington's directing creates a sense of psychological eerieness and shadowy imagery rarely seen since the Val Lewton classics of the forties, which it is similar to (especially the original "Cat People" with Simone Simon). This DVD release is very good quality, and features an excellent and informative commentary by Curtis Harrington and Dennis Hopper.

Rating:
Summary: Dennis Hopper falls for a sexy mermaid!
Review: This underated cult classic is very entertaining, especially considering the fact it was made on a shoe-string budget. That just goes to show that you can make a great movie with little money! If you're considering buying this on dvd, then the Image Entertainment edition is the one you should get.

A very young Dennis Hopper stars as a sailor on leave in California who meets a beautiful young woman who works as a mermaid in the seafront carnival. He knows nothing about her but quickly falls for her (can't blame him for that!). Over time, however, he notices she's got a dark, mysterious side to her that she's hiding.

Hopper confronts the woman's guardian (a step-father, sort of) and tries to learn more, but he's told that she is a real mermaid who's already lured two former boyfriends to their deaths. Only too late does Hopper doscover the truth, but I won't give away the ending.

With memorable music by the legendary composer David Raksin and an independantly-filmed movie script that actually works, this is a movie that will entertain fans of suspenseful classics and especially fans of Dennis Hopper. The picture and sound quality of this dvd are surprisingly good for an independant movie this old. Highly recommended!