'The King Tide' Review: One of the Eeriest Films of the Year
Creating a truly unsettling film, be it thriller or horror, takes immeasurable talent. One effective way of triggering an audience’s emotions is to make use of the supernatural, or to put it another way, something which cannot be explained. The King Tide chose to do something even more challenging, but also infinitely more interesting. It is a film about the supernatural where the true horror comes not from a supernatural entity, but from the reactions of the ordinary people who encounter it. It’s a bit like if Dostoevsky had grown up on Canada’s east coast and tried to write a gothic tale.
Set on a windswept fishing village on a tiny island off Newfoundland, the film begins when an infant washes ashore. The infant is adopted by the village’s mayor Bobby (Clayne Crawford) and his wife Grace (Lara Jean Chorostecki), who miscarried shortly before the infant’s arrival. During the rescue process, a cut on Bobby’s side magically heals while he’s holding the infant. Ten years pass, and the newly adopted infant has grown up into a girl named Isla (Alix West Lefler). The village has developed into a cult around her, hailing her as their great benefactor. She can heal by her very presence, and so a long line of visitors stand outside her house, eager for just a few minutes with her as she reads aloud from storybooks.
It is not just physical maladies which she can cure; her maternal grandmother Faye (Frances Fisher) was riddled with dementia when Isla first arrived. She, too, has made a complete recovery from her condition. Another woman in the film speaks of how breast cancer runs in her family, and how Isla’s presence on the island has taken away all the fear and anxiety that had previously plagued her life. Isla’s magic also extends to the environment around her; insects peaceably land on her when she draws near, though they sting her friends if they try to do the same. She can also bring much-needed fish to the villagers’ nets. It is made clear throughout the film that this tiny village is starving as mainlander trawlers patrol the waters offshore. Small wonder that these people flock so readily to this child, and turn “Many Thanks to Isla” into a communal prayer.
This setup alone is unsettling enough; the horror lies not with Isla, who is by all accounts a sweet and innocent little girl. It is the people around her, fawning over her as they reap so many benefits, that inspire chills in the audience. Human nature, by itself, is a terrifying thing to behold, even in ordinary circumstances. Now these people are gifted with a miracle worker whose powers have turned their island into a small paradise. Naturally, things take a turn for the worse when that paradise is threatened.
The warning signs are present throughout the film. The village has become a cult, in almost every sense of the word. It’s established that they embraced an isolated lifestyle, partly to prevent anyone off the island from hearing about Isla and her magic powers. When Isla asks about Paris when she reads about it in a book, she is quickly assured that Paris is not a real place. She and the other children are raised to mistrust mainlanders; she and her friend Junior (Cameron Nicoll) eagerly throw rocks at a distant ship, yelling at it to go away. The radios and televisions are discarded, in order to further shut down any notion that there is a world beyond that little island. Of course, the parents reassure each other that they are doing what is best for their daughter, but anyone can see that they, and the rest of the village, are truly doing what is best for themselves.
It took a talented director (Christian Sparkes) and four talented screenwriters (Albert Shin, William Woods, Kevin Coughlin, and Ryan Grassby) to bring this haunting story to life. It’s debatable whether The King Tide counts as a horror or thriller, but the film absolutely knows what it’s doing either way. The story is a slow burn, taking its time to establish the people in the village, as well as Isla’s impact upon it. One flaw is that throughout the film, Bobby seems to flip-flop too much in terms of his own personal motivation, but that is a small nitpick. His character is meant to be deeply conflicted on what the right course of action is to be, and the story’s developments would surely leave anyone’s head spinning as much as his own.
There is not a single false note in terms of performances. Lefler is a natural actor at such a young age; it’s clear that she’s got a promising career ahead of her. She is careful to portray Isla as a curious and cheerful girl, one who is accustomed to the tributes she is given, but not fully understanding why. Her innocence and well-being raise a dozen ethical questions, and the village never fails to choose the most problematic answers. What truly is scary, though, is not that these people are villains; it would have been so easy to do that, but the film is far too clever to settle for such easy antagonists. These people are desperate to preserve their homes, their independence, their livelihoods, their families, even their lives. It is their relatability which terrifies, for it will doubtless make many an audience member question what they would do in their shoes, and they might not come up with answers they would like to admit.
The rest of the film certainly strives to unsettle. Michael Brook’s soundtrack is understated and spare, avoiding any stereotypical Newfoundlander music in favour of a gothic atmosphere. Cinematographer Mike McLaughlin has a field day with the harsh landscape of Newfoundland; tiny houses lie scattered across the rocky coast which is constantly battered by waves and unforgiving weather. Many might wonder why anyone would cling so desperately to such a desolate place, but that is exactly what Sparkes is aiming for; as he has stated in interviews, what interests him is the dark side of Newfoundland, where he grew up. If ever there was a genre labelled “Newfoundland Gothic”, then this film would be an ideal definition.
In short, The King Tide is a brilliant film; it will get under your skin by showing the failings of human nature, and how quickly people will exploit, abuse, and conspire in order to preserve the status quo. There are no easy answers to be found, only uncomfortable questions as the worst-case scenario unfolds before your eyes. It is a horrifying thriller which will remain with you long after the end credits have finished rolling.