The King Tide – A Beautifully Unsettling Character Horror

Premiering at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, The King Tide 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. Worshipping at the feet of a young girl with special abilities, they simply became consumed by her gifts to the point of losing themselves and the lengths some of them are willing to go to maintain that obsession is enough of a horror story in and of itself. Boasting an impressive cast of talented character actors, the film’s exploration into the moral complexities of that downward spiral of that community dynamic was a compelling one to watch. Playing with the duality of innocence against that subtext only added to its overall unsettling atmosphere. A slow burn, the film slowly builds towards a conclusion that may not exactly come out of nowhere, the signs were there and the symbolism was rather obvious, but that did not make its fiery conclusion any less intense to watch, especially because of the emotional connection it creates between audiences and its characters.

As mentioned, The King Tide takes place in an remote island community. Peaceful and idyllic, their world would be turned upside down upon the arrival of a young girl named Isla (Lefler). Found as a baby washed up on their shore by Bobby (Crawford), the town’s mayor, he and his wife Grace (Chorostecki) assumed the role of her parents. Already a miracle, she proved to be something more as her healing abilities made her a fixture of the community as they regularly visited her so she can treat their various ailments. Living without pain or death for so long, time had basically lost its meaning. However, Isla’s powers went far beyond healing but the film only scratched the surface of what she could do. Supporting her town, beyond being a fountain of youth, she was a vital lynchpin in helping them be self-sustaining. Treated as a God, it was the only life that she knew though in the midst of that chaos, she still had the chance to grow up and actually be a kid, albeit a different one from the others. That innocence contrasted with her unusual circumstances, made for a dire kind of life. Ultimately, it was only a matter of time until both sides of Isla’s life would converge as the bubble she created for her town began to burst.

That being said, while much of the townspeople saw Isla as a means to an end for their own self-interest, to Bobby and Grace, she was their daughter. Not blind to what she represented for their community, they had to balance what was best for her and what was best for everyone else. Being the one who found her, Bobby took that job even more personally. Living a life void of death or disease, an unfortunate accident left Isla reeling emotionally following the loss of her best friend. As her powers were discovered to be tied to her emotions, her healing ability suddenly disappeared. Putting Bobby in a compromising position, an air of desperation set in as his fellow townspeople were once again faced with their mortality and a herd mentality that divided their community ensued. Isla became less of a child as her wellbeing was set aside, for the most part, in favor of a threatened herd that did not want to give up her gifts as winter approached. Choosing to isolate themselves from the mainland, so Bobby could protect her, the mainland could be their chance to survive but the others were not going to give her up without a fight as the climax saw a fiery line drawn in the sand. In the end, a girl with such a foothold on the island community, something had to give,

On a technical level, the film’s beautiful cinematography goes without saying as the island becomes another character in the story. As vast as it was intimate, the possibility of the outside world is there to see but it’s easy to feel the isolation which can go multiple ways. It allows audiences to better hone in on its people, who are all normal and not monsters by any means. Their desperation does not come from a place of malice, rather a warped need to survive. Meanwhile, the isolation, along with the sense of intimacy created by the camerawork, adds to the film’s overwhelmingly foreboding atmosphere. The best part of The King Tide, and what truly brings the story to life, is its spectacular ensemble. Full of tried and true character actors, they create that sense of community needed for its premise to work. Sure, some of the more minor characters could have used more character development but the story was more about the collective whole than any one character. The exception to that was of course Crawford, Chorostecki, and Lefler as Bobby, Grace, and Isla. Crawford handled Bobby’s internal conflict, having to navigate between his relationship with his daughter and his town, well while Grace had the added dimension of her mother Faye (Frances Fisher) also living on the island. However, it was about Bobby and Isla, as Lefler, and her innocence, was compelling to watch as she was put through the ringer. The best of the rest, was easily Aden Young, stealing scenes as Beau, the local doctor who was rendered obsolete thanks to Isla.

At the end of the day, The King Tide is an equal part thrilling and unsettling character horror set across a beautiful backdrop brought to life by a stellar ensemble cast.

still courtesy of VVS Films

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.