Night
Tide (1963)
Temptress
from the sea... Loving... Killing..
Was she Human?
Dennis
Hopper, in his first leading role plays a lonely sailor
on leave, Johnny Drake who meets the beautiful, mysterious
Mora (Linda Lawson) who performs as a mermaid on
the Santa Monica Pier. Or is she really a mermaid?
After
they become lovers, Johnny discovers that Mora's past two
boyfriends were found dead on the beach, washed up onto the
shore. As his suspicions grow, Mora's doomed and sinister
past is slowly revealed. She really believes she is descended
from sea creatures that must kill when the moon is full.
Night
Tide only occasionally feels like a horror movie; with its
naturalistic exteriors, bongos, and coffeehouse atmosphere,
it's more a slice of poetic bohemia. Shown at the Venice Film
Festival in 1961, the film did not secure a U.S. release until
1963, when its New-Wave-ish style probably looked less innovative.
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