User reviews

I've always been a fan of horror as a genre. So, now we have streaming services I will happily give pretty much anything in the genre a go. However, there's so much utter dross on there that it seems nowadays the mark of whether a film is 'good' or not is whether I can actually sit through it. I managed to last the entire of 'Red Tide Massacre,' not that it's exactly a 'great' film - merely watchable for ninety minutes.

There's a monster on the loose by the beach in Florida and a young deputy must team up with a reporter and a scientist to stop the 'massacre.' Oh, and I should probably say that 'massacre' is not the term I'd use for the amount of killing on display here. Mild deadly rampage would suit it better.

Despite not outright hating this movie, there isn't much to recommend. Although the acting is competent, the leading man comes across as miserable and surly (despite the amount of female attention he receives!). If you're hoping for scares, there isn't any. It utilised many a 'horror cliche' including the one about when a character says 'I'll be right back' they're about to be murdered brutally (didn't 'Scream' point this out back in 1997?) and the 'gore effects' are possibly some of the most laughable I've ever seen. If blood is required it's - presumably - computer-added in post production and it looks like someone has drawn the red liquid on afterwards like an animated cartoon!

The creature itself is hardly groundbreaking. It's a guy in a mask. End of. Okay, it's actually quite a good mask, but it's a 'good mask' if you saw it on someone trick or treating on Halloween, not in a theatrical film.

Most of the victims you won't really care about because they're only introduced into the very scene where they're due to die in. And if any water is required to be red, the film-makers just slap a red filter over half the lens! Maybe it would have worked better if it was a bit more 'self-knowing.' Perhaps they could have played into the overall 'cheap' feel. Sadly, every scene is played straight - sometimes TOO straight and the dramatic music can even drown out the (supposedly!) deep and meaningful dialogue.

So, it has a lot of cons and not many pros. It's probably not that good if looked at objectively, however, if you compare it to 90% of the horror films that seem to be made deliberately for streaming sites, then it's actually a bit better, or at least watchable, as I proved by getting to the credits only checking my Instagram on my phone a few times during the runtime.

Yet another horror movie that I hadn't heard about prior to stumbling upon it here in 2024. And given my love of all things horror, of course I opted to sit down and watch what director John A. Russo had to offer.

Now, the storyline in the movie was actually fair enough. Hold your horses, because I am not saying that writers Palmer Edward and Joe Majestic put together a fantastic script and storyline, far from it. In fact, it was a pretty generic storyline that was somewhat reminiscent of the 1980s creature features.

However, the execution of the movie felt amateurish. There was nothing scary about the movie, and it was actually campy and cheesy, but not in a particularly enjoyable way.

The acting performances in "The Red Tide Massacre" were fair. Again, nothing outstanding, but taking the limitations of the script into consideration, then the actors and actresses did fair jobs. I have to say that it was actress Susan Elle who carried the movie. Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with actors Michael Paré and Nils Allen Stewart.

Something that worked well enough, despite it being cheesy effects, were the evolution of the mutation that happened to the convict. And the final creature design were actually fair enough if you like cheesy and campy monsters reminiscent of something from a 1950s movie.

All in all, "The Red Tide Massacre" is not a must-watch movie if you're a horror fan. And it most definitely is not a movie that will grace my screen a second time.

My rating of "The Red Tide Massacre" lands on a three out of ten stars.