Overview: When treasure hunter Frye (James Earl Jones) accidentally awakens an ancient sea monster that has been lying dormant on a Greek island, the inhabitants are forced to resume the practice of sacrificing virgins in order to placate the demonic creature.

Meanwhile a couple, Neil and Sherry, arrive on the island in search of Neil's missing sister, Madeline.

Blu-ray Verdict: It wouldn't be unfair to say that Greece hasn't got the best pedigree when it comes to movies. There doesn't really appear to have been a film industry in action there at any point in time.

Probably the best effort I have seen from that country is the notorious 'Island of Death.' Its director, Nico Mastorakis was also responsible for the screenplay of this film, 'Blood Tide.'

There's no way that the latter film is as good as the former, but I have to say I didn't really find it all that bad either. It's about a shady archaeologist who inadvertently unleashes a legendary evil creature from its century's long sleep.

It's true that it is fairly uneventful from a horror point-of-view but overall I thought that the events surrounding the sea monster had just enough intrigue to keep this one afloat.

The monster itself is hardly seen. Mostly we encounter it via point-of-view camera-work. When it is seen briefly, it doesn't in all honesty look that bad, but I guess the film-makers thought otherwise.

There are a couple of gory attacks in the water and a massacre of nuns at a monastery, while the chopped up remains of a victim are found on the beach.

But mainly, this is a slow burner with little visceral material. I thought the plot strands about the ancient drawings that are found in the monastery that depict the monster was quite good as well and added a decent level of interest.

It never escapes the fact that it's obviously hampered by a low budget though, but the exotic Greek location does add some worthwhile production value.

And it also has James Earl Jones at its disposal too. Seemingly he did the film in order to get a paid-for holiday, but much better is Deborah Shelton as the enigmatic woman who ultimately offers herself as a virginal sacrifice to the beast!

She was very beautiful throughout and added a welcome sensual aspect that didn't do the film any harm at all.

In closing, and whilst not all that focused on the monster, this is still a mildly decent film, if only for the travelogue footage of Greece and other little bits.

Recommended for those die-hard creature feature fans or of those who find it interesting, while those who prefer more creature action in their creature features should be weary of this one. That said, I really enjoyed it and I think you will too! This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.35:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original uncompressed mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary with director/co-writer Richard Jefferies
Newly-filmed interview with producer/co-writer Nico Mastorakis
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
+ FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mike Gingold

'Blood Tide' Original Trailer