Dennis Hopper and Linda Lawson star in this weird, low-budget 1961 thriller about a sailor, an amusement park, and a woman who thinks she might be a mermaid.
“I’m a mermaid.”
What is there to say about Night Tide? I’ve been eyeing this movie for a long, long time, and I’m not sure why. It has an intriguing title. It’s one of the earlier films with Dennis Hopper in a leading role. It’s got mermaids. Or does it?
Written and directed by Curtis Harrington, Night Tide tells the moody tale of sailor Johnny Drake (Hopper), who finds himself on leave at a seaside town that just so happens to be the host of a strange little carnival.
The movie opens with Drake walking into a small club, where he notices a mysterious woman sitting alone at a table. Her name is Mora.
Unique! Exotic!
Things move quickly between them (maybe a little too quickly), and they fall in love. But all is not as it seems. Everyone Drake talks to warns him about Mora – they say she’s bad luck, that both of her previous boyfriends died under mysterious circumstances.
Johnny Drake doesn’t believe them, of course, especially when they claim that she’s the one who murdered them, under the glow of the full moonlight…
He can’t keep ignoring their weird stories, though, once Mora reveals her own belief that she is, in fact, a mermaid, drawn to the ocean waves by mysterious sea people. That, let’s say, complicates things a bit.
“You are in grave and serious danger…”
Night Tide is a very, very atmospheric film. Say what you want about the dialogue (it can be weird at times, to say the least – we’re talking Attack of the Clones level stuff, here), but this film’s music and cinematography create a very odd and eerie mood.
Mora dances in the shadows
I especially like the setting of the seaside amusement park, with carnival rides and sideshows, and all the eccentric side characters (including a fortune teller clairvoyant named Madame Romanovitch, played by Marjorie Eaton).
Is it a good film? I don’t know. It’s certainly unique, and it’s very strange to see Dennis Hopper so subdued. The story kept me guessing, with some really great absurd moments. The ending also leaves a lot open to interpretation (who was that woman?!), and the little doses of the occult really add to the flavor.
Night Tide is not perfect, but its mystique pulls it through. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I like it.
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