The King Tide Parent Guide

Town mayor Bobby Bentham (Clayne Crawford) and his wife Grace (Lara Jean Chorostecki) are devastated by a tragic miscarriage. As fate would have it, a baby washes up on the shore shortly thereafter, and Bobby and Grace adopt her. But Isla (Alice West Lefler) isn’t like the other kids on the island…

Isla has the power to heal people just by being near them, and fish swarm to her when she goes in the water. Her abilities have always been treasured by the town, which has deliberately isolated itself from the mainland. Without Isla’s powers, that seclusion would be untenable. So when Isla starts losing her powers after a tragedy on the island, the locals begin to panic. Grace’s mother, Faye (Frances Fisher) has built up a lot of power by managing access to Isla, and she has plenty of ideas for how to keep that goose laying golden eggs. Bobby is worried about the demands being placed on his ten-year-old child, and the tension between him and the townsfolk is sure to end badly.

I was unenthused about the film after hearing the “girl with magic powers” premise, but mercifully this isn’t another dull superhero flick. The film is far more about politics in small communities and the potent nature of fear than it is about Isla’s abilities. What’s really at stake here has more to do with the soul of the town; how far people are willing to go to protect what they think of as their own – even when that is a living, breathing child. It’s a chilling story, and no less so because of how plausible it all feels. Apart from, you know, a magic ocean baby with phenomenal cosmic powers.

The cast give powerful performances, and against the incredibly rugged backdrop of Newfoundland and Labrador, the film is captivating. It’s also PG rated, with limited profanity and an absence of sexual content balancing against a bit of bloody violence (including a few homicides) and one character’s frequent drinking. But would this really be a small town without at least one guy with a drinking problem?

Ok, I’ll admit The King Tide isn’t exactly family viewing, but it’s certainly within tolerance for most adult audiences and some teens. I was muttering under my breath at some of the more infuriating characters. But they have to be that way, and the fact that the movie got me all shirted up is a sign of good writing and skilled acting. This is one of the more compelling thrillers I’ve seen in recent years – and I hope those remote Canadian communities spawn more folk horror tales to make my skin crawl.