Review: Low Tide

PLOT: The friendship of three young teenagers is tested when they illegally discover a secret treasure.

REVIEW: There is a certain picturesque beauty to LOW TIDE, a new crime drama from writer/director, Kevin McMullin. With his feature film debut, he tells a familiar story, one that is reminiscent of films like GOONIES and STAND BY ME. He has collected a young group of actors including Jaeden Martell (IT, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL), Keean Johnson (ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL), Alex Neustaedter (AXL, Colony) and Daniel Zolghadri (EIGHTH GRADE) to search for hidden treasure. While the performances are mostly solid and the landscape and direction quite impressive, this tale of young criminals who soon become divided by greed lacks energy and suspense. Much like the lazy days that come in the middle of summer, the film finds moments to shine, but at a far too leisurely pace. Let’s find out what happens when the LOW TIDE comes in.

Alan (Johnson), Red (Neustaedter) and Smitty (Zolghadri) are three friends who have found a criminal way to spend their summer. The three break into homes looking for whatever scraps they can get. Unfortunately for Smitty, early on he breaks his foot when the inhabitants of a home they are robbing arrive earlier than expected. That leaves Red and Alan without a watch. Luckily for them, young Peter (Martell) is convinced to help them out. However, when they discover serious treasure, a divide in the group begins. Soon, Alan and Peter decide to make their own plans, leaving the other two out. This leads to greed and betrayal and possible mayhem as Red realizes he may have been played.

I wanted to like LOW TIDE. There is a lot to admire here. As far as McMullin’s work as a director, along with cinematographer Andrew Ellmaker, this portrait of Jersey Shore in the middle of summer is impressively shot. There are several images that are quite striking, including one sequence where they are fighting the tide trying to dig up treasure that look gorgeous. As impressive as it looks, the attempts at suspense and thrills fall flat. That same treasure sequence should have been far more intense than it was, yet it happens much too quickly. As well, the climax to the film is incredibly predictable, and frankly not terribly interesting.

One of the biggest issues with the film is that as decent as the performances are, it’s hard to care about most of the characters involved. Perhaps it’s his age, but Jaeden Martell delivers the most compelling character of the four, while Keean Johnson does as much as he can with what he is given. As far as the antagonist, Neustaedter is fine, however I’m not sure that he’s all that convincing as a young thug. One scene where he pulls a knife out while threatening a group of vacationing teens was damn near laughable. Even with the local law enforcement watching – Shea Whigham shows up as Sergeant Kent – there is absolutely no tension. In fact, it made no sense why these kids didn’t go up to the police and let them know that some jerk was threatening them with a knife.

Perhaps the biggest problem here is that it’s hard to feel any real compassion for any of these characters. Aside from Peter, they are just a bunch of kids who steal because they are bored and greedy. It was honestly hard to find any sympathy for any of them. Even when they try and give Alan a love story with the lovely Kristine Froseth, it doesn’t really connect. And when they follow such an obvious and familiar path, it’s hard to really care about what happens to them. However, the actors do their best, and there are certainly moments that help give the less than ninety minute run time a few enjoyable sequences.

LOW TIDE may have problems, but for a feature film debut for McMullin, there is promise of what he could do in the future. Unfortunately, this particular story lacks suspense, and the characters aren’t terribly interesting. This is not necessarily a bad movie per say, but it’s ultimately one that will get lost in theatres and perhaps find an audiences on streaming and home video. As well, fans of the cast, especially younger fans, will probably find something to enjoy. However, the lack of thrills and the unremarkable story and characters leave a lot to be desired. There are certainly better ways to spend your summer. Even still, I’m curious to see what’s next for McMullin.