The horror film The High Tide sets its scene in a Newfoundland town

Originally from Newfoundland, director Christian Sparkes has made several films in his home province, but he made the most of his new psychological thriller film The big tide (The King Tide, in English), to explore a unique city that had so far eluded him.

With around 50 residents, the fishing community of Keels had a particular cinematic horror appeal for the director. Its irregular rocky banks were visually disturbing while its small wooden houses seemed frozen in time.

incredible”,”text”:”The landscape is an incredible character”}}”>The landscape is a character amazingsaid Christian Sparkes about the film, which opens Friday in Canadian theaters. It’s difficult to recreate such authenticity.

The St. Johns native had Keels in mind for several years, even though its isolated location made filming there expensive.

The big tide, which he said had a budget of about $9 million, ultimately allowed him to accomplish that goal. He made it the setting for a hauntingly unnamed fictional island where the entire plot of the film takes place.

folk horror

The island’s isolated villagers find their lives changed forever after a mysterious baby washes up on their shores, the sole survivor of a devastating shipwreck.

They name the baby Isla and raise her as one of their own. They also discover that the baby possesses inexplicable healing powers that promise immunity from injury and disease.

As the years pass, they come to depend on Isla’s abilities. When the girl’s powers begin to fade, panic sets in and the community begins to fracture.

The big tide is a refreshing new proposition in the genre of folk horror with sharp performances from a cast including Frances Fisher, the icy mother of Kate Winslet In TitanicAnd Aden Youngone of the main detectives of Law and Order Toronto.

Based on a screenplay by Albert Shinthe film evokes The village of Mr. Night Shyamalan and the Netflix series Midnight Sermons of Mike Flanagantwo projects that dealt with the groupthink sectarian in isolated contexts.

Christian Sparkes says he organized a screening of his film to make sure he didn’t get too close to anyone else’s ideas. He also modified part of the original scenario so that we could identify more with the inhabitants.

People were even more hysterical and crazyhe explained while attending his film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.

I worked hard to make it a little more grounded in reality. […] It was important for me not to exaggerate.

The young person’s choice Alix West Lefler

The authenticity of The big tide was based on the choice of a young actress who would convey the complexity of Isla, an innocent 10-year-old girl trying to understand her abilities while the world around her collapses.

Christian Sparkes says he watched hundreds of audition videos for three months to find the right actress, but he wasn’t satisfied with any of them. It took a second viewing of some of them before settling on Alix West Lefler.

I had to put my blinders on did he declare. Because something jumped out at me when I saw her for the second time.

Alix West Leflerwho is now 12 and has already shared the screen with stars like Jessica Chastain And Eddie Redmayne In Murders without a prescription, said it felt like a year had passed before she learned she got the role. In reality, it was only a few months.

When she was on site in Keels, she was quickly immersed in this fictional world thanks to the other actors.

They were so warm and reassuringshe says. It was quite easy to create a connection and get into the skin of the character.

At the time of Thanksgiving 2022, Alix West Lefler and her parents joined her fellow cast members to share a crab dinner, one of her favorite memories of the experience.

People from the community brought us soup or homemade dinnersshe adds.

Keels residents take part in filming

That kind of camaraderie was felt in many aspects of the production, said Christian Sparkeswhose previous films include the 2019 crime thriller Hammer, with Will Patton.

The teams of The big tidestaffed by 80 to 90 people, doubled the size of Keels at times, and many locals ended up getting involved behind the scenes or playing small roles.

All the extras you see at city hall or on the streets are all real residentshe stressed. Most of them wear their real clothes, which really reflects the real grounding of this universe.

Capturing that realism on camera was only part of the puzzle, the director emphasized. The challenge continued into the editing room where every piece had to fit snugly to ensure the tension of the plot never wavered.

Filming will always be difficult, everyone knows thatdid he declare. But in the editing room, trying to make sure all the performances come together and the world is believable so the stakes feel real, that’s always the biggest challenge.