Matty sets sail with a typical Serge Rodnunsky joint.

Professional skiing, ballet, acting and dancing on Broadway in the second American tour of Cats…

That Serge Rodnunsky ranks as one of most interesting B-movie peddlers of the ‘90s and ‘00s almost seems like a footnote to an already wild career [1]. An auteur of the unheralded kind, Rodnunsky writes, produces, directs, and edits his own material, and has navigated all the key genres of the video and DVD era; from sexy comedies and martial arts action (Lovers, Lovers (1994) and Rage of Vengeance (1993)), to high-tech gunplay and teeny-bopper horror (Final Equinox (1995) and Fear Runs Silent (2000)). While never managing to unleash a stone cold classic, Rodnunsky’s work is always compelling, and is defined by a fascination with relationships; arthouse stylistic pretensions; and complicated, morally ambiguous characters, typically in search of something. He boasts a great feel for mood and an eye for a good visual, but occasionally lets himself down with some jarring editorial decisions and an awkward sense of pace. 

Such traits are front and centre of DEAD TIDES.

A film you can loosely describe as Rodnunsky’s ‘best-known’ opus, Dead Tides did decent business for distributor LIVE Entertainment following its release on U.S. cassette on 19th August 1997. It fared similarly well during its run on Showtime, bolstered by the marquee value of its cast. Boasting just enough name recognition to lure in the normies, Dead Tides’ compact ensemble is a treat for tape junkies, with Roddy Piper, Tawny Kitaen, Trevor Goddard, Juan Fernandez, and Miles O’Keeffe all submitting effective – if tonally disparate – performances. Then red hot among the male 18-30 demographic thanks to wrestling’s mid-’90s spike in popularity, legendary grappler Piper previously topped LIVE’s Marked Man (1996), which they’d unleashed seven months earlier. He’d go on to feature in The Bad Pack (1997); a sort of low-rent, proto Expendables (2010) backed by Dead Tides’ co-producers, Showcase Entertainment [2].    

A watchable but messy thriller with a high seas hook and a sweaty erotic edge, Piper and Goddard star as pals turned love rivals, vying for the attention of slinky blonde Camilla More. Adding to the friction are their competitive backgrounds in the Marines and the Coast Guard, which leads to much macho posturing on the Goddard’s part — especially when the shapely Kitaen, wife of Fernandez’s sharp-suited drug baron, employs Piper to captain a boat she’s chartered, no questions asked.  

Though it’s wrong judging a film based upon our own wants and needs, assessing it against what we think it should have done rather than what it actually achieves, the fact Dead Tides doesn’t spend the entirety of its duration on the water is criminal. A Piper and Kitaen riff on Dead Calm (1989)? Goddard as Billy Zane? Talk about a missed opportunity. That said, Dead Tides’ potent noir trappings and its brief dip into Tony Scott/Revenge (1990) territory are very welcome indeed, and certainly afford Piper the chance to try his hand at a different, more restrained type of hero. Alas, the understated probing of his character’s anguished desire for connection sits at odds with Rodnunsky’s baser action beats. The back end of the film is less concerned with Piper and Kitaen’s doomed relationship than it is with Goddard and the ponytailed O’Keeffe’s attempts to bring down Fernandez’s coke cartel.

Also known as ‘White Tides’, ‘Swept Away’, and ‘No Remission’. 

USA/Canada ● 1997 ● Thriller ● 95mins

Roddy Piper, Tawny Kitaen, Trevor Goddard, Camilla More ● Wri./Dir. Serge Rodnunsky

[1] In addition to this, Rodnunsky’s father was a composer; his mother a costumer; and his late, cinematographer brother, Jim, the inventor of the CableCam system.
[2] Further trivia: Dead Tides finds Piper billed alongside a line producer also nicknamed ‘Rowdy’.