“The Red Tide Massacre,” is a creature horror movie that has an interesting plot about a TV reporter named Rio Lee (Susan Elle) who looks into murders that happen during a global warming disaster. The movie was directed by John A. Russo, Gavin Peretti, and Joseph M. Setele. In “The Red Tide Massacre,” the story takes place in Southwest Florida during a red tide disaster. Rio Lee, a new female TV reporter, is given the difficult job of looking into the killings that are happening during this disaster. The naturally occurring organism Karenia brevis is what caused the red tide, which has spread to the waterways and helped Al David, an accused cop killer, get away. Sheriff Tom Fuller (Michael Paré) shoots David (Rich Sands), and he goes into the dirty water, where he changes into a monster.
While Kara (Gina Vitori), a local scientist, finds red tide algae eating a blood sample, a person who calls themselves an expert on skunk apes says that the Florida Bigfoot is the killer. The story takes a dark turn when the Sheriff is brutally killed. This sets up a fight between Tommy, the Sheriff’s son, and the now-famous Red Tide Monster. The monster terrorizes the coastal town and is after Rio Lee, the investigating reporter. In an exciting ending, Tommy saves Rio and gets rid of the monster that was a threat to the town. Does ‘The Red Tide Massacre’ come from a true story?
Is ‘The Red Tide Massacre’ Based on the Real Events?
Yes, “The Red Tide Massacre” is inspired by real events—the 2018 red tide outbreak in Florida. However, it’s important to understand that the movie is a fictional creation. At the start of the movie, the text on the screen talks about how the 2018 red tide spread hurt the economy and the environment. Along with the terrible killing of 2,000 tons of marine life, over $10 million in vacation money was lost.
There is some truth to the red tide event in the background, but the characters, plot, and Red Tide Monster are all made up for the movie. So, even though the movie is based on a true story, it’s not a documentary but a work of fiction. To set the mood for the horror that follows, the filmmakers used the 2018 red tide event as the basis for their story.
What is Red Tide?
Since the 1840s, people have been writing about red tide along Florida’s Gulf Coast. It is caused by the microorganism Karenia brevis. In 1946, the organism was officially named. It is known for causing harmful algal blooms in coastal areas. With these blooms, the color can change from red to green to brown and other colors. They can also make toxins that are bad for people and sea life.
The 2018 red tide outbreak, which happened from October 2017 to January 2019, was very bad for Florida’s tourist industry. The University of Florida did a study that showed the tourism business lost about $184 million during this time. Not only in Southwest Florida, where the red tide was strongest but also in other parts of the state, the economy was hurt. At that time, the falling demand for Airbnb meant that almost 2,900 jobs were lost in Florida.
Dr. Joao-Pedro Ferreira, one of the study’s lead authors, stressed the importance of using the right risk management strategies to keep the tourism business from being too badly affected by these kinds of events. Even though the organism that causes red tides happens naturally, things like climate change and human actions can make blooms worse and happen more often.
Red tide blooms can last anywhere from a few weeks to more than a year. They can go away and then come back, which can have an effect on marine ecosystems and towns along the coast. Certain factors make the blooms happen, such as sunlight, water that moves slowly, and nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. Human activities, such as agricultural runoff, stormwater, and garbage, make the problem worse by adding to nutrient pollution.
In the movie “The Red Tide Massacre,” the red tide is used as a setting for a creature horror story, with a character becoming a monster after getting sick from the dirty water during a chase. The movie cleverly incorporates environmental issues into its plot, using the real-life effects of red tide as a basis for a scary story.
