This post is a part of an ongoing project in which I watch one movie from a different country every other week.
PLOT: A horror musical about pair of mermaids who are adopted by a Warsaw cabaret. While one seeks love with a human, the other retains her predatory ways.
(Just a heads up, the trailer has some brief nudity and is NSFW)
MEMORABLE MOMENT: The film is full of musical numbers but none are more unique than the one where Silver (Marta Mazurek) lays in ice and sings while her tail is surgically removed and replaced with human legs. The music isn’t as toe tapping as the pop song from when the girls discover the “wonders” of shopping, but this is a moment that stays in your gut long after the ending credits. Even more so than the tragic climax.
IDEAL AUDIENCE: The Lure is a horror musical about a pair of demonic mermaids. That description alone may be enough for you to decide if this is a movie you want to watch with the one you love this weekend. However, there are a few other factors that should be taken into account.
If Hollywood ever got a hold of The Lure’s story they would turn it into a tongue-in-cheek pseudo comedy, like something Tim Burton would have directed after Sleepy Hallow. Sure it would retain its gore and gothic fairy tale undertones but the film would wink and remind us that at the end of the day we’re watching a fantasy that shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
However, The Lure is a film that wants to be taken seriously, despite the mermaids or the musical numbers. Yes there are comedic moments but as a whole this is a truly tragic film. It is after all inspired by the original version of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid – which is an extremely tragic story that traumatized me as a child.
Potential fans of this cult movie should go into The Lure expecting something that may be fantastical but is also grotesque, not just in terms of gore but also in terms of most of the characters’ morality. There are few individuals here (either mermaid or human) who are 100% likable.
Also, unlike the hypothetical Hollywood version which would have glamorous actors and actresses and enormous sets, The Lure is a very gritty film both in terms of the film’s locations and the characters’ appearances. That being said, in its own way there is no doubt that this is a very beautiful film. It is simply a monstrous, tragic form of beauty.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND IT?: The Lure is available on Netflix DVD. It is also available through Amazon to rent ($3.99) or buy ($16.99).
RUNTIME: 92 Minutes
DIRECTOR: Agnieszka Smocznska
WRITER: Robert Bolesto
STARING
