My virtual international summer continues, this time taking us to Poland for the musical horror film about mermaids, THE LURE. I had heard good things about this one and when Criterion had another 50% off sale, I pulled the trigger on it.
In an alternate version of the 1980s where monsters exist, two mermaids named Silver (Marta Mazurek) and Golden (Michalina Olszańska) see a band playing on the beach and decide to join them. They end up joining the band at the nightclub they work at and get jobs there as the owner is keen to have mermaids in his employ, despite the fishy smell.
You see, when they dry out they get legs, which allows them to walk on land. Also, they have no working lady parts in that form, being smooth like Barbie dolls. Which is important if they want to make love, as the only way to do that is in the water with their tails.
Anyway, they decide they like the job and want to stay there awhile, eventually becoming their own headlining act, The Lure. Silver starts to fall in love with the bassist for the band, Mietek, and Golden warns her that if that love goes sour, Silver will have to eat him or turn into sea foam.
That’s right, these mermaids eat people.
Although Silver abstains from that on land, Golden has a bit of a hunger and starts to snack on some patrons, causing an issue when the law takes notice. With Silver trying to find a way to be with Mietek–who hates her fishy parts–, Golden starts to sing with a metal band, and the sisters drift apart. Will everything turn out ok for them or will the world of music tear them apart and destroy them completely?
What ensues is a musical romp through the seedy life of nightclubs in Poland. It’s bizarre and beautiful. The songs are good, but there’s no real banger that you are going to be singing on the way out. That’s fine though as it’s a smaller, more personal sort of musical, not the huge, bombastic kind that wants the songs stuck in your head. These songs are quiet and personal, finding the players at low points more than they do the highs. The scenes of horror hit well, too, with most of them being body horror and feeding scenes but they are nice and bloody.
Did I mention that it is an adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen? It’s a loose one, obviously, but hits most of the notes and that works in its favor as it provides interesting twists instead of the same old story you’ve seen in the cartoons.
The original title is DAUGHTERS OF DANCING and although I like that one, I think THE LURE works on more levels as it is the name of the duo when they perform in the nightclub and could refer to the lure of showbiz, love, etc. And the lure of blood that the sisters hunger for.
Director Agnieszka Smoczyńska does a fantastic job on her debut film, deftly weaving the story of the mermaid sisters. The mermaids themselves are well realized, with great looking tales for the times that they are in water. Mazurek and Olszańska are great as the sisters, with the former portraying Silver with the wide-eyed innocence of someone looking for love, and the latter playing Golden with the dark, feral snarl of a predator looking for prey. Needless to say, I liked her a lot more as a metalhead murdering mermaid is pretty damn fun. The rest of the cast is great in their parts, though the focus isn’t on them as much as the sisters.
I’m definitely glad I picked it up and I am looking forward to watching it again to bask in the beautiful tragedy of Silver and Golden. Check it out.
