In this bold, genre-defying horror-musical mashup — the playful and confident debut of Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska — a pair of carnivorous mermaid sisters are drawn ashore in an alternate ’80s Poland to explore the wonders and temptations of life on land. Their tantalizing siren songs and otherworldly aura make them overnight sensations as nightclub singers in the half-glam, half-decrepit fantasy world of Smoczynska’s imagining. In a visceral twist on Hans Christian Andersen’s original Little Mermaid tale, one sister falls for a human, and as the bonds of sisterhood are tested, the lines between love and survival get blurred. A savage coming-of-age fairytale with a catchy new-wave soundtrack, lavishly grimy sets, and outrageous musical numbers, The Lure explores its themes of sexuality, exploitation, and the compromises of adulthood with energy and originality.

The Lure combines horror, love, sex, dancing, comedy, musical numbers, and neon in a story loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.  Shot in the style of early mid 80’s music videos, The Lure is an amazing new film from first-time Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Smoczynska. 

Marta Mazurek and Michalina Olszanska play Silver and Golden. Though described by some as mermaids the sisters are actually sirens.  Their aquatic tails are long and more eel-like than fish. When they are first found by Figs and Dates, the house band at a Warsaw nightclub, the girls have not yet completely matured. Therefore they have yet to develop their carnivorous desire to eat anyone.  Although it’s not long before Golden blood lust begins to develop. As a result, she’s ready to leave for America as they had planned.  Silver, however, wants to stay as she has fallen in love with the youngest member of the band, Mietek (Jakub Gierszal.) She’s prepared to replace her tail permanently with legs even though this means she will lose her voice. Worse, if Mietek rejects her love and marries another, Silver will turn into sea foam.

Everything about this film is stunning.  The bright colors, close-up camera angles, stagey lighting and nearly wall to wall musical numbers all contribute to early MTV feel.  All of the musical numbers in the film are energetic and classically staged.  A number early in the film is especially so.  In it the girls have decide to stay and are taken out on the town shopping to celebrate. Some songs like that are traditional “advancing the story” songs and others are nightclub performances. Both types are great and neither feels out of place.

Rest assured though, this is a horror movie. The film has a dark tone throughout and it does get gory in places. Smoczynska opts for predominately practical effects and they look really good.  The only drawback is that you never really get to witness the girls change.  A couple of times you see a little bit of the transition. But most of the time they have legs, then cutaway, then they have a tail.  The feeling that this film may have been made in the 1980s is strengthened by this method.

Pacing is a bit of an issue as one or two scenes do feel like they drag a bit. Yet overlooking that is pretty easy as The Lure has so much other good stuff to offer. Smoczynska has made brilliant debut and I would love to see her give this treatment to other classic fairy tales in the future.