The Lure (2015)

While I was searching the most popular movie websites for horror movies to watch for the 31 Days of Horror challenge, whether I was looking for musicals or foreign language, there's a movie I stumbled upon multiple times, The Lure (Polish: Córki dancingu), a Polish fantasy, horror, romantic and musical film. In other words, a movie I could not pass. 

Set in Warsaw in the 1980s, the film follows two mermaid sisters, Silver (Marta Mazurek) and Golden (Michalina Olszańska), who are adopted by a family of musicians after assuring them they won't eat them and soon start performing at a nightclub as strippers and backup singers. While Silver falls in love with the bassist, Mietek (Jakub Gierszał), Golden cannot escape her bloodthirsty nature and kills people.

This is arguably a very unique and dark take on the famous tale by Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for me to make a compelling film as the plot is interesting but never engaging; if anything, it gets pretty boring. Also, there's a romantic subplot that feels a little forced and like it wasn't exploited as it should have been.

The characters are kinda messy too. Although the main ones have a nice development and make a very intersting group of characters, there are too many characters popping out of nowhere and soon disappearing --we know absolutely nothing about them and they don't even have a role in the story, so what's the point?

The cast, however, is evenly good. Marta Mazurek and Michalina Olszańska are both great in their roles of mermaid sisters, more innocent and kinda naive the first, very alluring the latter. And Kinga Preis provides a solid support as the nightclub singer who adopts the two sisters.

Kino Świat

The direction by first time director Agnieszka Smoczyńska is also pretty solid. Although the mix of genres --fantasy, horror, romance and musical-- doesn't work as good as it could have, she was able to establish an intriguing and mysterious atmosphere which make the horror part work very well. And she makes the musical part work as well --the lyrics to the songs are completely nonsensical (at least they are in the English subtitles. I don't know, maybe they make sense in Polish) and yet they are enjoyable and entertaining. Definitely one of those soundtracks you want to purchase after the movie.

At last but not least, The Lure is visually stunning --not only the cinematography is impressive, but the makeup and costumes are so good they make the two sisters look disturbingly real.