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Just wanted to share this with folks.
Last night I rented a movie called "She Creature" starring Carla Gugino ("Spy Kids") and Rufus Sewell ("Dark City") with the lovely Rya Kihlstedt as the title character. Simply put, its a movie about a Mermaid. But it bears little relationship to "Splash."
Set circa 1910, the whole flick feels like a blend of Poe and Lovecraft with maybe some dashes here and there of Anne Rice. The story begins in a travelling carnival, where Lilly (Gugino) pretends
to be a mermaid for the freak show. A wealthy sailor comes by, worried the show might contain a *real* mermaid and determined to warn them of the danger. You see, he has one. He keeps her chained in a tank at his home. All this comes out as he shares wine and sea stories with Lilly and her paramour Angus (Sewell). They naturally don't believe him. He is just drunk enough to prove he's not lying. Not too suprisingly, the carnies proceed to steal the mermaid, positive here's a ticket to really big money.
They have, of course, made a deadly mistake.
Drawing mostly on myths about sirens, this story reveals a stark reason for mermaids to lure shipfulls of men to the rocks. Simply, they're looking for a meal. That's all very well and good, but what's
really compelling about this film is the connection that grows between Lilly and the Mermaid. Suffice to say a kind of spiritual/mental bond grows, one as compelling as it is sometimes terrifying. For example, one of the sailors accosts Lilly. When Lilly goes to see the Mermaid, they lock eyes. Head emerging from the water, the Mermaid spits
something to her--the ring worn by that very sailor who was bothering her. He has vanished. Lilly thinks she knows where...
But why? Why did this creature do that? For her? Why? What's going on? The answers--what we get of them--are rather surprising (and have a definite erotic flavor).
Don't want to give the plot all away, but it is a far-above-average horror film. Apart from the quality of the cast, its especially nice to see how the dialogue never loses its focus. For example,
exposition is given in dramatic ways, and the only times you hear platitudes (the bane, imo, of writers who don't have anything specific for their characters to say) are when these characters would utter such--and the ones who hear them react accordingly! Which brings up another point I like. Whereas lots (if not all) of the characters are foolish, none of them are stupid. Bravo!
Rated "R" for sexuality, nudity and some violence. Approx. 89 minutes. Were I giving out grades, this one gets at least a B minus.
Zahir "O Let my name be in the Book of Love!
If it be there, I care not of
That other great book above!
Strike it out, or write it in anew,
But let my name be in the Book of Love!"<i></i>
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