Splash into Summer Movie Review: She Creature

Being a filmmaker, I really wanted to review a movie for Splash. One immediately came to mind, a personal favorite of mine.

If you're reading this blog, I'm sure you can agree that the best part about Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides was the Mermaids.

They were cool and dark and monstrous! Totally not Ariel. Too bad it wasn't just about them.

However, they reminded me of this very neat Mermaid Horror film She Creature (2001).

Never heard of it? Not surprising. It was a Showtime original that I'm pretty sure I caught when it originally aired late one night in high school.

She Creature is set at the turn of the 20th century, and follows the tale of a side show circus that acquires a real mermaid. It starts Rufus Sewell and a bunch of people you almost recognize.

Angus (Rufus Sewell) is the proprietor of the circus, and his lovely lady Lily (Carla Gugino) is the show's mermaid. Of course, hers is just a costume - a hoax like the rest of a circus. But everything changes when Angus and Lily ofter to bring a drunk patron home. Turns out, this drunk guy, actually has a real live, murdering mermaid! Yeah, the mermaid totally ate the drunk's wife. Now he just wants her to die.

Angus can't get the mermaid out of his mind. So he sneaks back to the drunks house and "procures" the creature. Now, the circus is trapped on a boat with a beautiful and deadly mermaid as they cross the Atlantic. But worst of all, Lily seems to have developed a deadly link with the mermaid.

She Creature really creeps me out while being totally awesome, especially for a low-budget film. Lily and the creature are both fascinating strong female characters played by great actresses. The story is solid. The pacing is good. The creature - is totally awesome. The mermaid portrays an inhuman beauty, and the make-up and effects hold up. Plus, she has really nice boobs. Which are everywhere in this movie. I'm sure part of her casting involved how good her boobs look in water.

So, if you're a mermaid fan who can deal with horror movies, you must check out She Creature. It's a lot of fun, and a great creepy take on the myth.