The Little Mermaid : A Dark Grim Take on The Classic Tale

The Little Mermaid

Today for short film theatre we’re staying in the land of fairy tales. But this time it’s not a dancing musical, but is an incredibly dark adaption of The Little Mermaid. Directed by Nicholas Humphries the film is called The Little Mermaid (Not that original of a name) that was made in 2012.

The film takes place at what appears to be 1940s in the somewhat dying freak show where the only attraction is a mermaid. She is held against her will by an evil and sinister show runner who will keep her forever to make as much money as he can. But desperately wanting revenge as well as freedom, the mermaid comes up with a plan to get back at the evil man.

The good? The mermaid is a monster here. She has sharp teeth, gills stretching across her face and eats meat. She’s animalistic, wild with shreds of humanity bleeding through here and there. I appreciate that they went against the traditional fish lady. Also the special effects are great. It’s very dark, grim, and bloody.

The bad? I kind of wished there was more. There should have been more I felt. Like what happens after the ending. How did the mermaid get there? I guess we’ll never know

Overall, it’s a beautiful dark amazing film. It’s a true fairy tale horror, that every fairy tale and horror fan should watch.

Overall Ratting: A Dark Grim Take on The Classic Tale

4 Flicks out of four

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Chasing Shadows : Classic Noir with a Nice Twist

Shadows

So today for short film theatre , we are going into the world of film noir. And film noir is such a fun genre. It’s hard to believe I haven’t review a short film noir flick for this blog. Today it’s the 2013 flick Chasing Shadows directed and written by Armin Siljkovic.

It’s a film the starts with a man getting shot in an alley. Then it jumps back into the past, showing the events leading up to the lead death. It turns out our lead is after someone. He sees him enter an alley way and follows him with gun in hand. But the killer knows he’s there, and it becomes a suspenseful game of survival.

The good? It has all the noir style down to perfection. It’s beautiful carefully crafted film. It does not look independent. The end too had an interesting twist giving a wonderful shocker and lingering mystery for the viewer.

The bad? It’s weak on story. The film felt more like a experiment than a film. Also what the hell is up with cigarettes in this film? I mean they are putting too much smoke. I grew up in a family of smokers ( I don’t smoke myself) and never seen a cigarette put out this much smoke. If you set one of these cigarettes in a phone booth within thirty second it would fill the thing up with such a thick fog of cancer that the glass may crack. Then the actor keeps lighting cigarette in every other scene. What happened to the one he lit fifteen seconds earlier? The emphasis on the cigarettes was too much. I’m not sure why it was there. I know it’s a noir trope, but they beat it into the ground here.

Overall, the six minute film is worth the watch. And the twist at the end is fun. There’s no reason not to watch it, but it is did by no means a perfect film. Check it out if you like this sort of stuff. You know who you are.

3 flicks out of four.

Overall Rating : Classic Noir with a Nice Twist

Here’s the film down below if you want to check it out.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/