| REVIEW | Ryan Morrissey-Smith
- Director: Tyler Cornack
- Writer: Tyler Cornack
- Stars: Johnny Pemberton, Avery Potemri, Nancy McCrumb, Robert Patrick, Tom Arnold
As the film begins, there is text saying that this film is a love letter to Florida, and I don’t know about a love letter but it’s a very Floridan film. Of course, you have the regular colour palette of pastels, the wacky characters which would seem over-the-top and out of place in a film that was set anywhere else and of course, a fucked-up story that accompanies it all.
Doug (Pemberton) is by all intents and purposes, a weirdo and a loser. When he gets let go from his job at the strip club, Doug’s tenuous hold on life begins to slip. Doug lives in his deceased father’s apartment, has a pain killer addiction and owes people money, specifically Ron (Patrick) about three grand. Doug’s passion is fish; it’s the one thing he does understand and probably the only thing that makes sense to him. When Doug finds an injured mermaid in the water, he makes the decision to bring it home and care for the mermaid. This of course unleashes a series of events that get more and more crazy.
Mermaid wouldn’t be classified as a straight-out horror film (at least not until the final act), but it does sit in a very weird space, and the film is better for it. Doug’s interactions with the mermaid verge on therapy sessions. A lonely man who finally has someone that he can just tell everything too without being judged. It’s a bittersweet and one-sided relationship, this part of the film is more like a mumblecore, plutonic relationship film but when Doug attempts to integrate the mermaid into his normal life, that’s when things really fall apart and turn dark.
The creature design for the creature is a fantastic and thoughtful take on mermaids. Looking more fish like than humanoid, the mermaid probably veers closer (in spirit) to the fish monster in Creature From The Black Lagoon than it does anything else, in the top half of the body at least. Director Tyler Cornack wisely doesn’t give the audience a clear look at the mermaid, it is shown in purposely out of focus shots or from the top half of the body for the most part until the third act of the film when things get very hectic and out of control.
Cornack expertly navigates his way through this world, the Butt Boy director being no stranger to weird content in films but still finding a way to connect to the audience. Utilising the Florida location well, Cornack really forces home the skeezy, unpredictable nature of the place, whilst getting an excellent performance from Pemberton, making the audience really want this self-loather to succeed, even just once. The supporting cast all hit the right notes and help bring the microcosm of Mermaid together.
Mermaid is a very good film. It’s weird, funny and occasionally gory story that is just a little bit heartbreaking.
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