Director: Christine Chen
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Heading together for a reunion, a group of friends plans a trip to a remote Louisiana swamp where they come face-to-face with the voodoo-resurrected mermaid guardian which soon starts a rampage against the community forcing them to decide between the creature and the revenge that she provides.
Review:
This was a pretty solid and enjoyable genre effort with a lot to like. The main feature to like here is the highly impressive setup that provides a fun building block to the later carnage. Since so much of this one is based on the main group of friends and how they come together to protect not just each other but the creature rampaging through the community, they come off as the kind of enjoyable and reasonable group of friends who would come together naturally feels quite enjoyable with the number of likable qualities they bring together. As well, that sets up the fun here once they realize the creature has been unleashed and the power that she has which leads into a solid series of scenes that provide plenty of fun encounters here where she attacks others so there's a fun finale involving some nice action in the sequence. For the most part, these hold the film up for the most part.
There are some drawbacks to be had with this one that holds it back. The biggest issue here is the film's rather scattershot storyline that has way more going on than it really needs to. That there's enough in place here with the group coming back together and going through their own struggles, not just with their recent job loss but also the struggles with their personal or dating lives, would've served this one well enough once they realize they've used black magic to summon the spirit that's now rampaging through the community. Getting to see them together and bonding while realizing that there's a killer creature in their midst to protect from others would've been fine but to incorporate all kinds of excess baggage involving the returning abusive ex-boyfriend, a corrupt landowner, and a toxic waste dump in the area which is all extremely clumsy and awkwardly inserted into this to appear as a fully-functioning storyline when it didn't need to be.
The other minor drawback here, which isn't all that detrimental but does hold it back somewhat, is the rather underwhelming pacing in the first half that makes the film quite a bit longer feeling than it should be in this part of the film. The introduction to this one getting a glimpse of the various personal problems and struggles that come to pass so we get a sense of them before they find the girl in the woods which is fine if takes way too long to get going. Establishing all the various subplots and side-stories keeps this one going along at a sluggish pace that makes for a struggle to generate any kind of momentum which is also a part of the problematic storyline having way too much going on. As well, there's also the issue with the budget keeping this one down as it's pretty apparent here with the lack of action, flimsy make-up work on the creature, and the generally bloodless kills which is relegated to the aftermath when it happens which hold this down.
Overview: **.5/5
An enjoyable enough if slightly flawed genre effort, there’s a lot to like here which manages to hold it up despite there being some more flaws here than expected. Those who are curious about this type of genre effort or intrigued by the setup here will have the most to like here while most others who are turned off by the flaws here should heed caution.
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