- Directed by Leigh Scott
- Written by Leigh Scott
- Stars Mike Markoff, Lydia Helen, Jeff Denton
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 29 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1dfTzpfXdo
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
The cast does a decent job with this telling of the tale, though there aren’t enough musical numbers. It’s a serious take on the tale, with plenty of horror elements and some nice references to H.P. Lovecraft worked in. We were pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it was.
Spoilery Synopsis
Dr. Eric Prince leads an archaeological team digging on the shore. Mr. Collins, from the board, complains that he’s supposed to be doing offshore digging, and he’s creeping too far inland. Eric explains that what he’s working on might be a lot better. Eric offers a bigger bribe, so that’s all good for now.
Meanwhile, a couple of fishermen out in a boat catch something in a net. They pull it on board and see that it’s a… mermaid. “This is better than a marlin,” says one. The mermaid wakes up and chomps one of them with a mouthful of fangs. Then her tail divides into legs, and she hypnotizes the other man.
Eric has a nightmare about vicious mermaids. He gets a call from a man who has some relics for him to see. The man has very old coins and jewelry, and a strange woman sold them to him. Eric says he’d like to meet this mystery woman.
At the dig site, they find a mummified body and a fishy-looking pagan idol of Dagon. There’s most likely an ancient temple buried right here. Eric says that it’s a huge discovery, the biggest since King Tut.
We cut to a red-haired woman who looks very familiar. She talks to the man with the coins and jewelry. She’s very interested in the ancient temple that Eric has found. She arranges a meeting with Eric; she’s Aurora. She says her trinkets were just old things the family had.
They flirt and appear to be attracted to one another. He says she looks really familiar.
Eric and his helpers take a boat out to do some diving. While down there, Eric sees a red-headed mermaid, very clearly. His helper sees it as well, so he knows he’s not crazy. The next day, Eric tells Aurora what he saw. She’s not as skeptical as she should be, and even hints that she might be a mermaid herself.
Mr. Collins, on the other hand, wants to cancel Eric’s digging permit. He has until the end of the day to clear out everything.
Eric has another date with Aurora, and she has her cook make sushi. We see that her cook is the hypnotized fisherman from the boat, who is looking a little fishy himself now. Eric mentions that the dig has been halted due to the locals. She makes her intentions clear, and Eric’s not about to put up a fight.
Later, she gets her minion Sebastian to drive her to town, where she meets with Mr. Collins. She uses her mind control to make him do her bidding. Surprisingly, Collins calls Eric and tells him that he can continue to dig in that area after all. Aurora says she bought the whole place.
Dr. Ferdinand Ashley, from the university arrives to help on the dig. They’ve been financing all this until now. He finds a stone tablet that has an inscription and warning about evil spirits. Then they find a sacred seal, and of course, Eric quickly breaks the seal. Ferdy mentions a dig in Innsmouth, where he had to deal with a Dagon cult once before, and he wants to avoid that this time around. Also, he warns Eric not to get in trouble with Aurora, as so happens when Eric is around women.
Ferdy does some research on mermaids and Dagon. That temple really shouldn’t be here, but that’s the least weird thing about all this. They start pumping water out of the flooded underground temple.
Ferdy goes into town and finds a photo of Aurora from 1921, but then, he’s confronted by Sebastian and Aurora. She’s very threatening, but Ferdy is smart and says the right thing and they let him go… with Sebastian following.
Ferdy has a nightmare and tells Eric that they need to stop digging and get out of town. Eric thinks Ferdy has lost his mind, going on and on about opening magical cursed tombs and how evil Aurora is. Ferdy enlists Archie, the local guy, to work against Aurora. Just then, cultists in fish masks arrive. “Her majesty would like a word with you.”
Diving into the subterranean temple, Eric looks around and finds lots of neat stuff. He comes up and finds that he’s been down there for hours. It’s dark, so he’ll have to wait until tomorrow to go down again.
Aurora tells Eric that Ferdy and Archie tried to kill her and that she stopped them. Ferdy and Archie are being held prisoner by Sebastian on the beach. Aurora tells Eric that she couldn’t break the seal on the temple; she’s been trying for centuries.
Aurora admits what she is to Eric. She wants him to go back to the temple, open the gates, and let the Old Ones out to conquer the world. Ferdy and Archie break loose, kill Collins and Sebastian, but Eric won’t let them kill Aurora. “She’s my destiny.” He leans in for a kiss, and Archie shoots them both.
Aurora roars and jumps back in the ocean as Eric apologizes and dies. Ferdy and Archie rush back to the dig site to seal it up before Aurora can release Hell on Earth. The guys reseal the tomb, say some magic words, and save the Earth.
Aurora comes to Ferdy; she can’t break her promise not to harm him. She admits that she’s just one of many and her time will come, one way or another.
Brian’s Commentary
The movie needed more songs and dancing. These live-action remakes sure are different from the original Disney, aren’t they? 
There are a lot of references here to H.P. Lovecraft, who wrote about “The Deep Ones,” which aren’t exactly mermaids, but close enough for now. Innsmouth, Dagon, the Elder Gods, and more all get name-dropped here.
So what’s keeping Aurora from hypnotising some construction guys to open that tomb again? She knows right where it is and even owns the land it’s on.
The acting is fine, and everything looks good here. Some of the dialogue is pretty atrocious, and the story is about as predictable as can be, but it’s not bad overall.
Kevin’s Commentary
I’d say the dialogue was sometimes a weak point, but overall I was pleased. I really liked the Lovecraftian elements that were woven into the story, that was a good fit. I was bracing myself for something lame, but ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
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