DVD Review: Killer Mermaid

By Brad Henderson

Between artwork mishaps and title changes, distributors are getting worse at promotion. I understand their target audience perspective and get the logistics behind it, but that doesn’t change how dumb it is.

In the beginning of the year a film was circulating festivals with the title Nymph. That recently changed once the film was picked up and distributed in the US as Killer Mermaid. Of course the title Killer Mermaid is bland and straight to the point, but the title is the spoiler. I was pissed. While watching the film we are anticipating a mermaid and that’s fine, but it actually isn’t revealed until nearly the end of the film. The fact that it is a mermaid is meant to be the twist, but we are flat out told what it is in the goddamn title and the cover of the DVD.

Killer Mermaid opens like a slasher film; a couple gets naked and is then slain by a man with an anchor. Wait . . . isn’t this film about a killer mermaid? It is, but like I said, it is supposed to be a twist, but one that was already ruined for you by looking at the title. After the opening sequence we get to meet our two leads on vacation. While on this vacation they meet up with some friends and do what tourists would do. This goes on for a bit and we are given hints that “something” is around but like I said, we obviously know what that “something” is. Once they get to the military base the movie gets a little interesting and turns back into a slasher. Something odd starts happening with the men but we can’t figure out why they are acting so weird. They are drawn to something but what could it be? *wink wink*

Enough jokes. The movie is subpar until they actually get to the military base and the horror really starts. I enjoyed the hell out of the last 15-20 minutes of this thing but I was truly upset by knowing the twist. This film has every cliché in the book but redeems itself at the end. Still, we are left unfulfilled because Killer Mermaid could’ve gone on for another 20 minutes and made up for all the cliché drama in the first hour.

The film is beautifully shot and well made and looks absolutely fantastic. Even the night shots are done perfectly; everything is visible and looks clear. It is a shame this didn’t get a Blu-Ray release because I’m sure it would have looked better.

All in all, Killer Mermaid isn’t all that bad but I’m still so confused on why they changed the title. Instead of being surprised when we see it, we simply shrug our shoulders because we knew the whole time. With some movies, box art or the synopsis might spoil the film. I dislike that as well, but this is a new level of frustration. Most people probably wouldn’t give a shit but I like to be surprised about what is going to happen. I don’t read the last chapter of a book first; I start from the beginning and I don’t flip through and read random pages, either.

Killer Mermaid was made available exclusively on XBOX on August 26 and will be out on DVD and digital download September 9. It’s being distributed by Epic Pictures.