The Lure Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Bloody Mermaid Musical

If you’re looking for a different sort of horror movie for your Halloween marathons, I’ve got one for you and it’s a Criterion Collection to boot. I saw The Lure at Sundance 2016 and if a Polish musical about killer mermaids sounds as wonderful to you as it did to me, you should be just as pleased. Michalina Olszanska and Marta Mazurek were lovely as the innocent mermaid singers on land with teeth, literally, and their music was catchy.

Criterion’s transfer is gorgeous of course, from the layered animated titles to bright nightclub stage colors, shopping montage, and surreal nightmare imagery. Even when it’s dreary apartments and dressing rooms, it’s a crisp clear widescreen.  Their leather jackets are shiny.

The interview segment runs 42 minutes and includes everyone from in front and behind the camera, including the music which is the highlight. Deleted scenes offer even more music, plus long significant scenes. It’s kind of amazing the movie still works without them.

Aria Diva is director Angieszka Smoczynska’s short film, which is a substantial 30 minutes. It involves music too, but it’s all humans. Viva Maria is another short she directed, a documentary about opera singer Maria Foltyn. So it’s great to discover additional work from the director and see how else she’s explored music in film.