mermaid | Monster Zone

'Bound by tradition. Controlled by no one.' — ‘Bound by tradition. Controlled by no one.’

The film boasts some stunning landscape shots

Starring Basima Hajjar, Ashraf Barhoum, Fatima Al Taei, Yagoub Alfarhan and Haifa Al-Agha. Written and directed by Shahad Ameen. Produced by R. Paul Miller, Stephen Strachan and Rula Nasser.

The people of a small coastal settlement sacrifice some of their daughters to unseen sea creatures (we only get a brief glimpse of a clawed, webbed, gill-man-style hand) and, in return, the village’s fisherman are able to hunt for Sea Maidens, which are the main food source for the population.

A Sea Maiden that Hayat has dragged to the village

One of the hunters dies from a wound suffered during a fishing trip: it can be dangerous capturing Sea Maidens

Plot-wise, we never discover how the life cycle of the mermaids & mer-creatures actually works. The teenage girls given to the sea in the nighttime ceremonies somehow become the fish-tailed Sea Maidens that are hunted, but just how the female humans mutate into mermaids isn’t explained. Just what is it that the gill-men want: does the transformation of the girls form part of the clawed gill-men creatures’ elaborate reproductive process, perhaps?

A Sea Maiden is caught and dragged onto a fishing boat, where she starts to crawl along the deck.. — A Sea Maiden is caught and dragged onto a fishing boat, where she starts to crawl along the deck…

A close-up shot of the sand-speckled face of the captured Sea Maiden

The main character, an outsider girl called Hayat (Hajjar), has fish scales growing on her left foot – and, when it is her time to be sacrificed to the sea-gods – she survives the ordeal and returns to the village the following morning, dragging a dead Sea Maiden with her. Had Hayat maybe come into contact with a gill-man at a young age, and she’d somehow been turned into a human with slight Sea Maiden qualities? Who knows? The details surrounding the whole ecology of these strange sea beings isn’t gone into by writer-director Shahad Ameen, as already stated, because, for Ameen, this isn’t her main concern. Instead, this wonderful-looking b&w film (a Saudi Arabian/UAE/Jordanian/Iraqi production), filmed around Musandam in Oman, plays out more like an allegory or fable, focusing on how Hayat is instrumental in changing a society’s dark, age-old traditions and practices. The film can definitely be seen as a look at how a determined female character navigates her way through a patriarchal social structure.

Hayat's left foot has fish scales growing on it — Hayat’s left foot has fish scales growing on it

Of the actors, Ashraf Barhoum stands out the most, playing lead fisherman Amer, who starts to see something special in Hayat. Along with lovely landscape photography, the film boasts several memorable moments, including the scene in which the tide withdraws completely, leaving nothing but the dry, cracked seabed.

Ashraf Barhoum, as Amer, imbues his character with thoughtfulness and toughness

A mermaid is found on the dry, cracked seabed — A dead mermaid is found on the dry, cracked seabed

The stranded Sea Maiden is buried by Hayat and her father (played by Yagoub Alfarhan) — The stranded Sea Maiden corpse is buried by Hayat and her father Muthana (played by Yagoub Alfarhan)

(Shahad Ameen also made the 2013 short film EYE & MERMAID, another production that tells a mermaid-focused tale)

Dennis Hopper is tormented by an octopus on a couch!

Lonely sailor Johnny Drake (Dennis Hopper), on shore leave in Santa Monica, is attracted to the young woman named Mora (Linda Lawson) he sees at a jazz club. Johnny strikes up a friendship with her and discovers that Mora makes her living on the pier playing a mermaid in a sideshow attraction run by Captain Samuel Murdock (Gavin Muir).

Johnny and Mora become closer, they hang out whenever he’s in town, and Johnny realises that Mora believes she is actually a siren. He is also told by Ellen (Luana Anders), the daughter of the merry-go-round operator, that two of Mora’s previous boyfriends went missing and some people think Mora killed them. Johnny doesn’t believe any of this, but he finds it hard to convince Mora she is suffering from some kind of delusion. It is only after tragedy strikes that Johnny discovers the truth, which is linked to the charming but manipulative Captain Murdock.

Don't trust Captain Murdock... — Don’t trust Captain Murdock…

Johnny becomes more and more attracted to Mora

I love this movie!

Set around Venice Beach and Santa Monica, NIGHT TIDE gains a lot by being based in these beach town locations, which lend the production a distinctive, quirky vibe.

A young-looking, handsome Dennis Hopper is really good as the likeable sailor protagonist, adding little bits method mannerisms into his performance. A lot of the time he’s just walking around the boardwalk, not doing a lot, but Hopper remains interesting to watch nonetheless. Linda Lawson is good too, imbuing Mora with a truly mysterious quality.

This is a great scene in the crashing waves under the pier

Written and directed by Curtis (QUEEN OF BLOOD) Harrington, NIGHT TIDE has the same ‘feel’ as CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962): both are distinctive, unusual, low budget, dream-like movies that are a little rough around the edges but are both memorable viewing experiences.

Mora earns a living as a sideshow mermaid... but is she a real siren? — Mora earns a living as a sideshow mermaid… but is she a real siren?

Though NIGHT TIDE’s resolution is not supernatural in nature, the movie has made it onto the Monster Zone blog site because it features a brief nightmare scene, where we see Johnny tormented by an octopus! There’s also a dream scene in which Johnny sees Mona as a real mermaid.

Another shot from the Dennis-Hopper-and-octopus nightmare scene: why not?! It's fun! — Another shot from the Dennis-Hopper-and-octopus nightmare scene: why not?! It’s fun!

A mermaid's tail under the covers... — A mermaid’s tail under the covers…

The exposition at the end is clunky, but this is a minor quibble, as the film is atmospheric, arty and dreamy. It definitely sticks in the mind. Give NIGHT TIDE a watch and let it cast its spell on you…