The Lorelei

The legendary Lorelei is a dark enchantress who lures fisherman and sailors to their death. In geography she is a steep rock over 400 feet high on the bank of the Rhine river.

Her legend survives in countless songs and stories. So Mol Smith's The Lorelei continues a long tradition of blending feminine beauty, danger and death—in French and in the arts, she's la femme fatale.

From the opening frames of this Indie film, set and shot around Oxford, I knew I would enjoy it. But not just because the story takes place at Oxford.

After a scenic introduction, The Lorelei quickly moves into a well- paced, supernaturally tinged murder mystery that poses tough questions often overlooked by the learned.

This is all totally unrealistic and a mere fantasy speculation inspired by the old German folklore about a deceitful fairy siting up on a rock on the Rhine and cheating sailors and fishermen to founder and sink into the waves, where she takes doubtful care of them. It takes more than just beautiful ladies to make a good film, here the ladies are lovely enough, especially Lorie-Lanie Shanks as Rebecca, but every thing else is missing. The story is absurd and does not hold, the love intrigues are confusing, there is no logic and nothing really makes any sense, and yet it is fascinating and worth following to the end, because that's where things start to happen. It is not much though, and the leading lady just vanishes and leaves everyone behind in confusion. The murder intrigue could have amounted to something, but as the daughter of the lost father who asks the detective to investigate her father's death, proves not to be his daughter at all, the murder intrigue loses its way. There is plenty of sex and provocations of nakedness, but also the horror element is lost in the general wash. The underwater photography is fascinating and impressive, like the whole film photographically, but most people would nod off and find it a waste of time. Well, it certainly is original and should be given a chance.

Just awful. I gave two stars because it takes place in Oxford. They chose the right place. The acting was terrible, the plot doesn't hold. Whatshername Rebecca acts amateurishly trying to impersonate some femme fatale. Who goes to the murder place next day wearing the same funeral outfit? And the hat? Considering that she had two suitcases in her car. And poor Dan, who should be a good detective, never guessed that his housemate is a common prostitute? Oh, spice it up with some quirky sexual content and you are done, but it doesn't make it a movie worthy to watch. Terrible uninteresting film. Waste of time.