A Sereia Assassina

Two young American women go on a Mediterranean vacation and uncover the watery lair of a killer mermaid hidden beneath an abandoned military fortress. What was once a carefree adventure becomes a deadly fight for survival.

So, the film has gone through a few title changes: from "Mimula" to "Killer Mermaid" to "Nymph". The first one is the most accurate, other than that no one knows what that is. The second sounds like a SyFy film. The third is sort of close. Really ,they ended up with a mermaid mixed with a siren. What would that be called?

There is some great use of color, although the camera has an odd tendency to "float" rather than focus on the subjects. There is also some awkward English, but given that this is in Serbia, that really should be expected.

Anyway, not terrible, but it does not even come close to the original mermaid horror film: "Night Tide".

On a picturesque holiday a group of old old and new friends take a trip to an off limit island and find something thought to be of only fantasy.

With a skimpy dressed cast in amongst the nice scenery and locations there's blood filled impalement, beheading, hacking, stabbings and a creepy Mermaid. Nymph is a strong horror entry especially during it's atmospheric night segments as men are enticed by the sounds of the mermaid. The interesting aged Montenegero locations add a different look and feel to the proceedings. At times reminiscent of Dagon, to director Milan Todorovic's credit it sets the scene with an early killing, then builds up to a claret finale while taking a leaf out of Jaws (1975) book by keeping the 'monster' unseen until the final act.

Played straight, the actress Zorana Kostic Obradovic and Mina Sablic's mermaid steal the show, second to Miodrag Krstovic, a Castro lookalike protagonist and of course there's Franco Nero in a fitting role as Niko- an old salty sea dog amongst the easy on the eye cast including the notable Natalie Burn, Sofija Rajovic and Kristina Klebe. Yes some cast members sometimes struggle with the English dialogue, accents and the editing and pacing at times is a little off but it adds to the quirky off beat charm that Nymph/Mamula/Killer Mermaid posses.

Overall, this Euro part horror mystery, part slasher flick and campfire tale does what it says on the fantasy horror tin. Entertaining.

I know what you're thinking. A movie about a killer mermaid, so it has to suck. That's the attitude I had when I sat down to watch this movie. However, it was very well done for what it was. They did a serious job on this film. The acting was pretty good, as was the story and the special effects. They spent about 30 mins of a 90 minute movie with character development, which is fine, because it made you at least get to know some of the characters. I'd recommend this movie, as long as you know it's not a blockbuster film. All I need is for a movie to be entertaining, and I thought that's what it was. I didn't look at my watch waiting for the movie to end. It was well done.

I gave this film a 5-star rating because I really enjoyed it, and it was sooooo much better than I thought it would be. I thought this was going to be some stupid movie like Piranha 3DD or Varsity Blood. However, as I said, it was done in a serious way, and the people in this could act.

There is one fun moment in the beginning of the film when the camera shows us the lovely Montenegro coast and there's some fun music playing. After that, you might as well turn the movie off, satisfied that you enjoyed all the positive experience it had to offer.

This little film from Serbia directed by Milan Todorovic is based on a story by Marko Backovic and transformed into a screenplay by Barry Keating and Milan Konjevic. It will satisfy the current voracious appetite for horror stories that serve substantial amounts of gore to audiences who love that sort of thing. With an unknown cast the director relies on the presence of Franco Nero to bring a bit of credibility to an otherwise incredulous story.

Two American girls travel to Montenegro on vacation to visit an old friend, playboy Alex who unbeknownst to the girls is now engaged. They decide to venture to Mamula, a former prison island and Nazi concentration camp that houses a horrendous evil. During their exploration of the fortress they discover that they are not alone: a sinister fisherman named Niko (Franco Nero) is seen disposing of human remains in a well and everyone realizes they are in mortal danger. Someone else is on the island with them and he will stop at nothing to protect it's secrets. There is a darkness hidden beneath the island and the terror has just begun – the killer mermaid.

As if there weren't enough of this type of tale on television for free they continue to light up the marquee. As long as there is an audience there will be more. In Serbian and English with subtitles. Grady Harp, September 14