The Lure

The Lure follows two mermaid sisters who come ashore and are taken in by a family of musicians, then hired as performers at a nightclub. One sister, Złota, develops a taste for human blood, while the other, Srebrna, falls for a handsome young bass player. The bond between them is strained by that romance and by Złota's hunger, and the choices that follow turn violent. Set in Poland and shot as a horror musical, the film blends cabaret numbers with fairy-tale menace.

Agnieszka Smoczyńska directed from a screenplay by Robert Bolesto, with Włodzimierz Niderhaus producing. Michalina Olszańska and Marta Mazurek play the sisters, and Kinga Preis, Jakub Gierszał, Andrzej Konopka and Zygmunt Malanowicz appear in supporting roles. Made for about 1 million USD, it was the director's first feature, followed by The Silent Twins and, later, Hot Spot.

Reception was divided along a clear line. Critics rated it 7.2/10 across 81 reviews, while audience scores sit lower at 6.2/10 on IMDb from around 11,000 votes and 6.2/10 on TMDB from roughly 306 votes. The modest vote counts on both audience platforms suggest a niche following rather than wide viewership.