Shout! Studios snag the U.S. rights to a Russian mermaid horror thriller

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Word has come on the salty wind that Shout! Studios has netted the North American distribution rights to THE MERMAID: LAKE OF THE DEAD, a Russian horror thriller featuring one of folklore's most deceptive and dangerous creatures. In the film, an evil mermaid falls in love with Marina's fiancé Roman, and aims to keep him away from his bethrothed by imprisoning him in her underwater Kingdom of Death. As a result of the grim circumstance, Marina is forced into a position where she must overcome her fear of the dark water, if she's to remain human in the deathly fight with the monsters, lest she become one herself.

As one would suspect, the film is inspired by a Russian legend that tells of women who drown and transform into mermaids, living among the many dark creatures of the black water seas for all eternity. Like sirens, the mermaids sing to sailors in the night, hoping to lure them down into the briney deep below. Once swallowed by the sea, the men become guards for the mermaids, so that the sinister songstresses might capture more unknowing numbers for their ever-growing kingdom.

Helmed by Svyatoslav Podgaevskiy (THE BRIDE) and written by Natalya Dubovaya, Ivan Kappitonov, and Podgaevskiy, THE MERMAID: LAKE OF THE DEAD stars Viktoriya Agalakova, Efim Petrunin, Sesil Plezhe, Nikita Elenev, and Sofia Shidlovskaya, among others.

I don't know about you, but I can think of a few good reasons to never go in the water, but mermaids? So many films have made them appear sweet, majestic, and welcoming. Has Hollywood been lying to us this entire time? Are they really nothing more than piranhas with hair? Is Disney hiding a deep, dark secret with Ariel? I mean, where exactly did she find all those knick knacks and whatnots aplenty? Perhaps we'll learn more about these devious deep-sea demons when THE MERMAID: LAKE OF THE DEAD reaches U.S. shores?