In 1980s Poland, mermaid sisters Golden and Silver are adopted into a nightclub as cabaret singers by a family of band musicians. With their ethereal voices and seductive naïveté, the sisters quickly become nightlife celebrities and are enchanted by life on land. Yet their hunger for human flesh forces them onto diverging paths: while Golden embraces her predatory instinct, Silver wishes to relinquish her roots to get a taste of love, leading them to a crossroads where the sisters’ fates lie in their own hands.

Packing horror, fantasy, and romance into a vibrant coming-of-age musical, Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s The Lure is an all-in-one cinematic delight that recalls Tsui Hark’s Green Snake (1993). The Lure subverts the submissive undertones of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid by embracing unfiltered depictions of female-dominated sex and violence, and raises questions about womanhood and exploitation—all to an eclectic soundtrack of mesmerising siren songs, heartfelt ballads, and retro dance-pop.

Agnieszka Smoczyńska (b. 1978, Poland) is a writer and director, best known for her debut feature The Lure (2015), an instant favourite among genre film festivals. Her latest film, The Silent Twins, premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim.