The narrative certainly goes to some strange places, especially throughout the second half where the musical element takes a backseat to the body horror elements (of which there is surprisingly a lot of). While the plot can be baffling at times, credit has to be given to the sheer amount of musical performances that feature throughout - each in their own way taking influence from the period setting while also being used to convey expositional information. These sequences are the best part about The Lure, full of energy, color, and most of all, feeling. It does what a good musical should - keeping you spellbound to the point of bopping your head or tapping your feet, and anticipating what spectacular number is going to come next.

The way it combines the musical and horror genres seems irreverent from a glance, but the most surprising thing about the film is how well these aspects blend together to create a truly remarkable piece of work. Conflict arises between the two mermaids when one falls for the bass player of the band (Jakub Gierszal), while the other is more focused on her primal instincts of feeding on humans - leading to some truly gross-out moments with a hint of tragedy.

Being Smoczynska's feature film debut, it does not feel like the work of a first-timer; especially due to the multiple elaborate setpieces. But most of all, underneath the glitzy spectacle, there is an interesting coming-of-age story to be found from the main characters - one which was partially based on Smoczynska's own adolescence (and cribbing slightly from Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid).