Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature (2001) (TV)

Director:

Sebastian Gutierrez

Writer (WGA):

Sebastian Gutierrez (written by)

Release Date:

2 April 2002 (Canada)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Beatiful, seductive and totally deadly.

Plot:

Two carnies (Sewell and Gugino) abduct a mermaid in Ireland, circa 1900, and decide to transport her to America...

Plot Keywords:

Mermaid | 1900s | Ship | Catatonic | Cigarette Smoking

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Rufus Sewell	...	Angus
Carla Gugino	...	Lily
Jim Piddock	...	Captain Dunn
Reno Wilson	...	Bailey
Mark Aiken	...	Gifford
Fintan McKeown	...	Skelly
Aubrey Morris	...	Mr. Woolrich
Gil Bellows	...	Miles
Rya Kihlstedt	...	Mermaid
Hannah Sim	...	Queen of the Lair
Jon Sklaroff	...	Russian Eddie
David Nott	...	Cook
Dan Hildebrand	...	Christian
Preston Maybank	...	Navy Captain
Brian Sieve	...	Officer Dixon
Matthew Roseman	...	Officer Jenkins (as Matt Roseman)
Gabriel Gutierrez	...	Young O'Donnell
Isabella Gutierrez	...	Miranda
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tim Maloney	...	Sailor (uncredited)

Directed by
Sebastian Gutierrez

Writing credits (WGA)
Sebastian Gutierrez		(written by)

Produced by
Lou Arkoff	....	producer
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	executive producer
Dan J. Birnbaum	....	associate producer
Colleen Camp	....	producer
Steve Ecclesine	....	line producer
Buddy Epstein	....	executive producer
Brian J. Gilbert	....	co-producer
David S. Greathouse	....	co-producer
Carrie Iglehart	....	associate producer
Andrea Lapins	....	associate producer
Shane Mahan	....	co-producer
Robyn Rosenfeld	....	executive producer
Scott Shapiro	....	associate producer
Stan Winston	....	producer

Original Music by
David Reynolds

Cinematography by
Thomas L. Callaway		(director of photography) (as Tom Callaway)

Film Editing by
Daniel Cahn

Production Design by
Jerry Fleming

Art Direction by
Peter Borck

Set Decoration by
Betty Berberian

Costume Design by
Julia Schklair

Makeup Department
Barbara Cantu	....	key hair stylist
Stephanie Coffey	....	makeup artist
Myke Michaels	....	makeup department head
Richard Wetzel	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Larry Ferguson Jr.	....	post-production supervisor
Robert E. Warner	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jessica W. Leung	....	second assistant director
Elenie Mansalis	....	second second assistant director
David N. Schrager	....	first assistant director (as David Schrager)

Art Department
Sarah Bullion	....	art department assistant
Lance DeSpain	....	lead scenic artist
Steven P. Duchscherer	....	property master
Bill Luckey	....	property maker
Lisa Robinson	....	on-set dresser
Christopher Schultz	....	swing
Wayne Springfield	....	construction coordinator
Christina Ann Wilson	....	assistant art director (as Christy Wilson)

Sound Department
Bob Arons	....	sound effects editor
Kami Asgar	....	supervising sound editor
William G. Flick	....	sound mixer (as Billy Flick)
Jonathan Golodner	....	sound effects editor
Pamela Kahn	....	foley artist
Mark Larry	....	sound effects editor
James M. McCann	....	boom operator (as James McCann)
Kyle Rochlin	....	foley mixer
Tim Tuchrello	....	first assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Richard Alonzo	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio (as Richie Alonzo)
Joe Andreas	....	special effects
David Beneke	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
John Cherevka	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
Jeff Edwards	....	key mechanic: Stan Winston Studio
David Gallion	....	special effects foreman
Dave Grasso	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
Moto Hata	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
Richard Haugen	....	key mechanic: Stan Winston Studio
Kurt Herbel	....	creature effects
Hiroshi 'Kan' Ikeuchi	....	key mechanic: Stan Winston Studio
Carey Jones	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
Hiroshi Katagiri	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
Richard J. Landon	....	key mechanic: Stan Winston Studio
Russell Lukich	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
Lindsay MacGowan	....	design artist: Stan Winston Studio
Shane Mahan	....	effects supervisor: Stan Winston Studio
Mark Maitre	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
Keith Marbory	....	key technician: Stan Winston Studio
Tony McCray	....	mold department supervisor: Stan Winston Studio
Mark 'Crash' McCreery	....	concept designer: Stan Winston Studio (as Mark McCreery)
Kevin Mohlman	....	key mechanic: Stan Winston Studio
David Monzingo	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
Sandro Moro	....	special effects
Steve Newburn	....	key technician: Stan Winston Studio
Michael Ornelaz	....	key artist: Stan Winston Studio
Justin Raleigh	....	key technician: Stan Winston Studio
Andy Schoneberg	....	effects supervisor: Stan Winston Studio
Arjen Tuiten	....	crew member: Stan Winston Studio
Jor Van Kline	....	special effects coordinator
A.J. Venuto	....	key technician: Stan Winston Studio
Tim Walkey	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Oliver Arnold	....	digital artist
Eric Heavens	....	digital compositing supervisor
Dan Schmit	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Rocky Capella	....	stunts
Lisa Dempsey	....	stunts
Thomas M. Ficke	....	stunt coordinator (as Tom Ficke)
Joanna Shelmidine	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Mary Funsten	....	first assistant camera
Mike Haynes	....	grip
Douglas S. Johnson	....	camera loader
Ken Little Jr.	....	assistant camera
Brett Lood	....	grip
Gary Molyneux	....	grip (as Gary Molyneaux)
Jeff Noble	....	grip
Mike Saad	....	second assistant camera
C. Shipley	....	best boy grip
Chris Shipley	....	best boy grip
Christian Franz Staab	....	grip (as Christian Staab)
Bruce Swift	....	key grip
Richard Tibbetts	....	grip
Gary Katsuya Ushino	....	Steadicam assistant
Gary Katsuya Ushino	....	first assistant camera
Darryl Wilson	....	dolly grip
Chuck Zlotnick	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Sheila Jaffe	....	casting: New York
Ed Mitchell	....	casting: Los Angeles
Bruce H. Newberg	....	casting: Los Angeles
Shari Steinberg	....	casting associate
Georgianne Walken	....	casting: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Daniela Kurrle	....	costume manufacturer
Mandi Line	....	assistant costume designer
Jill Lucas	....	costumer
Hayley Stuppel	....	key costumer
Hayley Stuppel	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Mark Hartzell	....	assistant editor
Jonny Jenks	....	post-production assistant
Chad Mochrie	....	assistant editor (as Chad Owen Mochrie)

Music Department
Dino A. Moriana	....	music editor (as Dino Morina)

Transportation Department
Michael McDuffee	....	transportation coordinator (as Mike McDuffee)

Other crew
Michael Barnes	....	financial legal services
Eamon Buehning	....	payroll accountant
Charles Canzoneri	....	key set production assistant
Randy Gambill	....	assistant: Samuel Z. Arkoff
Robert Gluck	....	location manager (as Bob Gluck)
Andrew Harrison	....	assistant location manager
Heather K. Heath	....	payroll accountant
Stephen Jensen	....	paralegal
Samantha C. Kirkeby	....	script supervisor (as Samantha Clair Kirkeby)
Shari LaFranchi Blakney	....	production coordinator (as Shari LaFranchi)
Jessica Littlefield	....	production assistant
Charissa McLain	....	assistant production coordinator
Jeffrey Pritz	....	personal assistant: Lou Arkoff
Austin Rodriguez	....	medic
Lynn M. van Kuilenburg	....	location manager

Thanks
James H. Nicholson	....	dedicated to the memory of

Production Companies

• Columbia TriStar Television
• Creature Features Productions LLC
• Home Box Office (HBO)

Distributors

• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)

Special Effects

• First Unit Inc. (visual effects)
• Stan Winston Studio (design and created creature effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Digital Symphony  AVID editing system
• Entertainment Partners  payroll
• J.L. Fisher  camera dollies
• Level 3 Post  post-production services
• Live Wire  re-recording mixing
• Michelson Food Services  catering
• Rocky Mountain  camera equipment provided by
• Sony Pictures Studios  sound editing
• Xtraz Casting  extras casting

Also Known As:

She Creature (USA) (alternative title)
War of the Colossal Beast (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, nudity and some violence.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia TriStar Television

Trivia:

We don't see this until the ship runs aground at the mer-people's breeding ground, but her name, painted on a wooden plaque, is "Marie Celeste".

Movie Connections:

References Night Tide (1961)

You have probably thought, at some point, that someone should make a movie about an evil mermaid. I have, we all have, and someone did. 'She Creature', is the result...

It's always nice to see a movie that does something a little different, and if there is one creature that hasn't been used a lot in movies; it's the mermaid. She Creature follows a band of circus performers that discover an old man that owns a mermaid and decide to steal it, take it to America and get rich. However, things are never that simple and the mermaid turns out to be more than a pretty fish that looks like a lady; she's also a blood sucking fiend!

The film is shot in the style of the old monster movies, and that is much to the film's credit. The scene in which the mermaid is introduced, especially, is very striking and creates a great sense of mythology about the title creature. The setting of the scene is vibrant because of the Gothic style of it; the tank, the basement it's in, even the mermaid itself is spot on. The film carries off a very clever trick regarding the mermaid, which, intentional or not, is clever; by introducing a 'fake' mermaid first, when the 'real' mermaid is introduced, because it looks such an awesome spectacle in comparison to the fake one we saw earlier, we are able to believe that it's real. This is a very good in the movie because in a creature feature, if you can't buy the creature, the movie generally doesn't work very well.

The mythology of the mermaid is also done well in this movie. For the better known monsters such as vampires or zombies, building the mythology is easy because everyone already knows the story and therefore the film can afford to not worry about that so much. However, here it's different because the mermaid, although it is well known itself, it's story isn't, particularly the more horror friendly version of the story, i.e. not the one in 'The Little Mermaid'. The mermaid's mythology is shown clearly to the audience, who is then able to see it in action through way of a fantastic spectacle of an ending. The creature effects on the mermaid towards the end as she turns into a raving monster remain well done, despite the absurdity of the creature, but the ending's real brilliance comes when the seamen get to 'Mermaid Island' and we see shots of several mermaids in the water. What makes it so interesting is that it delves almost into an unknown, the way that there are still things out there to discover. Not to mention the incredible beauty of the scene itself. She Creature is not a masterpiece, but it is very good and I give it a big thumbs up.