10 Creepy And Unique Mermaid Designs In Movies And TV
2.“Mia” - Blue My Mind
“Mia, a 15-year-old, is facing an overwhelming transformation. Her body is changing radically, and despite desperate attempts to halt the process, she is soon forced to accept that nature is far more powerful than her.” So far the plot description, so generic, but bear with me on this one. This Swiss gem you have most likely never heard of portrays its mermaid in a peculiar and strangely naturalistic way, while slowly unfolding into an
unexpected coming of age drama. Where Ariel and Co. go down the fun and emotional route, “Blue My Mind” tackles the good old coming of age story of literally growing from a girl into something else, something stronger and mystic, with a sense of maturity, and sometimes even a bit too much realism. The first time our protago-fish, teenage girl Mia, comes in contact with her true nature, she finds her body changing in the most horrifying way:
First her toes have grown together while she is taking a bath. After visiting a doctor, who unsuccessfully tries to calm her, she grabs a razor-blade and tries to separate them herself. Throughout the story Mia’s body keeps changing drastically. At one point her legs look badly bruised and begin to shed their skin like paper after a really bad sunburn. When she gets too zealous about taking off this “old skin”, bleeding patches cover her legs, partially scaly patches are revealed underneath. She also develops a strong appetite for her mother’s fish and soon her male classmates and men in general.
Growing more moody, impatient with herself and the ones around her while going through the changes, she also shows sociopathic behaviour towards others, and once she can no longer ignore or hide her transformation, she also realises that her mother has not a single picture of her as a baby ... Something mom stays painfully silent about. Mysteries over Mysteries in this Swiss army knife of a mer-tale, and utterly emotional and raw at times, and with an ending so blunt and minimalistic you are not sure if you should cheer for her or shed a tear. So what about the looks of mermaid Mia?
Her upper half is pretty much human, mostly wrapped in a sporty top and without any visible abnormal features. The only significant detail is a pair of quivering gills across her ribs. Her fishtail is probably one of the most realistic ones on this list. Despite never shown on screen the end result looks like the transition of muscular legs, bound under scaly skin. It reminded me of a squashed together squid, ready to unfold at any moment. Somehow there is an elegancy hidden in this strong design, something that is mirrored in the overall tone and style of the movie itself. Mia’s tail is layered and twisted in all shades of grey and silvery-blue, a colour palette right from the depths of the sea. Once we see her dive in the waters for a moment we see how incredibly muscly it is, almost like the arms of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Quite the unusual look, bold and more brave than others on this list, this overly long fishtail does not try to be sexy or even remotely appealing to the tender eyes of mermaid fans. What makes its movements so strange and eerie at a point is, that the fishtail is twice as long as you expect it to be — a similarity to the “Pirate”s sirens but all practical. The fact that the undoubtedly heavy prosthetic embraces the legs and extends beyond where would have been Mia’s human feet, gives these overly flexible movements something unnatural. And just like so many daring European movies out there, “Blue My Mind” is quite the intellectual journey. An unapologetic portray of a girl who has to face life’s most frightening and enchanting changes without the support of her mother.