Heading together for a reunion, a group of friends plans a trip to a remote Louisiana swamp where they come face-to-face with the voodoo-resurrected mermaid guardian which soon starts a rampage against the community forcing them to decide between the creature and the revenge that she provides.

This was a pretty solid and enjoyable genre effort with a lot to like. The main feature to like here is the highly impressive setup that provides a fun building block to the later carnage. Since so much of this one is based on the main group of friends and how they come together to protect not just each other but the creature rampaging through the community, they come off as the kind of enjoyable and reasonable group of friends who would come together naturally feels quite enjoyable with the number of likable qualities they bring together. As well, that sets up the fun here once they realize the creature has been unleashed and the power that she has which leads into a solid series of scenes that provide plenty of fun encounters here where she attacks others so there's a fun finale involving some nice action in the sequence. For the most part, these hold the film up for the most part. There are some drawbacks to be had with this one that holds it back. The biggest issue here is the film's rather scattershot storyline that has way more going on than it really needs to. That there's enough in place here with the group coming back together and going through their own struggles, not just with their recent job loss but also the struggles with their personal or dating lives, would've served this one well enough once they realize they've used black magic to summon the spirit that's now rampaging through the community. Getting to see them together and bonding while realizing that there's a killer creature in their midst to protect from others would've been fine but to incorporate all kinds of excess baggage involving the returning abusive ex-boyfriend, a corrupt landowner, and a toxic waste dump in the area which is all extremely clumsy and awkwardly inserted into this to appear as a fully-functioning storyline when it didn't need to be. The other minor drawback here, which isn't all that detrimental but does hold it back somewhat, is the rather underwhelming pacing in the first half that makes the film quite a bit longer feeling than it should be in this part of the film. The introduction to this one getting a glimpse of the various personal problems and struggles that come to pass so we get a sense of them before they find the girl in the woods which is fine if takes way too long to get going. Establishing all the various subplots and sidestories keeps this one going along at a sluggish pace that makes for a struggle to generate any kind of momentum which is also a part of the problematic storyline having way too much going on. As well, there's also the issue with the budget keeping this one down as it's quite obvious here with the lack of action, flimsy make-up work on the creature, and the generally bloodless kills which are relegated to the aftermath when it happens which hold this down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and Brief Nudity.

Female empowering, environmentally conscious, vengeance dealing, desire granting. The Haitian goddess #Erzulie who happens to be a Bayou " #swampmermaid " has been summoned by a group of woman one in particular looking for revenge against Men. There may not be a huge buget but the concept, multiracial beautifully talented casting, and a little humor helped with this watch . There where dull cheesy parts of womanhood bonding-ness, some missed opportunities I wished they expanded on the mythology of Erzulie especially the whole #toxicwaste aspect, the goddess is connected to water the son of the owner (who's a creep but funny) is getting paid to dump waste in his daddy's swamp and it's killing the wild life. So it's like a female #swampthing I just wished they could have gone deeper into it. "The Erzulie is a family of loa that are often associated with water (fluidity),femininity, and feminine bodies. They are one of the only group of spirits directly tied to these characteristics and those who become #possessed (through spirit possession) often are women or #Masisi (effeminate and or homosexual men" so maybe it would of been interesting to have a gay man in script!? I don't know, any way, It's a good watch for #LeilaAnnastasiaScott performance alone. God she's stunning. So check it out.

Well, I have to say that was initially lured into watching the 2022 movie "Erzulie" given the movie's cover/poster and a somewhat interesting synopsis. Sure, I had never heard about the movie prior to sitting down to watch it, so I wasn't sure what to expect from writers Christine W. Chen and Camille Gladney.

And now having just sat through the movie, I have to say that this movie was definitely something in its own league, a rather unique and strange movie. I can't say that I was overly impressed by the storyline, as it wasn't really all that interesting, but there were some good enough aspects to it here and there. But overall, then "Erzulie" wasn't a movie that tickled me in any of the right places.

While the storyline is pretty straight forward, it is still somewhat out there. And writers Christine W. Chen and Camille Gladney just didn't manage to put together a wholesome enough script to provide me with much of any entertainment or enjoyment here.

The acting performances in the movie were adequate. I mean, you're not in for any groundbreaking Shakespearian performances here. But the actresses and actors did adequately well with the limitations imposed upon them by the limiting script.

Visually then "Erzulie" was okay. Sure, this wasn't a movie that used a whole lot of special effects, and whatever was there was good enough. The movie could, perhaps, have benefitted from implementing more special effects to spruce up the entire experience.

All in all, I wasn't impressed or particularly bedazzled by "Erzulie". As such, my rating of director Christine W. Chen's 2022 movie lands on a four out of ten stars.