Mermaid

5/29/2026

Mermaid (2025) claims to be a “love letter to Florida.” Floridians shouldn’t expect their own Midnight in Paris. This film is closer to Leaving Las Vegas or Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant vis-a-vis Sin City and NOLA, respectively. Mentioning Mermaid in the same conversation as those two movies may not be a compliment to the Sunshine State, but it certainly is flattering to writer-director Tyler Cornack. While nowhere near as good, Mermaid is by no means bad. More importantly, it could be better, meaning there’s both room and potential for improvement. The film is well shot and was well scouted before that. However fantastical, what happens undoubtedly takes place in Florida. It’s nice to see a mermaid movie that’s not only grounded in the reality of actual geographical locations but