Now, I've never been into the "adult" fairy tales, which I think is what Meridian is going for. It's sort of a riff on Beauty and the Beast, and includes ghosts, magic, and a family curse (the fairy tale part). It's also got some blood and a lot of nudity (the adult part). But to me, the two just don't mix well. There are ways to successfully portray the fantastic elements of a fairy tale in an adult way (Neil Gaiman comes to mind), but it fails far more often than it works for me. You try to take the best of both worlds, and end up alienating fans of both instead.
Our tale revolves around Cath (Sherilyn Fenn), who has just inherited her family's castle in Italy. Her friend Gina (Charlie. Just Charlie.) is on a break from restoring some paintings and stops by for a visit. Cath reluctantly accompanies Gina to a traveling sideshow, where they catch the eye of a couple of the performers. Gina, being a bad friend, invites the whole troupe to dinner at Cath's castle.
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| Yes! Please do invite this gentleman to my house! |
That turns out to be a bad idea, as both Cath and Gina are drugged and raped by the main dude from the carnival... although he turns out to actually be two guys - twins! It sounds terrible, but it's not a violent act - the drugs make Cath and Gina groggy but kind of into it too. It's a weird, long scene. Oh, and while it's going on, the twin with Cath turns into a werewolf-ish thing. The next morning, neither of the girls remember what happened, although they suspect something shady. Gina goes back to town and Cath begins working on her art (she's a sculptor), and starts to see some ghostly stuff in the castle. Eventually, the sideshow troupe turns out to be more than it seems, and a centuries old curse begins to unravel in front of Cath.
I won't spoil "the curse." Needless to say, it's really convoluted. The only thing I'll mention is that it seems to depend on the outcome of a sexual assault being "I guess I love that guy," which seems unlikely. Since that's the starting point of the romance angle, perhaps you can see why the love story part of Meridian didn't really work for me.
And I have make special note of the afore mentioned sex/rape scene. It's not vile or violent - I guess sensual is what they're going for? But then you remember that these women were just drugged... anyways, it goes on for SO LONG. I was in disbelief after five minutes, and then it kept going. Granted, there are two couples to cut to and from, but still. Once it was finally over, I had to rewind and mark the time to tally the whole thing. 8-and-a-half minutes! It's definitely the most memorable part of Meridian - and it would be even if one of the guys *didn't* turn into a werewolf in the middle of it. I don't think that's a good thing.
The werewolf/beast does look really good though. As you get to know him later in the film, you find that he is a tortured soul - he is very sad and remorseful. The design and makeup on him is great, and really lets that emotion shine through. You can see the eyes very clearly beneath the prosthetics, and actor Alex Daniels does a good job with his facial expressions and body language - you really get to feel for him. The beast is probably the most intriguing character in Meridian.
Technically speaking, Meridian is fine - the acting is decent and it takes advantage of some beautiful Italian scenery. But overall, the movie takes a long time to get where you know it's going to go. It didn't do enough scary business to please the horror fan in me, and the romance angle just didn't make sense. Other than the scene that is memorable for all the wrong reasons, there isn't an awful lot to say about Meridian.
I would not recommend this film.
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