THE PREMISE:

"In this supernatural dark comedy, a pathetic Irish fishmonger must survive a sex pact with an ancient sea creature in order to save his mother's soul from burning in hell."

OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

When the logline boasts “a supernatural dark comedy with an ancient fish creature” along with “surviving a sex pact to avoid burning in hell” you know the show is going to be a memorable ride. And in the blessed name of Sam Raimi, Fishmonger delivers a net’s worth of cinematic mackerel. 

Christie O’Mallaghan is a pathetic fishmonger who has the weight of Connamarragagh Island thrust upon his meaty shoulders upon learning that his mother’s soul will be consigned to hell if he does not wed. Christie (Dominic Burgess) goes off to make a pact with a tentacle-wielding fish creature to find the love of his life. Fishmonger is laugh-out-loud crazy, fiendishly bizarre, and crushingly dark. 

Directed and co-written by Neil Ferron, Fishmonger is wonderfully practical, too, with all the latex, spew, and slo-mo one would ever want. Filmed in black-and-white and possessing the spiritual feel of Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, Fishmonger expertly plays the emotional scale. Ferron mixes in themes of inclusion, loneliness, betrayal, and romance all within a remarkably silly runtime of 25 minutes. And don’t forget the horror. Ferron and cinematographer Jack McDonald craft their short with all the love befitting a Universal Monsters tragedy. 

Fishmonger knows when to crash into the darkness with heavy metal and how to lighten it up like a flighty musical. And whereas the story might be as simple as Christie wanting to be a good boy for his mother, Fishmonger is truly about realizing one’s vulnerability. 

And a keg full of Irish weirdos.

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Be sure to catch Fishmonger – and many other indie projects – over at Slamdance.