''Eel Girl'' is a 2008 horror

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

written and directed by Paul Campion, in which what appears to be a sort of

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

, being studied by scientists in a

Naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

research facility, takes revenge on one of the

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

s who is studying her. The film was produced by Elisabeth Pinto and Jennifer Scheer, and was shot in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand. The special makeup effects were created by New Zealand-based company Weta Workshop.

Plot

Deep in a secret navy research facility, an armed security officer enters a secure observation room, filled with electronic monitoring equipment and shelves full of dissected fish specimens. The officer requests one of the scientists accompany her immediately. He protests, quoting navy protocols that require two people to remain in the room at all times, but the officer makes sure he knows he has no choice. The remaining scientist watches them leave the facility on a security monitor. Satisfied he's on his own, he quickly begins to activate override commands on the computer. A warning begins to sound, and the scientist steps back to stand in front of a large observation window, which looks into a dark tiled and dirty room, in the center of which stands a large bath, filled with a black viscous liquid. Opposite the window is a large secure door, above which warning lights flash red, then green. The scientist becomes more agitated, breathing heavily, as he sees the door open, and a webbed hand curls around the door frame. Out of the darkness appears the Eel Girl, naked, her skin pale, with gills visible in her cheeks, and small fins on her forearms. Slowly she steps into the room, walks around the bath. The scientist watches as she slides into the thick black liquid. In the observation room the computer begins to flash warnings. Distracted by the computer, the scientist doesn't notice the Eel Girl climb slowly out of the bath. She steps up to the window, places her hands against the glass and looks through. The scientist sees her, moves to the window, and places his hands against hers through the glass. She stares back, mouth opening and closing slowly, revealing rows of sharp teeth. She signals with her eyes, and the scientist moves to the security door that connects his room to hers. He activates the security code and opens the door. Inside she is waiting for him. He walks into the room and embraces her. She reaches up, gently holds the back of his head with one hand. Suddenly her jaw extends and she shoves his head into her mouth, then lifts him into the air and swallows him whole, vomiting his shredded clothes. She climbs back into the bathtub and lies there, caressing her now massively enlarged belly, and the scientist inside still alive.

Awards

*2012 Shocker Award - Knoxville Horror Film Festival, United States *2009 Honorable Mention - Best Short Film, Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, United States *2009 Best Director, Landcrab Film Festival, England *2009 Best Special Effects, Landcrab Film Festival, England *2009 Best Special Effects, Backseat Film Festival, United States *2009 Sci-Fi London Horror Award, London Short Film Festival, England *2008

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

Cocette Minute,

Brest European Short Film Festival The Brest European Short Film Festival ( French: Festival européen du film court de Brest) is a film festival dedicated to short films, happening every year in Brest, in the Brittany region in France. It has been organized by the Côte Ouest As ...

, France *2008 Grand Prix, Court Metrange Short Film Festival, France *2008 Best Special FX, Rhode Island Horror Film Festival, United States *2008 Best Visual Effects, A Night of Horror Film Festival, Australia *2008 Best Special Effects, Dark Carnival Film Festival, USA *2008 Best Fx, Eerie HorrorFilm Festival, USA *2008 Best Super Short, Shriekfest Film Festival, USA *2008 Best Visual Effects, Tabloid Witch Awards, USA *2008 Honorable Mention, Tabloid Witch Awards, USA *2008 Best Short Film, HP Lovecraft Film Festival, USA *2008 Best Special Effects, HP Lovecraft Film Festival, USA *2008 Best Comedy, HP Lovecraft Film Festival, USA

Nominations

*2009 UK Film Council Award for Best Film, London Short Film Festival, England *2008 Outstanding Technical Achievement in a Short Film,

Qantas Film and Television Awards New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2017, New Zealand has relaunched a standalone New Zealand Television Awards after a five-year hiatus. The film awar ...

, New Zealand *2008 Best Short Film, Rushes Soho Shorts Film Festival, England *2008 Best Cinematography, Dark Carnival Film Festival, USA *2008 Best Special Effects, Terror Film Festival, USA *2008 Best Music Score, Terror Film Festival, USA

Festival screenings

*2008 London International Festival of Science-Fiction and Fantastic Film. *2008 Shriekfest Los Angeles *2008 Israel Fantastic Film Festival, Tel-Aviv *2008 Evergreen Film Festival, Korea *2008 Ravenna Nightmare Fest, Italy *2008 Fancine Film Festival, Malaga, Spain *2008 Amberg Horror Festival, Germany *2008 Terror Film Festival *2009 Tabloid Witch Awards *2008 Brest European Film Festival *2008 Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival *2008 Leeds International Film Festival, England *2008 San Sebastian Horror & Fantasy Film Festival, Spain *2008 Court Metrange Film Festival, France *2008 Sitges Film Festival, Catalonia, Spain *2008 Dark Carnival Film Festival *2008 HP Lovecraft Film Festival *2008 Rhode Island International Film Festival, USA *2008 PiFan, South Korea *2008 Fantasia Film Festival, Montreal, Canada *2008 Fright Night, USA *2008 Dragon*Con, USA *2008 The San Francisco Short Film Festival, USA *2008 Homegrown Film Festival, New Zealand *2008 Rushes Soho Shorts, London, England *2008 Show Me Shorts, New Zealand *2008 Seattle True Independent Film Festival, USA *2008 A Night of Horror Film Festival, Sydney, Australia *2008 Fantastic Fest, Austin, Texas, USA *2009 London Short Film Festival, England *2009 Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival *2009 Brussels Fantastic Film Festival *2009 Dresden International Short Film Festival *2009 Worldwide Short Film Festival, Toronto, Canada *2009 OneDotZero *2010 BoneBat Comedy of Horrors Film Festival, Redmond, WA, USA *2017 Desert Flower Art Bar Mini Short Film Festival, Big Spring, Texas, USA *2017 Dusk Till Dawn Horror Fest, Dixon, Illinois, USA *2017 Short Sounds Film Festival, Bournemouth, England *2020 Nosferatu Film Festival, Doncaster, England

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=1209317 2008 independent films 2008 films New Zealand independent films 2000s monster movies 2000s science fiction horror films New Zealand science fiction horror films Fictional human hybrids 2000s English-language films

Plot

Awards

Nominations

Festival screenings

See also

External links