Mermaids: The Body Found (2011)

A team of scientists testifies that they found the remains of a sea creature with ties to human origins - a modern day mermaid. They claim a massive government cover-up is currently hiding the creature's existence from the general public.

Director:

Sid Bennett

Writers:

Charlie Foley, Sid Bennett (co-writer)

Stars:

Sean Cameron Michael, Andre Weideman, Candice D'Arcy

Cast

Credited cast:
Sean Cameron Michael	...	McCormick (as Sean Michael)
Andre Weideman	...	Paul (as Andre Louis Weideman)
Candice D'Arcy	...	Rebecca
David Soul	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jason Cope	...	Dr. Rodney Webster
Helen Johns	...	Dr. Rebecca Davis

Storyline

In 2016, when marine biologist Dr Brian McCormick (Sean C. Michael) stumbled across a recording of mysterious underwater sounds, he launched a scientific investigation to uncover the creature responsible. In search of conclusive proof, he and his research team are called out to an unusual whale stranding in South Africa. Here they find the part digested remains of an animal none of them can identify. As each of its body parts is autopsied, they provide new pieces of the puzzle. As the picture builds, McCormick is drawn to an astonishing conclusion: this new marine creature is related to humans.

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Plot Keywords:

fake documentary | cryptozoology | mermaid | mockumentary | 

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Mermaids: The New Evidence (2013)

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Soundtracks

Flugufrelsarinn (Kronos Version)
Performed by Kronos Quartet

User Reviews

An obvious fake that doesn't belong on Animal Planet or Discovery Channel

I stumbled upon this when they re-ran it on the Discovery Channel. It looked fishy (no pun intended) from the beginning, but, since this was the Discovery Channel, I thought that it was a reenactment of actual statements. Wrong. It was very easy to tell that the "scientists" were actors. They were trying too hard to look "candid" and genuine. So that struck me right off the bat. Then we were treated to a "video" of a teenager stumbling across the body of an alleged mermaid. Again, very obvious that it's fake with blatant, poor CGI.

I have no problem with any of this. It's a free country and there are people who believe this stuff. However, I do have a problem with this kind of stuff being shown on the Discovery Channel. The Discovery Channel has (or had) a reputation of having legitimate scientific programing. They've had plenty of ACTUAL documentaries in similar style to this and to put this program on the channel, regardless of how many times they alluded to how it was fake, is completely inappropriate. I expect this kind of stuff on the SyFy Channel, where it would be appropriate, not on a channel like Discovery. I believe this program, more than any other in recent times, speaks to the poor state of U.S. television.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kreaturen aus der Tiefe

Company Credits

Production Co:

Darlow Smithson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Color:

Color