Mary C. Russell Brings Irish Selkie Mythology to California in THE OTHERKIND, Now on Prime Video
From the Shudder slasher short Carved to a haunting feature debut, filmmaker Mary C. Russell turns California's San Bernardino Mountains into a playground for ancient folklore and supernatural dread.
By Seth Metoyer | More Horror
There's something particularly unsettling about a body of water that refuses to reveal what's lurking beneath its surface. Add a little ancient Irish mythology, a secluded mountain community, and a filmmaker with an eye for atmospheric horror, and you've got the ingredients for a pretty intriguing Halloween watch.
Writer and director Mary C. Russell is bringing exactly that to the screen with THE OTHERKIND, an award-winning independent supernatural thriller now available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime Video. The feature takes the ancient mythology of Irish selkies and transplants it into the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California, where the waters of Lake Gregory become the center of a disturbing mystery.
For Russell, whose previous short film Carved found an audience through AMC Networks' horror streaming service Shudder, THE OTHERKIND marks a significant step forward. The film represents her feature directorial debut and continues her interest in exploring horror through distinctly Californian locations.
From CARVED to THE OTHERKIND
Horror fans familiar with Russell's earlier work may recognize her knack for finding terror in places that initially seem ordinary. Her California-set slasher short Carved, which Shudder acquired for streaming, explored a more traditional corner of the genre with its own regional identity.
With THE OTHERKIND, Russell ventures into folk horror, drawing inspiration from centuries-old Irish legends and blending them with a contemporary American setting.
In traditional Irish and Scottish folklore, selkies are supernatural beings capable of transforming between seals and human form, typically by shedding or reclaiming their sealskins. Their stories often explore identity, captivity, longing, and the complicated relationship between humanity and the natural world.
That mythology provides fertile ground for a horror film, particularly when a filmmaker begins asking what might happen if something born of the sea suddenly appeared in the waters of a secluded California mountain lake.
Russell takes that premise and gives it a distinctly modern setting, combining supernatural folklore with environmental unease and a mystery that gradually pulls an entire community into its orbit.
Something Is Stirring Beneath Lake Gregory
Set in a sleepy lakeside town, THE OTHERKIND follows a worn-down police officer attempting to piece together the circumstances surrounding a mysterious car crash he survives. Meanwhile, a young woman grappling with questions surrounding her sexual identity experiences something inexplicable near the water.
As their stories begin to intertwine, the community finds itself drawn into an escalating supernatural mystery, with something otherworldly lurking beneath the surface.
Rather than building its atmosphere on elaborate soundstages, the production takes advantage of the natural landscape surrounding Lake Gregory and the San Bernardino Mountains. The location provides much of the film's visual identity, with its forested terrain, isolated roads, and seemingly tranquil waters creating an environment ripe for supernatural storytelling.
Russell sees that setting as an essential part of the story.
"The lake is more than just a beautiful background; its waters and unique mountain landscape act as a central character, driving the film's mystery and ecological themes," said director Mary C. Russell. "There is something deeply unsettling about transplanting a coastal, watery Irish myth into an elevated California mountain lake. It forces the audience to look at a familiar local landmark with a sense of eerie, inescapable dread—making it the ultimate seasonal watch."
It's an interesting creative decision. Selkie stories traditionally belong to the rocky coastlines and cold Atlantic waters of Ireland and Scotland. Moving that mythology inland introduces an entirely different atmosphere, one where an ancient legend seems almost alien to the landscape it now inhabits.
And for folk horror, that sense of displacement offers some intriguing possibilities.
An Independent Folk Horror Feature
Independent horror has always thrived when filmmakers find ways to transform familiar environments into something genuinely unsettling. A quiet stretch of woods, an isolated house, or a seemingly peaceful lake can carry just as much menace as an elaborate haunted castle when the story knows how to use its surroundings.
THE OTHERKIND follows that tradition, combining a grounded contemporary mystery with the more fantastic elements of Celtic folklore.
The film also explores ecological themes and questions of personal identity, drawing on the symbolic possibilities of selkie mythology while keeping its story rooted in a recognizable Southern California community.
Running approximately 73 minutes, THE OTHERKIND offers horror fans a relatively compact supernatural thriller for the Halloween weekend, particularly those who appreciate regional filmmaking, ancient legends, and atmospheric mysteries.
Russell's move from the slasher territory of Carved into the supernatural world of THE OTHERKIND also makes her an independent genre filmmaker worth keeping an eye on as she continues developing her voice in horror.
THE OTHERKIND is now available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime Video. For anyone looking to add a little Irish folklore and California mountain dread to their Halloween viewing, this one deserves a spot on the watchlist.
Watch THE OTHERKIND: Rent or Buy on Amazon Prime Video
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