海女の化物屋敷

Spun off from a long-running television horror series, this first "Ama-chan" movie begins with the young diver Tokie arriving on a remote island to seek revenge against the evil land developer who destroyed her home, a move that also led to the sudden death of her grandmother. Her bag contains a mysterious letter and an old amulet, the keys to a long-hidden family secret and unimaginable mystical powers. She hangs out with a mermaid who can turn into a cute little girl and meets a variety of villagers who turn out not to be what they seem. A tangential subplot involves a pompous scientist with a huge crush on the mermaid and his bumbling assistant. There's plenty of low-level humor and abundant fan service in the form of the divers' wetsuits and several scenes shot from inside public baths, where the actresses go topless. In one scene, the heroine finds a message from her deceased grandmother written on the inside of a toilet bowl; the discovery prompts her to sob uncontrollably. No need for subtitles to get the gist of this wacky J-horror.