Some time in the 1980s, two sirens, Golden and Silver, encounter a rock band, Figs n' Dates, relaxing and playing music on a beach in Poland.

The sisters attend the reception; Golden and the Triton warn Silver that she must eat Mietek before daybreak or she will become sea foam.

[2] The screenwriter Robert Bolesto sought to write a story based on two friends of his that frequented nightclubs in the 1980s, which enthused Smoczyńska and resonated with her own childhood.

She added they represent innocence, yet their odour and slime recalled girls maturing, "they menstruate, they ovulate, their bodies start smelling and feeling different.

"[4] David Ehrlich of IndieWire, noting the mermaids' "bodies are a source of constant fascination", said that "The Lure is having some fun with chauvinist objectification; the film has a funny habit of lambasting dumb misogynist rhetoric by applying it literally.

The website's critics consensus reads, "The Lure adds a sexually charged, genre-defying twist to well-established mermaid lore, more than overpowering its flaws through sheer variety and wild ambition.

"[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

[14] Giuseppe Sedia of the Krakow Post wrote that Smoczynska's debut feature is a "cinematic act of love towards Poland's capital city in the 1980s with its sparkling neon signs, lighthearted nightlife, and ability to knock back gallons of vodka in its best days".

However, he felt the screenplay lacked ideas in portraying the mermaids' vampiric attributes, and was unsure of the film's 1980s setting and whether it alluded to the politics of the time.