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Everyone’s heard the stories about the infamous creature that roams the Loch Ness in Scotland. We’ve all seen those famous fuzzy pictures. But The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep tells the story of the little boy who secretly raised the magical creature in his father’s workshop.
Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel) was just a young boy during World War II. His father joined the navy, leaving Angus, his older sister, Kirstie (Priyanka Xi), and their mother, Anne (Emily Watson), behind at the huge, empty lodge on Loch Ness, where the MacMorrows worked as caretakers.
One day, on a visit to the shore, Angus finds an egg. He takes it home to the lodge’s workshop, where it hatches into a creature unlike anything he’s ever seen. He cares for the creature, making sure it’s healthy and well fed—and he names it Crusoe.
Crusoe grows quickly, and it becomes harder and harder for Angus to keep it hidden—especially after a group of soldiers arrive and set up camp at the lodge—so he’s eventually forced to let Kirstie and their new handyman, Lewis (Ben Chaplin), in on his secret.
The Water Horse starts out as a magical family film. It tells a cute story about a quiet and serious yet absolutely adorable little boy and his mythical friend. In the beginning, it’s lovable and funny and just a little bit cutesy, but it makes for a beautiful and classic-feeling film that the whole family can enjoy.
After a while, however, everything changes. After Crusoe outgrows his hiding place at the lodge and is brought to his new home in the Loch, the film gets darker and darker. The soldiers—and their artillery—take a much greater role in the story, and Crusoe is no longer a cute little creature that races through the house, trying to avoid the soldiers’ dog. Suddenly, he’s huge—and he’s angry and violent. And you can see why they call him the Loch Ness Monster.
Just like that, the magical, mystical fairy tale turns into more of a nightmare—one that could scare the living daylights out of the average kid (and even a few adults).
For a while, The Water Horse is a delightful little Scottish tale—one that I absolutely loved. Had director Jay Russell kept the storytelling as light and fun as it was in the beginning, it would have made for a wonderful family film. Unfortunately, it doesn’t follow through on its magical promises, and it quickly turns into a traumatizing look at the horrors of war—particularly as it relates to mythical creatures. So it definitely isn’t a movie for young kids—and the dark and scary images could even keep older kids awake at night.
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