The tension early on fizzles out after about 30 minutes. That's when typical horror tropes came into play. And characters began reacting in ways that were convenient to the plot.

Alternate title: Bette Davis's Traveling Dialect.

Take a one-dimensional sadist, with a dash of stereotypical christian hypocrisy. Add a completely unbelievable romantic relationship between a mute cleaning lady and a fish "man" (I use the term, man, very loosely). Then, throw in predictable plot points and a heavy-handed message about how we should respect people's differences. What you get is an over-rated disappointment.

Julien Duvivier's style, at times, reminds of Alfred Hitchcock in his gripping film about the power of gossip and the mob mentality.