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Director:
Pat Kerby
Stars:
Erin Gray,
Michele Fiore-Kaime,
Gary Graham
A writer moves to a remote island with his daughter and young son. After settling into their new home, a neighbor arrives to welcome them and give them a breakdown of the local rules; most important: do not go outside when the island's siren starts wailing.
I finally got to see this film after buying it in Singapore. I had heard very little about it from horror fans, so I put the disc in last night and was prepared to be underwhelmed. But from the opening scrawl I was hooked by the atmosphere. The film was really enjoyable to watch, and while I had some worries at first about its short run-time (about 87 minutes), by the climax, I had none. As other reviewers out there have said, despite its lack of length, the film has the feeling of a 2 hour film. This is probably due to its slow burn, something that I adore a lot of Asian horror for. The film builds up a strong foreboding atmosphere, before descending into one of the more memorable climaxes I have witnessed in the genre.
It seems that the film has copped a lot of flak from fans and critics, and it is perhaps due to the idea that video game films can't possibly be good. I have never played the games, instead just drooling over the cases in shops and admiring the artwork. From what I can gather, the film follows the second game in the series, and does so pretty closely, with of course some inevitable changes that restraints require. Unlike many films adapted from games, Siren actually contains some clever plotting and dense atmosphere. Here, characters are typically over the top and quirky. In some ways the film reminded me (a little) of Uzumaki in its off-kilter approach, though Uzumaki went to an extreme in that. Some may say that one major detail is telegraphed a mile away, but unlike another film with a similar idea, I don't think that Siren is trying to keep it such a big secret. The fact that knew that something wasn't right from the get go really added to the suspense.
Get the R3, the subs are great, and the picture quality is quite good, and it is anamorphic. The only let down is perhaps going to be inherent in all versions, and is that the DVD only has a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track. I haven't been able to check if the Japanese DVD has DD 5.1 or DTS. However, despite the stereo audio, I could here some great separation through my speakers, and as a Prologic II track, it didn't sound so much like one. Other than that, there are almost no extras of note, in fact there are only 3 versions of the movie trailer, and what does one need them for when they have the film? I have never understood the inclusion of trailers as "extras" for that reason. I would liked to see some SFX reels, or even bloopers, but perhaps in a film such as this one, the budget didn't allow much room for trial and error.
In all the film was easy to watch and not too challenging, yet still carrying with it an aura of freshness. There are no dark haired ghosts (though if it did, how could one complain about it when the majority of people living in Japan have such hair), and the budget of the film keeps the production honest and small. The film has a slow build up that may dismay viewers of short attention spans, or a lust for blood, but the climax is quite gripping, and helps elevate the film beyond where it may have settled without it.
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I finally got to see this film after buying it in Singapore. I had heard very little about it from horror fans, so I put the disc in last night and was prepared to be underwhelmed. But from the opening scrawl I was hooked by the atmosphere. The film was really enjoyable to watch, and while I had some worries at first about its short run-time (about 87 minutes), by the climax, I had none. As other reviewers out there have said, despite its lack of length, the film has the feeling of a 2 hour film. This is probably due to its slow burn, something that I adore a lot of Asian horror for. The film builds up a strong foreboding atmosphere, before descending into one of the more memorable climaxes I have witnessed in the genre.
It seems that the film has copped a lot of flak from fans and critics, and it is perhaps due to the idea that video game films can't possibly be good. I have never played the games, instead just drooling over the cases in shops and admiring the artwork. From what I can gather, the film follows the second game in the series, and does so pretty closely, with of course some inevitable changes that restraints require. Unlike many films adapted from games, Siren actually contains some clever plotting and dense atmosphere. Here, characters are typically over the top and quirky. In some ways the film reminded me (a little) of Uzumaki in its off-kilter approach, though Uzumaki went to an extreme in that. Some may say that one major detail is telegraphed a mile away, but unlike another film with a similar idea, I don't think that Siren is trying to keep it such a big secret. The fact that knew that something wasn't right from the get go really added to the suspense.
Get the R3, the subs are great, and the picture quality is quite good, and it is anamorphic. The only let down is perhaps going to be inherent in all versions, and is that the DVD only has a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track. I haven't been able to check if the Japanese DVD has DD 5.1 or DTS. However, despite the stereo audio, I could here some great separation through my speakers, and as a Prologic II track, it didn't sound so much like one. Other than that, there are almost no extras of note, in fact there are only 3 versions of the movie trailer, and what does one need them for when they have the film? I have never understood the inclusion of trailers as "extras" for that reason. I would liked to see some SFX reels, or even bloopers, but perhaps in a film such as this one, the budget didn't allow much room for trial and error.
In all the film was easy to watch and not too challenging, yet still carrying with it an aura of freshness. There are no dark haired ghosts (though if it did, how could one complain about it when the majority of people living in Japan have such hair), and the budget of the film keeps the production honest and small. The film has a slow build up that may dismay viewers of short attention spans, or a lust for blood, but the climax is quite gripping, and helps elevate the film beyond where it may have settled without it.