Siren

Siren promises a genuinely sexy and supernatural experience in the vein of Dead Calm and The Hunger.
While Dead Calm and The Hunger are classics of its kind, this one won’t be. Neither does it feature any big-name stars the aforementioned two films can show off with. Not that Siren is bad or boring, but it lacks the overall allure one might expect from a film with such title.

Fed up with their busy city lives, a group of friends comprised of Ken (Eoin Macken – Merlin), girlfriend Rachel (Anna Skellern – The Descendant 2) and Marco (Anthony Jabre) decide to embark on a sailing trip along Tunisia’s Mediterranean coast. All is set for smooth sailing and plenty of sunshine, but the trip soon is overshadowed when they spot a castaway who bleeds from his ears and raves incoherently. Despite taking him onboard and making efforts to save him, he dies. Fearing the looming hell that is dealing with local foreign authorities, the three friends decide to take the stranger’s body to a nearby deserted island for a secret ‘burial’.

There, they make the acquaintance of another castaway, who thankfully is not dead but very much alive – though our friends soon wish her dead. The somewhat otherworldly Silka (Tereza Srbova – Inkheart, Eastern Promises) is as beautiful as she is traumatized and no one can figure out what exactly it is she’s doing on the remote island. Well, for one she’s out to create havoc, albeit in a very subtle way… She’s obviously also very smitten by Rachel, who soon becomes utterly entranced by her - to the dismay of boyfriend Ken. But men will be men, and of course both Ken and Marco lust after the mysterious beauty, though it only results in deep sexual frustrations that begin to manifest itself in violence, severe paranoia and feverish hallucinations. With Silka playing games with everyone and causing ever more tension between the friends, they come to the chilling conclusion that they may not leave the island alive.

The movie has a promising start and actually a rather unique concept too (as far as most contemporary horror films go). There is also an interesting build-up in plot and action, though at times the pace appears a little too dead calm. However, where the film fails is in its title, which not only is a giveaway in itself but we know that from the moment Silka appears that she’s the one. We also know what sirens do, namely leading ship crews to their doom in one way or another. So we all know what’s likely going to happen once Silka appears, it’s just a question of when it will happen – thereby the tension of things is reduced. Also, the hallucinogenic sequences, although vital as far as the progression of story is concerned, seem at times repetitive.
On the plus note, the cast do a really good job in playing their characters convincingly and keep their heads above water in a plot that seems too stretched at times. Photography is stunning and the landscape shots make you want to embark on a journey yourself (just beware the siren…).
The film is the debut feature of Canadian director Andrew Hull (P2, Queer As Folk US), who tragically lost his life last year as a result of a bicycle accident. It would have been interesting to see what Hull would have churned out next, sadly, Siren turned out to be his swan song.