Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Forbidden Siren

(ALMOST) DISTANT MEMORIES

A few weeks ago, when on Debaser the nervous were nothing but newborns, I entered the chat as happy as Easter, as I did almost every day.

And there were those arguing to review video games. "I want Resident Evil!" "I want Silent Hill!" "I want Forbidden Siren!"
And that's when Davide Gojira Sesto burst in with his usual nonchalance, saying "Really? Then I'll sign up for the Forbidden Siren movie." And that's how chaos broke out amidst various surprises and screams of sudden hysterical crises. "Is there a Forbidden Siren movie?".

"Of course there is," I thought to myself, recalling the couple of times I'd watched it sinking into the leather couch in the living room.
An aficionado of oriental horror like myself could not miss a film like this, stupidly not distributed in Italy, in favor of the bland copies of "The Ring," thus tarnishing the reputation of almond-eyed horror cinema, which many Westerners tend to declare in ruin. Yet it's a shame because "Forbidden Siren" is a film that could have found a large audience even here. It would already start as a winner, being the cinematic adaptation of a successful video game, and it would end as a winner, as the claustrophobic and horrific atmospheres of the video game are delivered in a solid and engaging plot.

SAIREN.

Maki is a Japanese high school student (played by the always graceful Yui Ichikawa, also the star of the two Japanese film episodes of "The Grudge," a girl who is definitely pleasant even when unadorned and with a natural look and a good acting gift), accustomed to the frantic life of Tokyo, is forced to move with her father and little brother, to care for the latter in the midst of nature and away from the metropolitan chaos. Their destination is a lush green island inhabited by a community of friendly residents, but as the script requires, they hide a secret. Maki, after noticing a disturbing blood stain on the wardrobe of her new home, learns of a strange local superstition: When the siren sounds, don't go outside. And the phantom siren rings promptly every night, arousing fear in the three newcomers. Maki is even more disconcerted by Hideo's behavior, which becomes increasingly strange, while unconsciously plunging into a mystery bigger than she is...

Now. If you want to watch this movie and are squeamish about oriental horrors, calling them a potpourri of hair and possessions and prefer American horrors at least two decades old, sit without prejudice. This is a horror that distinctly breaks away from the stereotype associated with this genre. It's a film that escapes, defies every expectation, and doesn't even try to scare, focusing more on tension and the script's validity rather than sudden terror (almost absent). And that's why "Forbidden Siren" surprises because it knows how to engage without ever losing pace, offering a story that is finally original and interesting, thanks also to a sustained rhythm, that distances itself well from the terrifying and slow movements of many Asian ghost stories and knows how to propose an original component to the genre, managing not to leave you dissatisfied.  Thanks in part to the excellent acting, due to a Yui Ichikawa who, after the shyness of "Ju-On," manages to remain convincing in the role of the young Maki, an innocent but determined character. Yui succeeds in interpreting the character's psychology, maintaining good expressiveness. 

The director manages to faithfully create the settings of the video game, aided by a successful cinematography, sunny and enveloping in the early moments of the film, where the protagonists are still unaware of the danger, dark when the truth is coming to light, and completely dreamlike in the finale, weaving ample use of creative red, orange, blue and black. It's precisely on the prolonged zombie-like ending that Tsutsumi set his expectations, intertwining it with surreal and fear elements, but without achieving his goal of existential delirium. And the sequence, rather than unsettling, neither warms nor chills. Fortunately, the director certainly knows how to involve the viewer, with a triumph of unexpected plot twists ready to shock, leading to a concatenation of unexpected events that result in a fascinatingly orchestrated and, in its way, brilliant finale, making the film not a masterpiece but definitely a movie to watch, recommended for everyone: fans of the eponymous video game and not. To be watched, if only to realize how polychromatic Asian horror is and not just centered on the usual Sadako.