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It's a sad fact that a lot of movies based on video games turn out to be, shall we say, less than satisfactory. And not just the ones directed by Uwe Boll either - while his efforts are heavily derided, you can't blame him for cack like the Wing Commander and Street Fighter movies. Both were Hollywood productions and both were pretty damn disappointing. Granted, the trailer for Max Payne doesn't loook half bad, but there's still plenty of time for the studio to mess it up. Like they did with Hitman, a film which was apparently heavily edited against the editor's wishes, to the point where new scenes were shot and inserted into the film.
So you can understand why I approached the Japanese film version of Forbidden Siren fairly cautiously. Not only is it based upon a video game, specifically a Playstation 2 survival horror game, but it was released at the same time as the second game in the series. Oh, and it's never received a western DVD release, despite having been out for a good couple of years. None of which are good signs - I was expecting Forbidden Siren to a pretty shoddy effort.
But surprisingly enough, it's pretty damn good. In fact, it's not only one of the best video game based films out there, but it's a good horror movie in its own right.
Forbidden Siren does take elements from the first two games, but it doesn't follow the storyline of either Forbidden Siren 1 or 2. Instead, the movie centers around a Japanese girl named Yuki. She has moved, with her father and brother, to the the island of Yamajima, a strangely secluded place with a slightly odd history. As Yuki discovers, various legends and rumours have sprung up about the island - including a story that in 1976, the islands inhabitants disappeared overnight. You'd think that an island with such a chequered past wouldn't be the best place to set up home, but Yuki's father hopes that the isolated nature of the island will somehow help Yuki's sickly brother, Hideo, recover his health.
Right from the beginning of the movie, it becomes clear that there's something strange about the island. The film's slightly unsettling score does nothing to dispel the sense of unease you get from watching the movie. An unease apparently shared by Yuki, who becomes increasingly concerned about her surroundings as the movie progresses, the strange aloofness of the villagers being a prime cause for concern. You can't blame her, really - you might expect a neighbour to come over to borrow your lawnmower, but not to warn that 'when the siren sounds, you should never go outside.' Think 'The Ring' meets 'The Wicker Man' and you've got an idea of what to expect from Forbbiden Siren.
It's difficult to explain good Forbidden Siren is without giving too much of the storyline away. The acting's also top notch, as are the visual effects. The special make up effects are okay, but the Shibito, zombie like creatures who put in an appearance in both the film and the game, never look quite as disturbing as they do in the game. And it's pretty damn scary, plus it has an excellent twist about a third of the way through, which you certainly don't see coming. Even if you haven't played the games, Forbidden Siren is an excellent horror movie in its own right, and well worth watching.
(This is my own original review, but it has also been posted on another forum)
So you can understand why I approached the Japanese film version of Forbidden Siren fairly cautiously. Not only is it based upon a video game, specifically a Playstation 2 survival horror game, but it was released at the same time as the second game in the series. Oh, and it's never received a western DVD release, despite having been out for a good couple of years. None of which are good signs - I was expecting Forbidden Siren to a pretty shoddy effort.
But surprisingly enough, it's pretty damn good. In fact, it's not only one of the best video game based films out there, but it's a good horror movie in its own right.
Forbidden Siren does take elements from the first two games, but it doesn't follow the storyline of either Forbidden Siren 1 or 2. Instead, the movie centers around a Japanese girl named Yuki. She has moved, with her father and brother, to the the island of Yamajima, a strangely secluded place with a slightly odd history. As Yuki discovers, various legends and rumours have sprung up about the island - including a story that in 1976, the islands inhabitants disappeared overnight. You'd think that an island with such a chequered past wouldn't be the best place to set up home, but Yuki's father hopes that the isolated nature of the island will somehow help Yuki's sickly brother, Hideo, recover his health.
Right from the beginning of the movie, it becomes clear that there's something strange about the island. The film's slightly unsettling score does nothing to dispel the sense of unease you get from watching the movie. An unease apparently shared by Yuki, who becomes increasingly concerned about her surroundings as the movie progresses, the strange aloofness of the villagers being a prime cause for concern. You can't blame her, really - you might expect a neighbour to come over to borrow your lawnmower, but not to warn that 'when the siren sounds, you should never go outside.' Think 'The Ring' meets 'The Wicker Man' and you've got an idea of what to expect from Forbbiden Siren.
It's difficult to explain good Forbidden Siren is without giving too much of the storyline away. The acting's also top notch, as are the visual effects. The special make up effects are okay, but the Shibito, zombie like creatures who put in an appearance in both the film and the game, never look quite as disturbing as they do in the game. And it's pretty damn scary, plus it has an excellent twist about a third of the way through, which you certainly don't see coming. Even if you haven't played the games, Forbidden Siren is an excellent horror movie in its own right, and well worth watching.
(This is my own original review, but it has also been posted on another forum)
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It's a sad fact that a lot of movies based on video games turn out to be, shall we say, less than satisfactory. And not just the ones directed by Uwe Boll either - while his efforts are heavily derided, you can't blame him for cack like the Wing Commander and Street Fighter movies. Both were Hollywood productions and both were pretty damn disappointing. Granted, the trailer for Max Payne doesn't loook half bad, but there's still plenty of time for the studio to mess it up. Like they did with Hitman, a film which was apparently heavily edited against the editor's wishes, to the point where new scenes were shot and inserted into the film.
So you can understand why I approached the Japanese film version of Forbidden Siren fairly cautiously. Not only is it based upon a video game, specifically a Playstation 2 survival horror game, but it was released at the same time as the second game in the series. Oh, and it's never received a western DVD release, despite having been out for a good couple of years. None of which are good signs - I was expecting Forbidden Siren to a pretty shoddy effort.
But surprisingly enough, it's pretty damn good. In fact, it's not only one of the best video game based films out there, but it's a good horror movie in its own right.
Forbidden Siren does take elements from the first two games, but it doesn't follow the storyline of either Forbidden Siren 1 or 2. Instead, the movie centers around a Japanese girl named Yuki. She has moved, with her father and brother, to the the island of Yamajima, a strangely secluded place with a slightly odd history. As Yuki discovers, various legends and rumours have sprung up about the island - including a story that in 1976, the islands inhabitants disappeared overnight. You'd think that an island with such a chequered past wouldn't be the best place to set up home, but Yuki's father hopes that the isolated nature of the island will somehow help Yuki's sickly brother, Hideo, recover his health.
Right from the beginning of the movie, it becomes clear that there's something strange about the island. The film's slightly unsettling score does nothing to dispel the sense of unease you get from watching the movie. An unease apparently shared by Yuki, who becomes increasingly concerned about her surroundings as the movie progresses, the strange aloofness of the villagers being a prime cause for concern. You can't blame her, really - you might expect a neighbour to come over to borrow your lawnmower, but not to warn that 'when the siren sounds, you should never go outside.' Think 'The Ring' meets 'The Wicker Man' and you've got an idea of what to expect from Forbbiden Siren.
It's difficult to explain good Forbidden Siren is without giving too much of the storyline away. The acting's also top notch, as are the visual effects. The special make up effects are okay, but the Shibito, zombie like creatures who put in an appearance in both the film and the game, never look quite as disturbing as they do in the game. And it's pretty damn scary, plus it has an excellent twist about a third of the way through, which you certainly don't see coming. Even if you haven't played the games, Forbidden Siren is an excellent horror movie in its own right, and well worth watching.
(This is my own original review, but it has also been posted on another forum)
So you can understand why I approached the Japanese film version of Forbidden Siren fairly cautiously. Not only is it based upon a video game, specifically a Playstation 2 survival horror game, but it was released at the same time as the second game in the series. Oh, and it's never received a western DVD release, despite having been out for a good couple of years. None of which are good signs - I was expecting Forbidden Siren to a pretty shoddy effort.
But surprisingly enough, it's pretty damn good. In fact, it's not only one of the best video game based films out there, but it's a good horror movie in its own right.
Forbidden Siren does take elements from the first two games, but it doesn't follow the storyline of either Forbidden Siren 1 or 2. Instead, the movie centers around a Japanese girl named Yuki. She has moved, with her father and brother, to the the island of Yamajima, a strangely secluded place with a slightly odd history. As Yuki discovers, various legends and rumours have sprung up about the island - including a story that in 1976, the islands inhabitants disappeared overnight. You'd think that an island with such a chequered past wouldn't be the best place to set up home, but Yuki's father hopes that the isolated nature of the island will somehow help Yuki's sickly brother, Hideo, recover his health.
Right from the beginning of the movie, it becomes clear that there's something strange about the island. The film's slightly unsettling score does nothing to dispel the sense of unease you get from watching the movie. An unease apparently shared by Yuki, who becomes increasingly concerned about her surroundings as the movie progresses, the strange aloofness of the villagers being a prime cause for concern. You can't blame her, really - you might expect a neighbour to come over to borrow your lawnmower, but not to warn that 'when the siren sounds, you should never go outside.' Think 'The Ring' meets 'The Wicker Man' and you've got an idea of what to expect from Forbbiden Siren.
It's difficult to explain good Forbidden Siren is without giving too much of the storyline away. The acting's also top notch, as are the visual effects. The special make up effects are okay, but the Shibito, zombie like creatures who put in an appearance in both the film and the game, never look quite as disturbing as they do in the game. And it's pretty damn scary, plus it has an excellent twist about a third of the way through, which you certainly don't see coming. Even if you haven't played the games, Forbidden Siren is an excellent horror movie in its own right, and well worth watching.
(This is my own original review, but it has also been posted on another forum)