Siren
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGregg Bishop
Written byBen Collins
Luke Piotrowski
Based on
"Amateur Night"
by
Produced byGary Binkow
Jude S. Walko
Brad Miska
StarringChase Williamson
Justin Welborn
Michael Aaron Milligan
Hayes Mercure
Randy McDowell
Hannah Fierman
CinematographyGeorge Feucht
Edited byGregg Bishop
Music byKristopher Carter
Production
companies
Chiller Films
The Collective Studios
Digital Bytes
Studio 71
Distributed byChiller Films
Release dates
  • August 28, 2016 (2016-08-28) (Horror Channel FrightFest)
  • December 2, 2016 (2016-12-02) (United States)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$300.000[1]

Siren (stylized as SiREN) is a 2016 American horror film directed by Gregg Bishop and written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. It is the first spin-off film in the V/H/S franchise and feature-length adaptation of "Amateur Night", David Bruckner's segment from the 2012 anthology horror film V/H/S.[2] It was released on December 2, 2016 in theatres, on DVD on December 6, 2016 and on Netflix January 1, 2020. The film focuses on Jonah (Chase Williamson) and his groomsmen the day before his wedding, as they embark on a wild night of partying and debauchery. The party, however, becomes a savage fight for survival when they unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.

Plot

Jonah goes out with his brother Mac and friends Rand and Elliot for his bachelor's party at a secret club. The owner, Nyx, welcomes them and upon hearing that Jonah wants a non-cheating experience, Nyx sends him to a private room.

Jonah sees a captive woman on the other side of a glass window. He tries to talk to her and she begins singing. Jonah, in a trance, suddenly relives all the sexual encounters he has ever had at once. Fearing that the woman is a sex slave, Jonah and his friends help her escape and she kills a guard, revealing a demonic form. After the friends flee in a car, the woman pursues them and crashes the car and kidnaps Elliot.

Nyx and his men kidnap Rand and torture him over the creature - Lilith. Jonah and Mac escape to a diner but Lilith finds them and kills the people inside and flies away with Jonah. In a quarry, Lilith uses a trance fantasy of her being Eva, Jonah's fiance, to rape him. When he comes to his senses, Jonah returns to his hotel where Nyx offers a trade of Rand for Lilith at a nearby church.

At the church Nyx says that Lilith is a succubus he imprisoned previously and he needs Jonah to recapture her. Lilith arrives and Jonah tells her he will let her go if he and Rand can leave. Lilith kills Nyx and his henchmen, and Lilith releases Jonah with a kiss after Mac is killed.

One year later, Jonah and Eva are celebrating their anniversary and after making love, Jonah goes downstairs and sees Eva asleep on the couch, realizing Lilith used another trance upstairs. She attacks Eva and Jonah says he will go with her if she spares Eva. Lilith grabs Jonah, and they fly off into the night.

Cast

  • Chase Williamson as Jonah
  • Hannah Fierman as Lilith
  • Justin Welborn as Mr. Nyx
  • Hayes Mercure as Rand
  • Michael Aaron Milligan as Mac
  • Brittany S. Hall as Ash
  • Randy McDowell as Elliott
  • Lindsey Garrett as Eva
  • William Mark McCullough as The Addict
  • Patrick Wood as Bouncer
  • Stephen Caudill as Sheriff Boone
  • Brian F. Durkin as Officer O'Brian
  • Preston James Hillier as Officer Collins
  • Ava Atwood as Young Lily

Production

In May 2015, Chiller Films slated Siren, a V/H/S spinoff of the segment "Amateur Night", written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, would premiere in 2016.[3] In August 2015, Ain't it Cool News reported that production was underway in Savannah, Georgia, with Hannah Fierman reprising her role and Gregg Bishop serving as director.[4][5] David Bruckner, creator of the original segment, was initially slated to direct, but would ultimately pass on the offer due to his involvement on an unmade Friday the 13th reboot.[6] Producer Brad Miska then offered the film to Bishop, who both previously collaborated on V/H/S: Viral.[7] Bruckner was heavily involved with the project, serving as an executive producer, second unit director, and oversaw the development of the screenplay with Collins and Piotrowski.[8] The filmmakers opted not to use the found footage format to differentiate the feature from the short film.[9]

Even though the studio was pushing for other actresses for the role of Lily, director Gregg Bishop insisted that Hannah Fierman reprise her role as Lily, stating that she was the primary reason that the character was so iconic in the short.[10] Fierman was initially hesitant to return to the role of Lily, but would ultimately sign on to the project after being drawn in by Bruckner's pitch. The actress also took part in auditioning for the role during casting.[11]

For the parts of the movie where Lily sings, the filmmakers decided in pre-production to utilize Hannah Fierman's singing voice. She would lip sync to a guide track for the first take to just get the melody and timing of the song (the filmmakers never intending to use that take), then in the following takes she would sing it for real.[12] Justin Welborn was cast as Mr. Nyx, who also starred in Bruckner's film The Signal and Bishop's Dance of the Dead.[13]

The film was scheduled for 18 days and budgeted under a half million dollars. Post-production was rushed and as a result several final visual FX shots were not approved by the director because the post house had to cut them in and deliver the movie.[14]

Release

Siren was released on December 2, 2016 by Chiller Films.[15] and then released on DVD on December 6, 2016 by Universal Home Video.[16][17] The film was subsequently released on Netflix on January 1, 2020.[18]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 65% of 20 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10.[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[20]

Ain't It Cool News called SiREN a "rock solid monster movie with a strong ensemble cast",[21] the Los Angeles Times hailed it a "clever and confident expansion of a terrific short."[22] We Are Indie Horror called it a "phenomenal and intense adaptation of "Amateur Night" that far surpasses the short in tone and action. SiREN stands on its own and is a must-see".[23] Horror Freak News named SiREN as one of the "top horror movies of 2016".[24]

References

  1. ↑ Siren (2016) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-04-11
  2. ↑ Connor, John (August 29, 2016). "First V/H/S Spin-Off SIREN Gets an NSFW Clip!". Quietearth.us. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  3. ↑ Miska, Brad (May 5, 2015). "Chiller Reveals Slasher, Lifeforce and Siren (Based On the V/H/S Segment "Amateur Night")". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  4. ↑ Vespe, Eric (August 4, 2015). "Exclusive: Feature Version of V/H/S Segment "Amateur Night" Called Siren Nabs a Familiar Face!". Ain't it Cool News. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Director Gregg Bishop submits to Georgia's Siren call | ATL Burger Week". 2022-01-02. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  6. ↑ Carter, James (December 6, 2016). "Interview: Director Gregg Bishop for Siren". Nightmarish Conjurings. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  7. ↑ Webster, Christopher (December 5, 2016). "SiREN Interview: Director Gregg Bishop on Subverting Horror Gender Roles". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  8. ↑ Ryan, Taylor (December 2, 2016). "Siren - Interview with Film Director Gregg Bishop". BorrowingTape. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Interview: Siren's Hannah Fierman on Her V/H/S Spinoff". We Are Indie Horror. 30 November 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  10. ↑ Brehmer, Nat (December 5, 2016). "SIREN – INTERVIEW WITH FILM DIRECTOR GREGG BISHOP". BorrowingTape. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  11. ↑ Brehmer, Nat (November 23, 2016). "Interview: Hannah Fierman Talks Siren". WickedHorror. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  12. ↑ Collis, Clark (December 1, 2016). "How the Star of Horror Movie Siren Turned into a Monster (On Purpose)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  13. ↑ Anderson, Derek (December 2, 2016). "Interview: Justin Welborn Talks Playing Mr. Nyx in Siren & Reflects on Dance of the Dead". Daily Dead. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  14. ↑ "SiREN (2016) trivia". IMDb.
  15. ↑ "Chiller Films Summons Siren". CultureCrypt. August 19, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  16. ↑ Mack, Andrew (August 19, 2016). "Chiller Films Releasing Gregg Bishop's SIREN This December". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Siren DVD - December 6, 2016". bluray.com. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Siren on Netflix: Date, Plot, & Reviews". Netflix Schedule. January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Siren". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Siren". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  21. ↑ "AICN looks at SiREN!". Ain't It Cool News.
  22. ↑ Murray, Noel (December 1, 2016). "In SiREN a Bachelor Party Goes Oh, So Wrong". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Review: V/H/S Spin-off 'SiREN' Will Lure You In=We Are Indie Horror". We Are Indie Horror. December 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Top 15 Horror Movies of 2016 & 5 Major Disappointments". 2019-07-14. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
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