I feel like this movie has gotten some bad reviews, but I honestly think it's a great piece of work. The slow build of suspense works well in this movie, the characters are great (acting too), and the storyline is original. And the ending? Let's just say--I didn't see that coming.I was tempted to be let down by the ending--but what I loved about the ending is that it still evoked questions inside of me. I had to go back and connect the dots throughout the movie to get a new understanding of it. After the ending, you see the movie from an entirely different perspective--which makes it quite powerful. Also, what do you make of the ending? While some people will view the ending and say "No--the end definitely means this"--I think that the ending can be interpreted many different ways.The question is--what do you believe? When the siren sounds...don't go outside.

Is it just me or is that kid really annoying?Hideos sister, spends most of her time running around after the disobedient little so and so. As for him, well, I know he's a kid n all, but his acting ability is about as wooden as a dead tree. So far I'm only half way through, and am fascinated by the story, but the people in it, let it down, I just hope it gets better by the end, as I can't not know what it's all about. Although, some supposedly cryptic messages in the scribbles on the wall and a notebook, indicate everything is backwards, i.e. Dog is God, Live is Evil etc... just seems a little obvious at the moment, yet nobody mentions its obvious meaning, (As yet anyway) If my opinion changes at the end of the movie, I'll update this post, but if your reading this, then well...... See above statement.

This is an entertaining movie which achieves its objectives within its genre. Without offering an amateur critique and regardless of its basis on a video game, it is well enough scripted, acted & filmed to provide 90mins of distraction.Whilst not offering the seasoned viewer of Japanese horror/thrillers a great deal to enthuse about, this movie is clearly effective in bringing the genre to a wider audience, without a reliance on the inane Hollywood style special effects we have come to expect.Simple and pleasing, the story is developed, extended, twisted and concluded with reasonable suspense and intrigue. Visually and audibly intense at all the appropriate moments - whats not to like. If you are viewing with AC3 or DTS sound - crank it up good and loud.

Forbidden Siren is based upon the Siren 2 Playstation 2 (so many 2s) game. Like most video game turned movies, I would say the majority don't translate into a different medium really well. And that goes for this one too, painfully.There's a pretty long prologue which explains and sets the premise for the story, and the mysterious island on which a writer (Leo Morimoto) and his children, daughter Yuki (Yui Ichikawa) and son Hideo (Jun Nishiyama) come to move into. The villagers don't look all too friendly, and soon enough, sound advice is given about the siren on the island, to stay indoors once the siren starts wailing.Naturally and slowly, things start to go bump, and our siblings go on a mission beating around the bush to discover exactly what is happening on this unfriendly island with its strange inhabitants. But in truth, you will not bother with what's going on, as folklore and fairy tales get thrown in to convolute the plot even more. What was really pushing it into the realm of bad comedy are its unwittingly ill-placed-out-of-the-norm moments which just drew pitiful giggles at its sheer stupidity, until it's explained much later. It's one thing trying to come up and present something smart, but another thing doing it convincingly and with loopholes covered.Despite it clocking in under 90 minutes - I think it's a horror movie phenomenon to have that as a runtime benchmark - it gives that almost two hour feel with its slow buildup to tell what it wants to. Things begin to pick up toward the last 20 minutes, but it's a classic case of too little too late.What saves the movie is how it changes tack and its revelation at the end. Again this is a common device used to try and elevate a seemingly simple horror movie into something a little bit extra in the hope of wowing an audience. It turned out rather satisfactorily, but leaves a bad aftertaste as you'll feel cheated somewhat. There are two ways a twist will make you feel - it either elevates the movie to a memorable level, or provides you with that hokey feeling. Unfortunately Forbidden Siren belonged more to the latter.The saving grace will be its cinematography with its use of light, shadows and mirrors, but I will be that explicit - it's still not worth the time, so better to avoid this.