User reviews

Well, where do I start? Myself and many of my friends (all of whom work in film/TV/theatre with a fair bit of low/medium budget experience between us in terms of acting and crew) have learned more from this film than any other. Obviously what we've learned is what not to do, on every level of film-making. This film fails completely in every way. It's hard to summon up the energy to list why this film is such an unmitigated disaster, but here goes:

1. Terrible, terrible script. The concept could make an interesting film, but it's the concept only, none of the dialogue. The execution of this concept is genuinely appalling.

2. Terrible, terrible acting. Yes there's a couple of minor 'names' in it, but it seems that no-one acting in this film has been given the slightest bit of direction. Wooden delivery, bizarre facial reactions, rushed takes etc.

3. Terrible, terrible set dressing/locations. There is no sense that any of the office/studio locations are genuine working environments. It makes much of the film look like a bad student production. Not a limitation of budget, a limitation of talent and skill.

4. Terrible, terrible camera-work and lighting. No, I'm not missing the point that it's hand-held for 'realism'. I'm just saying that it's rubbish. It really is rubbish.

5. Terrible, terrible continuity. There's no excuse no matter how low your budget is. Just pay attention.

6. Terrible, terrible sound and music. Dodgy adr that's badly synced, over the top fx, cheap music that never fits the mood and sounds like it's done on a cheap yamaha sound module. Trust me, I've owned a few.

7. Terrible, terrible editing. The editing in this film is in fact so bad that a friend had to explain to me what was happening while we watched it. This film taught me so much about what you can do with editing, and how much you can screw things up. Truly opened my eyes.

8. Terrible, terrible special effects. It looks like someone's just bought a copy of premiere/aftereffects and spent half an hour learning how to use them.

9. Director's friends and family (and himself I suspect, under a number of pseudonyms) leaving reviews and trying to get people to watch this unbelievable piece of rubbish. Some of these complain of a vendetta against him. Some of them compare the film to Altman (or even Godard, from what I remember) THESE ARE ALL LIES. THIS FILM IS RUBBISH. If you want to check, just have a look at what other films these people have reviewed - surprise surprise, most of them are just films by the same director.

It's this dishonest use of IMDb that's caused me to write my first review. To be honest, everyone should see this. It's so funny due to its complete ineptitude that it's actually somewhat entertaining (if you're in the right mood and in the company of people who know anything about low budget film-making). Read some of the other reviews and see the director's and his friends excuses as to why the film doesn't work. Believe them if you want. Excuses are irrelevant, it's the final product that counts. And for someone that's actually made films before, AND GOT FUNDING FOR MORE, this is simply shocking.

Day of the Sirens is a bad film. End of story. It may have the odd good thing in it, but it is a bad film. Saeed Jaffrey hammed beyond all belief, Rik Mayall blatantly couldn't give a toss and everyone else fell between panto and wooden. The plot is pathetic and badly writte, the dialogue is appalling, the camera work shaky at best, the sets and locations are terribly, continuity non-existent, the Spanish sub-plot irritating and pointless and the special effects were surely the result of a technician having a laugh. The production values are as low as you can get and one or two glaring inconsistencies in the plot and casting really do need to be pointed out to the director/writer. 1. Jewish boys are rarely named Christian. 2. They rarely have Irish Catholic mothers. 3. Elderly Asian gentlemen with strong accents are rarely called Albert Page. 4. Radio Juan is not funny. 5. Ripping off 'Seven' is not clever. Don't watch this film unless you're drunk and have a skip facility on your DVD player.

Well since this is a brand-new low budget film, I thought to check it out. I thought it's going to be a nice independent film such as "28 days later" (2002); but on my great disappointment the movie kind of sucked. Sorry for such a bad term to describe this movie, but it was really lame. I always must finish the entire movie to give judgment, but on this one I was ready to press "stop" 15 minutes into the movie. But since I'm such a nice movie buff, I let the movie roll untill the ending. And guess what?; the movie still sucked. The camera work was really bad, un-human movements of point-of-eye view, jerky film, security-camera-like shooting; all this making the movie worse then it is. I'm sorry for such a bad review but it is my honest opinion. And why are u guys trying to cheat IMDB by asking all your friends to give such a great reviews... (do not buy/rent the movie if you wanna see it - just download it - this way you won't feel as bad that you've wasted your time/money) --- and again sorry about a bad review - it's only my opinion - I might be wrong.

This thing has the complete look and feel of a cheap porn-movie.

It's just that the acting is worse, the story is worse, camera is worse and of course there's no sex. It looks like the kind of movie you would make if you just bought a digital camera and had some friends over with too much time on their hands.

I've seen many comments on this movie(recently seen on IMDb)that range from "best movie ever" to brutal slating, that it's boring, pointless, etc. Well, I find that the film is between both of these extremes. It does a good job of conveying the turmoil of a city under threat of a terrorist attack, that is very realistic, spot on (like Mike Leigh does action, a bit weird but very interesting), I really liked the action sequences which for a low budget movie were quite remarkable in their scale and content. The character tie-ins work very well, and do a good job of keeping things moving. Problem is, that I ended up not caring much about all of them, with the exception of the Saeed Jaffrey, the Spanish girl was a shock but I never felt like I knew or cared about her, Mayall was interesting but his character was only beginning to open up when his performance was suddenly over. Theakston does a good job on the cinematography in his DOP debut but in the final analysis, this could've been better if Brady would've reigned in his overindulgent script, had better dialogue, focused on less characters and fleshed out the remaining ones better, eschewed the Lisa Shaw character (at least the Police Commander that seems stuck to spot) and had an ending that made sense. Themes such as dispossession and terrorism have been handled better by more accomplished directors. So, I give it 6/10 - not terrible, but not a great film that I could recommend, given a sensible budget though I guess it could of been much better, but trying to create a film of this scale on a micro budget was always doomed to failure.

After loving the director's previous movie Love Life I was excited to catch his latest, shot on a micro-budget this British drama is incredible. I'll limit my comments about this film to opinions rather than a critical review, as there are many people, none on this site obviously, who are much more knowledgeable and qualified to give an educated critique. I just felt it deserved another positive comment to counter the many negative ones, it seems like the director Ray Brady has a hate campaign from some dispossessed individual intent in damming this original and inspired piece...which I don't really understand and can't explain except to attribute it to ignorance. If you read production notes on the film, you'll realize the writer and director purposely used hand-held cameras to heighten audience tension and to convey a certain sense of realism and to be less intrusive...i.e., not encroach on the actors performances; just acting as a passive observer. In my mind this is brilliance, especially for such an intense, emotionally charged film where capturing certain things on film can only be done a certain way once and numerous camera and lighting setups would constantly interrupt the creative flow. I guess if you don't enjoy a film, you're not very likely to read production notes or check out the films website to learn about how it was made. So for that reason, you can forgive the ignorance of those who commented on how bad it was for childish, superficial reasons rather than making valid intelligent points. If you found it difficult to follow, you might want to stick to less "artsy" fare that doesn't make you think and leaves your brain feeling mushier than when you came into the theatre. This film is emotionally driven, the story is carried forward by the characters and their situations rather than a structured plot. If you insist on linear story telling and can't open your mind to something a little more abstract, you'll have a hard time with this one. In my opinion any movie that evokes such a strong visceral and emotional reaction, be it tears or laughter or even anger is certainly worth seeing. The performances in Day of the Sirens speak for themselves...both the principle actors are phenomenal, Saeed Jaffrey and ESPECIALLY Rik Mayall blew me away. I always thought of him as a great comic actor; the feelings he can exhibit with a facial expression or even just the look in his eyes sent chills up my spine. Go see it, rent it, whatever...even if you end up not liking it, its worth a try. Very British, bigger than TV but maybe too small for the big screen (without big names, a sensible realistic budget and a sizeable P&A budget), I was lucky enough to see this at a festival and I highly recommend it though when it is available DVD.

Ambitious is the best word I could use to describe this film. After reading a press piece by the director Brady I was curious to see on his tiny budget if in fact he had pulled his concept off. Now yes this film is nothing like films coming out of Hollywood, with the exception of perhaps Falling Down, but it's British and designed to play to a different target audience. It is in fact a real curiosity, the director like Goddard in Alphaville, cleverly uses locations and real documentary footage and wonderful sound design (note the corridor sequence a the radio station) to create a genuine feeling of a city under attack, it is never grandiose and ridiculous, in fact it's so darn right colloquial and pedestrian it at times seems so every day normal that it is subversive in that you don't feel like your really watching a dramatisation, more like a weird documentary which therefore begins to get slowly under your skin. Whilst some of the minor characters are weak and two-dimensional all the leads are convincing to excellent in range. A telemovie in reality but an exceptionally good one and on the budget very impressive. Recommended viewing when it comes around on cable.

I knew from the box that I wasn't expecting a comedy but as a big Rik Mayall fan purchase was a must for my collection. Day of the Sirens is a very dark film, several different stories intermingle as you follow characters, get to know them, all live in London which is under attack/siege by a nameless terrorist organization. Rik plays a DJ at Radio Juan, he picks up on the breaking story and runs with it through the day as the scale of the attack becomes obvious he shifts from a cynical hack to a deeply concerned voice of the people, for want of a name calling the attacker the Siren Killer, probably because the city has become full of the sounds of police and ambulance sirens as they rush from one incident to the next. Rik gives an exceptional performance playing a caring parent who worries for his child's safety in a city that has become suddenly very dangerous. Rik brings depth and gravitas to a wacky character who becomes in his own way a hero. This is a very good film, watch it and you'll see a very different side to Rik; it will surprise you and move you.

Obviously a homage to the narrative style of Altman i.e. Shotcuts, Day of the Sirens is an intelligent well written pot-boiler with some surprising flourishes and powerful action sequences. At times disjointed but on the whole very engaging and entertaining, kept fresh by sometimes startling plot twists and a couple of large set pieces that are very memorable. The DVD I rented had disappointingly few DVD extras as such, for those curious to know more production information, you won't find it unfortunately on this release. I really liked the artwork though, would be curious to see original film poster. Curiously little press around this UK release, for some reason a well kept secret, four out of five!

All London needs is for some psycho terrorist group to begin a killing spree. The trains and buses stop at the drop of a leaf. This kind of attack would cripple the City and effect millions. It is brave to dramatise such a scary event, maybe even a touch irresponsible, it is only a matter of time before the events in this film become a reality. Just wait for the breaking news headline 'Gunman on rampage in City' and remember you saw it first in 'Day of the Sirens'. VG

After seeing a couple of vitriolic hateful reviews posted on the imdb which followed several glowing ones, such mixed reviews I thought deserve attention, I rented this movie to see for myself, it was much better than I thought it would be, seems like Brady has a hate campaign been thrown at him. 'Day of the Sirens' was very good, a moving police drama, admittedly you could see that it was let down a bit by its low budget, but with no help from the lottery or film council (a pleasant surprise)it was entertaining from start to its unusually dark finish. Agreed not on a par with '28 Days Later' but then I suspect that film had a budget several times greater. 'Day of the Sirens' is like Ken Loach trying to do action and it doesn't quite sit easy. Still definitely one of the best low budget brit flicks in years.

Saeed Jaffrey is a legendary actor with a career that has spanned decades. One of his earliest notable roles was Billy Fish was in the 'Man Who Would be King' directed by John Houston, since then he has starred in hundred's of movies in the West and in Bollywood. His performance in 'Day of the Sirens' playing Albert Page is I believe to be his finest since he starred as Mir in Satyajit Ray's first English language movie 'The Chessplayers'1977, I can not recommend Saeed's performance more than to say that as a British movie a Bafta is easily deserved and internationally? Who selects films for Oscar nominations, you really must see this?

I am the biggest Rik Mayall fan in France, when I heard that he was in Day of the Sirens I was very pleased. Thanks to Amazon I managed to order a copy, it was a revelation. I always thought that Rik was a great actor but his performance in Sirens is superb, it moved me to tears. If you love Rik you will love this. Ten of ten.

After reading the last posted review of 'Day of the Sirens' I had to write a review myself to put the record straight since it felt like someone posted a review of a different film. The review mentioned that the acting was bad, it was in fact excellent, in the case of Saeed Jaffrey a career best, his performance had me in tears and he completely stole the film, shame on anyone that says it was less than exceptional. A reviewer mentioned the film had a cheap digital feel, this is where I believe they must have really been watching another film, the camera work was beautiful and the colours were vivid and sharp, bold and lovely cinematography, very surprising for a low budget film. I counted five distinct and separate story lines that did come together though subtly and with intelligence, I can only assume that the connections went over the reviewers head. Engage your brain or get off the train, 'Day of the Sirens' is not for lazy minds, it is thoughtful and clearly one of the best British independent films this year.

Above average UK thriller in which terrorists attack London, England. Better than 'Boy Meets Girl' the directors first widely released cult warped hit, the violence is more cerebral, less visceral. Still a disturbing movie, wasn't quite sure if it's impact was diluted by it's confusing multi-strand narrative structure, but it was beautifully lensed and I found the ending particularly moving.

For a change a passable British thriller, though overly ambitious a good stab at a British take on the 24 phenomenon. Generally good performances all round excluding the Police Commander who seemed to have his shoes nailed to the floor in every shot he was in. With a bigger budget this film could have really opened up a bit, ripe for a remake though. The Spanish twist at the end was really sweet! Jaffrey seems to have been wasted of late, excluding Corra's and a few UK indie movies he seems to have but faded away. In Day of the Sirens though I saw his best performance in years, a moving and painful to watch study of a lone pensioner being targeted by a pack of vicious kids and pushed over the edge. Oh yeah, unusually well shot for a British independent.

Watched a press preview copy of this UK independent feature and it blew me away. Easily the most intelligent, distinct and classy British indie low budget feature since Boyle's 'Trainspotting' or Andersons 'Shopping', next stop Hollywood for Brady I suspect. A several complex narratives are intertwined in the style of 'Short Cuts' but edited in the style of the American TV series '24'. Should tap into the zeitgeist phobia of dread international terrorism. A very moving and powerful film I'm sure will be the festival hit of next year. I can't recommend this film more highly enough more than ten out of ten.

No one is making anything like this in the UK. Ray Brady's work was always eclectic but this is his strangest film since his first feature Boy Meets Girl (1994). Day of the Sirens, like Boy Meets Girl, I believe will have polarised and opposite reviews , like BMG people will either love or hate this film, the attack by a gunman on a church followed by another motiveless attack on children in a playground will anger many and bring disdain and hatred on to Brady. Day of the Sirens will cause a strong reaction in all viewers, and I guess this is the power of Sirens and Boy Meets Girl, Brady tackles issues and goes to places few other British director/writers would dare to go to or deal with. A brave if somewhat repugnent film, my vote is ten though a suspect that some will vote one, a provocative film by one of England's most provocative filmmakers.

Day of the Sirens starts at a gentle pace, several characters are introduced waking up and starting their individual summer's day in London. Lulled into a false sense of security, the first violent incident completely shocked me. Quickly you get to understand that there is a much bigger game being played here, both by the terrorist loose in London and by the movies director. At times this film was shocking, I never seemed to get to the point where I could anticipate what would be coming next, it had me in tears twice. Subversive and with several great twists and set pieces, this was a very entertaining movie and a complete surprise, since I had heard nothing about it till the preview DVD arrived through my door. Nine out of Ten. Very moving and commendable.

Stop Over Selling This Movie - PLEEEEEEASE. Rik's best performance yet!!!! Yes its good but not worth writting home for. His bully boy tactics in Bottom entailed more feeling and talent. Plus The Script Was Better!

The film is OK but, the one liners said in a very cheesy way make you wanna fast forward. The Guns Could Have Been Made To Look A Little Less Plasticy And The Whole Film Should Have Been Based Around And Even Called - "The Day Of Mr Albert Page" - because his storyline was the only heart felt one of the lot.

Worth a watch but be prepared for medioca acting, bad props and a few laughable moments when its not ment to be. Per Example The Doggy Doo Gun!!!! Again PLEEEEEEASE.

But all said - Well Done For The Ending!!!

After reading several great reviews of this film I managed to finally hunt it down on DVD from the net in the UK. Worth the wait and the effort, for a film that didn't get a theatrical release in the UK (go figure) it was a tour de force, beautifully shot (on super 16mm (I think) and with several stand out performances, notably by Jaffrey, Mayall & Brady (not the Director, his brother perhaps?). The edge of the seat action sequences were very cool, though a very different, this has got my vote of best UK film since Trainspotting.

I am typically an action movie fan and not often does a drama catch my attention but this one did. I was caught up in the story from the opening scene and by the end of the movie I was sobbing. This movie really touched me. My emotions really welled up and had to be released by movies end. This is definitely a must see movie. Saeed Jaffrey & Rik Mayall were outstanding with the supporting players for the most delivering great subtle performances. This script was well written and executed, Kudos to Brady on taking a storyline that has been presented before in 24 and giving it a low key realistic British spin. His storyline keeps you on the edge, interested and anticipating the outcome. At times I was confused, but he did a marvelous job tying it all together at the end, which was unusually dark and with little resolution, kind of like life. I highly recommend this movie.

Having read a lot of the comments on this film posted here I think it best if I keep it simple. This film rates highly with me because of the casting, the film quality, the locations and the real menace it brought out. Rik Mayall was brilliant first time out and his performance stand's up when viewed over and over. However Saeed Jaffrey's performance was stunning, just watch the scene in his flat when the boys come round to terrorise him. Then watch as the camera almost never leaves him. His whole demeanour changes to one of shock then horror then fear as he knows the boys will not be denied. I loved the movie and the dvd is well worth it, one of the best British releases of the year. 5 star's, but scrimpy on the extra's.