Siren season one, makes the audience plunge into a mysterious town of Bristol Cove, where myth meets the reality. It starts with a tense confrontation between human and mythological entities triggered by the appearance of a mysterious and beautiful mermaid Ryn Fisher, who has a dark secret. The series skillfully incorporates folklore into the contemporary science and covers the theme of morality, survival, and primitivism that guides not only mermaids but humans as well. The mood of the show is somber and gloomy with the exception of emotional softness which enhances the emotional intensity. The characters, particularly Ryn, Ben Pownall and Maddie Bishop are depicted in subtlety and reality, which makes it more than a monster mythology story.
Visually, Siren does a great job in building the creepy immersive atmosphere. The beauty of the haunted ocean and the unexplored depths of the ocean where the mermaids inhabit are captured by the cinematography. The special effects and shots underwater are successfully done, with a balance between realism and mythic greatness. The music in the series also slightly emphasizes the hypnotic and sometimes disturbing effect of the siren song of Ryn and contributes to the feeling of seduction and threat. The entire pace is fairly brisk, combining character-based drama and action scenes, although there are handful of predictable plot elements here and there. Dialogues are tough and lyrical particularly in those scenes that involve the songs of the mermaid that is a powerful metaphor of temptation and danger.
In the end, the movie, *Siren, left me in a state of amazement, sympathy, and conflict. It is a tale of the carnal powers in us, fear, desire, and the necessity of connection, wrapped up in a myth which asks the question of what it is to be human. There are a few cliches in the plot, yet the depth of emotions and the atmosphere used in the series make it an unforgettable stumble into the realms of legend and morality.
