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Nightsiren AKA Svetlonoc (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Arrow Video Review written by and copyright: Paul Lewis (11th September 2024). |
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The Film
 Nightsiren (Tereza Nvotová, 2022)  The second feature film of Slovakian writer-director Tereza Nvotová, Night Siren (2022) has been released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video.
Nightsiren (or Night Siren)opens with its protagonist, Šarlota, as a child. Fleeing from her mother, who wishes to question Šarlota over her association with a local woman, Otyla, who has been accused of witchcraft, Šarlota accidentally knocks her younger sister Tamara off a cliff. Subsequently, Šarlota runs away from home. In the present day, Šarlota (Natalia Germani)—now a young adult—returns to her home village following the death of her mother. In the intervening years, Šarlota has lived in the city. Arriving in the village, she discovers her mother’s cabin, which borders the forest, has been burnt to the ground. Šarlota then takes residence in the nearby abandoned cabin of Otyla, the rumoured witch. Šarlota soon discovers the insular folk of the village have retained their belief in the supernatural. She is regarded with suspicion and subjected to cruelty, and accused of witchcraft through her association with Otyla’s cabin. However, Šarlota finds an ally in the form of another young woman, Mira (Eva Mores). And as she spends more time in the village, Šarlota unearths things about her past that change her understanding of her her relationships with her mother, Tamara, and Otyla. Aside from her 2017 debut feature Filthy, Nvotová had also directed two feature length documentaries prior to making Nightsiren: Jezís je normální! (2008), focusing on a Christian cult in Prague; and Meciar (2007), examining the rise of Slovakian Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar. Where Filthy sees its protagonist, teenaged Lena, coming to terms with the aftereffects of a sexual assault, Jezís je normální! explores radical religion and its interaction with free will.  Similar themes bubble beneath the surface of Night Siren, a film about religious/cultural intolerance and persecution and the role of both of these in human cruelty. The community of the village is insular and disrupted by the arrival of Šarlota; there is a juxtaposition of the city and the rural space which underpins so many horror narratives, particularly those that focus heavily on folklore.
Beautifully photographed (with some great low-light photography and painterly compositions) and thematically rich, Nightsiren is also burdened with a quite Hollywood-esque approach to character: folk from the village are either kind or, in most cases, cruel, with little room for development, nuance, or evolution. There’s also a positively Victorian approach to the rural-urban divide, with the rural community depicted as superstitious and regressive. This results in a picture that at times feels deeply didactic—its narrative almost like a dialectics of cruelty. On the other hand, Nightsiren highlights the manner in which woman is “Othered.” The film frames this concept against the historical persecution of women for alleged witchcraft, bringing these tensions into the present day. Germani’s performance in the main role is impressive and anchors the picture. The manner in which the film interweaves the past and the present is reminiscent of a mystery narrative or detective story, and Šarlota’s journey is ultimately one of self-discovery. The persistent use of intertitles to divide the narrative into “chapters” feels quite Brechtian and has a distancing effect, though its unclear whether or not this was the intention of Nvotova).
Video
 Nightsiren was photographed digitally, and is presented here in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
The film is uncut, with a running time of 110:18 mins, and fills approximately 29Gb on a dual-layered Blu-ray disc. The 1080p presentation uses the AVC codec. The palette is dominated by autumnal colours, with lots of browns and forest greens. These colours are communicated very well here, giving the picture an earthy aesthetic. Skintones are natural and consistent throughout. The level of detail is very strong, with fine detail present in closeups. Contrast levels are pleasing, with the deep blacks of the forest (especially when photographed at nighttime) articulating a sense of mystery and lurking fear/violence. Shadows taper off in a satisfying manner, with a pleasing curve from the midtones to the toe of the exposure. Highlights are balanced during daytime scenes. The encode to disc is solid, with no digital artifacting present during the presentation. In sum, this is a strong “condensed” presentation of a digitally-shot feature. NB. Some full-sized screengrabs are included at the bottom of this review. Please click to enlarge them.
Audio
The spoken language is Slovak, and two audio options are present: a DTS-HD 5.1 track and a LPCM 2.0 stereo track. Both of these are fine, though the 5.1 track features some more atmospheric sound design, making good use of the rear speakers at times in order to add ambience to the proceedings. However, both tracks have a strong sense of depth, with rich bass (evident from the banging on a cabin door that opens the film) and clear midtones in particular. Optional English subtitles are included. These are easy to read and free from errors.
Extras
 The disc includes the following extra features:
- Commentary by Kat Ellinger. Critic Kat Ellinger provides a commentary for Nightsiren that considers the film’s place within the subgenre of movies about witchcraft. Ellinger reflects on the structure of the film and the manner in which its narrative offers a subversive appropriation of archetypes associated with femininity and witchcraft. - “Witches and Sisterhood” (11:23). Australian critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas narrates a video essay that considers the theme of sisterhood within Nightsiren. - “Taboo” (5:47). This short video essay by Canadian critic Justine Smith considers Nightsiren within the framework of art examining feminity and its association with horror, superstition, and a fear of the unknown. It’s an interesting, polemical take on a film that highlights the manner in which Nightsiren – like many other films about witchcraft, to be fair – explores society’s focus on woman-as-Other. - Trailer (1:43).
Overall
 Nightsiren is an interesting film that feels like the culmination or distillation of some of the themes in Nvotova’s previous work. It’s a beautifull shot film with a strong central performance from Germani. Though its approach to the secondary/ancillary characters often lacks nuance and, arguably, complexity—and the depiction of the rural-urban divide feels more than a little reactionary—the film’s exploration of the Othering of woman through superstitious accusations of witchcraft is explored in a forthright manner and is perennially “timely.”
Arrow’s Blu-ray release contains a strong presentation of the digitally-photographed main feature, alongside some good contextual material. The video essay from Justine Smith is particularly good, albeit very short. Please click the screengrabs below to enlarge them. 
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