← Back to Reviews
in
Siege, 1983
While the police in Halifax are on strike, a group of men enters a gay bar called The Crypt and terrorizes the patrons. While attacking the bar's owner, the man is killed, and the gang realizes they could go down for murder. In a panic they call their leader, Cabe (Doug Lennox), who shows up and simply executes all of the patrons. But one man, Daniel (Terry-David Després) manages to escape, eventually winding up in the apartment of Horatio (Tom Nardini) and Barbara (Brenda Bazinet). When Horatio and Barbara refuse to hand Daniel over, the gang cuts the phone lines and lays siege to the apartment building.
Another film I'd never even heard of (and with fewer than 1000 votes on IMDb, it seems I'm not alone here), but one that I quite enjoyed.
For the most part, the protagonists are very easy to like and root for (with one glaring exception). In addition to Horatio, there's a friend of the couple named Patrick (Jack Blum) and also an incredibly resourceful neighbor named Chester (Daryl Haney). They work together to track the men who are invading the building, improvising weapons and setting traps. The exception is Barbara, who is absolutely the worst for much of the run time. She's a pretty grating character, doing a lot of whining and making really dumb decisions, such as deciding to leave the building even though the violent gang is literally right outside.
There are also some pretty neat visuals here. As a fan of Candyman, I absolutely loved that a key plot point involved bathroom mirror cabinets that connected adjacent apartments. There are also some good point of view shots, such as a sequence where the gang gets Barbara in their sights as she plans to leave the apartment building. We watch as, from their perspective, she drifts in and out of the frame of the front door.
It should be said that there are a lot of improbabilities to look past. The friend group is awfully adept at improvising very effective weapons. Guns with silencers are portrayed as being quite literally silent. And a blind man using a drinking glass against a wall is able to give very details accounts of the conversations happening on the other side. There are also a lot of poor choices.
That said, I was along for the ride. The sequence in the gay bar at the beginning really sets the tone and from there it's home-invasion type thrills all the way. I wish that the film hadn't sidelined Daniel quite so much after he gets to the apartment. The very specific homophobia that begins the movie soon abstracts into "kill all witnesses". I appreciate the movie being sympathetic to the way that queer people have been terrorized, even in their own niche spaces, but the movie can't help but default to putting a straight couple at the center of the story.
I also liked the very end of the film. It's ominous and dark, and includes a character detail that I did not anticipate but maybe should have. Put this one on your radar.
Siege, 1983
While the police in Halifax are on strike, a group of men enters a gay bar called The Crypt and terrorizes the patrons. While attacking the bar's owner, the man is killed, and the gang realizes they could go down for murder. In a panic they call their leader, Cabe (Doug Lennox), who shows up and simply executes all of the patrons. But one man, Daniel (Terry-David Després) manages to escape, eventually winding up in the apartment of Horatio (Tom Nardini) and Barbara (Brenda Bazinet). When Horatio and Barbara refuse to hand Daniel over, the gang cuts the phone lines and lays siege to the apartment building.
Another film I'd never even heard of (and with fewer than 1000 votes on IMDb, it seems I'm not alone here), but one that I quite enjoyed.
For the most part, the protagonists are very easy to like and root for (with one glaring exception). In addition to Horatio, there's a friend of the couple named Patrick (Jack Blum) and also an incredibly resourceful neighbor named Chester (Daryl Haney). They work together to track the men who are invading the building, improvising weapons and setting traps. The exception is Barbara, who is absolutely the worst for much of the run time. She's a pretty grating character, doing a lot of whining and making really dumb decisions, such as deciding to leave the building even though the violent gang is literally right outside.
There are also some pretty neat visuals here. As a fan of Candyman, I absolutely loved that a key plot point involved bathroom mirror cabinets that connected adjacent apartments. There are also some good point of view shots, such as a sequence where the gang gets Barbara in their sights as she plans to leave the apartment building. We watch as, from their perspective, she drifts in and out of the frame of the front door.
It should be said that there are a lot of improbabilities to look past. The friend group is awfully adept at improvising very effective weapons. Guns with silencers are portrayed as being quite literally silent. And a blind man using a drinking glass against a wall is able to give very details accounts of the conversations happening on the other side. There are also a lot of poor choices.
That said, I was along for the ride. The sequence in the gay bar at the beginning really sets the tone and from there it's home-invasion type thrills all the way. I wish that the film hadn't sidelined Daniel quite so much after he gets to the apartment. The very specific homophobia that begins the movie soon abstracts into "kill all witnesses". I appreciate the movie being sympathetic to the way that queer people have been terrorized, even in their own niche spaces, but the movie can't help but default to putting a straight couple at the center of the story.
I also liked the very end of the film. It's ominous and dark, and includes a character detail that I did not anticipate but maybe should have. Put this one on your radar.