In the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, a certain historical amnesia seemed to afflict sections of the Western political elite. Even after the latest unpleasantness had erupted in Eastern Europe, one could find high-ranking US diplomats with prestigious university degrees claiming the European continent had not seen war since the end of the Second World War. Europeans, of course, know better—or at least pretended to do so two decades earlier, as evidenced by the grim prologue of Olivier Megaton’s 2002 action thriller The Red Siren. The film directly confronts this fallacy, opening not in a mythical, peaceful Europe, but amidst the brutal, internecine conflicts of the 1990s that many would prefer to forget.
Adapted from Maurice G. Dantec’s award-winning 1993 novel, the film initially sets its prologue somewhere in “Eastern Europe,” later confirmed to be the former Yugoslavia. Here we meet Hugo (Jean-Marc Barr), a professional soldier doing his job with lethal efficiency until the moment he accidentally kills a boy, a trauma that shatters him and sends him into a guilt-ridden exile. This establishes the psychological wound that defines the protagonist, a former mercenary turned haunted recluse. The narrative then jumps to the present day, where twelve-year-old Alice Kristensen (Alexandra Negrao) arrives at a Paris police station to report a crime: her mother, the wealthy and well-connected Eva (Frances Barber), has murdered her nanny. The investigating officer, Inspector Anita Van Dyke (Asia Argento), is shocked but powerless; despite a snuff-film-like tape of the killing, her superiors dismiss the evidence against Eva. When Alice flees the station to escape her mother’s hired thugs, she fortuitously finds refuge in Hugo’s car, forcing the damaged ex-soldier into the role of protector. What follows is a chase across Europe to Portugal, pursued by Eva’s team of elite mercenaries led by Colonel Vondt (Carlo Brandt).
Upon its release, The Red Siren was largely dismissed by critics as a cheap and uninspired knock-off of Luc Besson’s Léon: The Professional. The similarities are undeniable: a stoic, traumatised killer protects a precocious child from a corrupt, unhinged antagonist played by a British thespian. Jean-Marc Barr, who starred in Besson’s The Big Blue, provides another tangible link. The connection is further cemented by the film’s production lineage, with Megaton being a Besson protégé. However, to dismiss it purely as derivative is to overlook its distinct flavour and flaws. Megaton, a former graffiti artist, is less influenced by Besson’s cinéma du look and more anchored in a frenetic, MTV-inspired aesthetic. This results in a style defined by rapid editing, “cool” angles, and a heavy reliance on modern rock music. Yet, where Besson’s work often has a propulsive rhythm, Megaton lacks a sure sense of pace. The film stretches to almost two hours, with action sequences that, while occasionally well-staged, often descend into confusing, poorly edited gunfights that undermine their own intensity.
The film’s structural problems are exacerbated by its handling of character. Anita’s role is particularly underwritten, serving largely as an excuse to provide eye candy in the form of Asia Argento, who seems uninspired and adrift in the part. This narrative limb saps momentum whenever the focus shifts away from the central chase. The rest of the cast is serviceable: Jean-Marc Barr convincingly portrays the “strong silent type,” though he lacks the innate, weathered charisma Jean Reno brought to Léon. Alexandra Negrao is solid as the resilient Alice. The film’s true electrifying presence, however, is Frances Barber as the psychotic Eva. Oozing a seductive, unapologetic evil, Barber’s performance—a demented cross between Ghislaine Maxwell and Hillary Clinton—proves to be the most memorable element. She embodies a terrifying blend of maternal perversion, aristocratic cruelty, and sheer power. Tragically, she appears relatively little. Had the film dared to focus more on her malevolence, The Red Siren might have transcended its B-movie aspirations to achieve the cult status Megaton so desperately sought. Instead, her scenes are tantalising glimpses of a better, more unhinged film.
Ultimately, The Red Siren is a fascinating curio. It is an early, flawed work from a director who would later hone his craft within the very factory system it imitates, going on to helm entries in the Transporter and Taken franchises. Its failures are instructive—a case study in style overwhelming substance and derivative instincts overwhelming original potential. Yet, in its grim acknowledgment of Europe’s recent violent past and in Frances Barber’s gloriously monstrous performance, it possesses a peculiar, redemptive spark. It is not the equal of Léon, but as a bloody, uneven, and occasionally compelling artifact of early-2000s Euro-thriller ambition, it deserves a slightly more nuanced epitaph than mere obscurity.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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