Sirens Review: Surprisingly Thrilling and Gets Under Your Skin

Sirens Review: Surprisingly Thrilling and Gets Under Your Skin | Leisurebyte

Director: Nicole Kassell, Quyen Tran, Lila Neugebauer

Date Created: 2025-05-22 12:30

Editor's Rating:
4.5

Sirens Review: In this Netflix dark comedy drama series, Devon arrives at a beautiful island to find out the whereabouts of her sister Simone, who has been MIA for months now. Confused about what is going on, Devon realises that Simone’s enigmatic boss, Michaela, might just be running a cult and her sister might have drunk the Kool-Aid. Desperate to get out, she dives headfirst into this mess, but will she be able to get out in one piece?

The series has 5 episodes, each with a runtime of around 60 minutes and is based on the play Elemeno Pea by Molly Smith Metzler.

Sirens Review

When I started watching Sirens, I thought that it was just another cult story like, say, Nine Perfect Strangers. But this Netflix drama hit me like a truck an episode or two in, as I started to find myself questioning why everyone was hurling insults at the women in the show – something deeper seemed to be going on here. And, oh boy, when that last episode ended, thankfully at only ~5 hours, I was overcome with emotions.

The series follows Devon and Simone, two estranged sisters who share a very difficult past, and it takes place on an island. It’s the perfect place for a cult setup, which I found set the stage quite well. In the midst of the two sisters is the very odd and charismatic Michaela, with whom Simone is enamoured. Simone works for Michaela, and Devon is convinced that she is being brainwashed. She arrives at the island, causes a ruckus and tries to force Simone to go back home with her. Herein starts the issue.

The show opens up from there, delving deep into the sisters’ past and their trauma, and we learns a bit more about Michaela as well. We meet Peter, Michaela’s husband, and the money behind all of this. The series slowly and very creepily makes us lose our minds as we see everyone trying to gaslight, manipulate and neg these women from different frontiers. It’s a maddening watch, and one that really might trigger some viewers. It’s also devilishly funny and made me laugh more than once.

It’s charming and it sucks you into the horrifying realities that women face, especially at the hands of men who simply can’t take responsibility for their actions. Constantly pointing fingers at the women in their lives, they continue to blame them and destroy their lives and start over once more. It’s also a series about female friendships and how we should strive to help each other out in these critical times. With women’s rights diminishing all around the world, it’s extremely important to have each other’s backs now more than ever.

Moving on, Sirens works on both frontiers – as a call for help from one sister to another and as a reminder of how men perceive the women around them whenever they are in trouble. It’s the word that Devon constantly texts Simone to ask for her help while she’s drowning, and it also represents Peter’s perception of Michaela/Simone, as if they are luring a sailor out into the turbulent sea. The series does a fantastic job not only with the drama, but playing with the thrill of the situation in every scene. The fact that it’s based on a play makes sense.

Lastly, Meghann Fahy and Milly Alcock play sisters Devon and Simone respectively and both and fantastic. Their trauma and desperation to be defined by something other than their pasts shine through in every scene. Moore, however, was the show-stealer for me. She’s fantastic and hides a pain in herself that spills out beyond her “femme fatale” reputation. In the last episode, my heart broke for her, a sentiment I didn’t think I would share for the woman who was apparently operating a cult, but here we are.

Final Thoughts

Sirens is fantastic. The way the series opens up and showcases the different sides of a situation will make your eyes go wide with terror and disbelief. But it is also a very personal story for many – you might just be able to find yourself in all of these broken women who continue to fight for existence.

Also Read: Sirens Ending Explained: Is Devon Able to Rescue Simone? What Does the Ending Mean?