SIEGE Blu-ray review: The brutal and underseen Canadian thriller gets revived by Severin Films

Canadians have a long-standing reputation for being “nice,” but the Severin Films Blu-ray release of the brutal Canuxploitation thriller Siege may finally put that notion to rest.

Released in the U.S. as Self-Defense, the unflinching film from co-directors Paul Donovan and Maura O’Connell is based on the real-life 42-day strike by the Halifax police force in 1981. Siege takes that premise and runs wild; what sort of havoc would the underbelly of a city cause if the cops were out of the picture?

In an eerie reflection of our current moment, a small militia soon forms and immediately heads to the town’s gay bar to threaten its handful of patrons. This is where many may jump ship; the confrontation is shocking and unsettling, but ultimately sets the stage for the siege itself, when one of the patrons manages to escape and holds up in a nearby apartment building with a gaggle of strangers.

What transpires next is a thrilling and tense battle as the militia members try to break into the apartment complex by any means necessary, while facing off against an unexpectedly cunning group of residents.

Starring a cadre of recognizable Canadian genre faces including Doug Lennox (Breaking Point), Tom Nardini (Cat Ballou), Jack Blum (Happy Birthday To Me), and Keith Knight (My Bloody Valentine), Siege is an unrelenting and underseen Canadian gem that has finally been discovered and remastered by Severin Films.

The film elements have been scanned in 2K from a recently discovered print in Nova Scotia, and the results are incredible. For a film this grimy, the results are almost too good; in many cases it’s hard to believe this is a film that’s nearly 40 years old at this point.

Alongside the stellar new transfer, Severin has included two cuts of the movie; the original theatrical cut (84 minutes) and an extended cut running 93 minutes. There’s also an informative commentary track with co-director Paul Donovan with fellow Canadian genre director Jason Eisener (Hobo With a Shotgun) that provides some fascinating context on Canadian genre filmmaking in the ‘80s and helps explain how a movie like Siege ever came to be made in the first place.

Grab yourself a six-pack of Labatt and some ketchup chips and prepare to settle in for one of the darkest and most transgressive Canadian hidden treasures ever unearthed. Not so “nice” now, eh?

Siege is available on Blu-ray now via Severin Films.