It started off slow but picked up pace and raced to an eerie finish. "A Banquet" may not come close to touching the horror-genre films we've come to enjoy over the years. But what it lacked in overt demonic forces it made up for in subtle supernatural thrill.
Directed by Ruth Paxton, the movie carried weight more as a psychological thriller than anything explicitly paranormal. It focused on the life and travails of a young woman named Betsey (played by Jessica Alexander) who experienced spooky circumstances, which compelled her mother Holly (played by Sienna Guillory) to do whatever she knew she had to do to save her daughter.
After an unknown encounter in the woods during a blood moon night, Betsey seemed to have lost all desire for food. Her appetite was not just completely out of whack, she ended up despising food of any kind, for no verifiable reason.
To Holly's horror, Betsey nearly choked on a single greenpea. Even Betsey's sister Isabelle (played by Ruby Stokes) could not wrap her mind around what was happening. An admission to a 24-7 care clinic soon followed where Betsey's bizarre symptoms gradually become indecipherable, not to forget that creepy disembodied whisper.
She came back, seemingly all hale and healthy, but her strange problem persisted. It later appeared as if she was drawing the 'nutrients' she needed directly from sunlight, akin to photosynthesis. One thing led to another, and grandmother June (played by Lindsay Duncan) paid them a visit to see if she could help out in any way. June came carrying answers to Betsey's mystery illness - the girl neither fell sick nor grew thin after not eating a single bite for weeks.
Betsey soon found herself voluntarily taking her mother to where it all started, at a treeline that looked as ordinary as any other, except this one was the source of the whispering voice that Betsey started hearing a while before she'd lost her appetite altogether.
Both Sienna, Jessica, Ruby, and Lindsay gave stirring performances as Holly, Betsey, Isabelle, and June, respectively. Good musical scoring by CJ Mirra. David Liddell's cinematography was neat, and gave nothing away. The same can be said of Matyas Fekete's editing. Good work all round by other cast and crew members too.
"A Banquet" on Amazon Prime VOD held suspense, subtlety, and a distinct thread of psychological horror. The film held its cards close to the chest until the last possible minute. The very preparation of vegetarian meals held a menacing angle, a threat whose source evaded me. The movie captivated all the way to a (cliffhanger) end, and contained existential elements.
Directed by Ruth Paxton, the movie carried weight more as a psychological thriller than anything explicitly paranormal. It focused on the life and travails of a young woman named Betsey (played by Jessica Alexander) who experienced spooky circumstances, which compelled her mother Holly (played by Sienna Guillory) to do whatever she knew she had to do to save her daughter.
After an unknown encounter in the woods during a blood moon night, Betsey seemed to have lost all desire for food. Her appetite was not just completely out of whack, she ended up despising food of any kind, for no verifiable reason.
To Holly's horror, Betsey nearly choked on a single greenpea. Even Betsey's sister Isabelle (played by Ruby Stokes) could not wrap her mind around what was happening. An admission to a 24-7 care clinic soon followed where Betsey's bizarre symptoms gradually become indecipherable, not to forget that creepy disembodied whisper.
She came back, seemingly all hale and healthy, but her strange problem persisted. It later appeared as if she was drawing the 'nutrients' she needed directly from sunlight, akin to photosynthesis. One thing led to another, and grandmother June (played by Lindsay Duncan) paid them a visit to see if she could help out in any way. June came carrying answers to Betsey's mystery illness - the girl neither fell sick nor grew thin after not eating a single bite for weeks.
Betsey soon found herself voluntarily taking her mother to where it all started, at a treeline that looked as ordinary as any other, except this one was the source of the whispering voice that Betsey started hearing a while before she'd lost her appetite altogether.
Both Sienna, Jessica, Ruby, and Lindsay gave stirring performances as Holly, Betsey, Isabelle, and June, respectively. Good musical scoring by CJ Mirra. David Liddell's cinematography was neat, and gave nothing away. The same can be said of Matyas Fekete's editing. Good work all round by other cast and crew members too.
"A Banquet" on Amazon Prime VOD held suspense, subtlety, and a distinct thread of psychological horror. The film held its cards close to the chest until the last possible minute. The very preparation of vegetarian meals held a menacing angle, a threat whose source evaded me. The movie captivated all the way to a (cliffhanger) end, and contained existential elements.