20140824: Horror Review--Banshee Chapter

Banshee Chapter

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. German/American live action feature length film, 2013, rated R, 87 minutes, horror, thriller.  Spoken word is in English.
2. IMDB: 5.5/10.0 from 2,643 audience ratings. Estimated budget, 950,000 USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 78% on the meter; 43% liked it from 1,135 audience ratings.
4. Directed by: Blair Erickson.
5. Starring: Katia Winter as Anne Roland, Ted Levine as Thomas Blackburn, Michael McMillian as James Hirsch, Corey Moosa as Patient 11, Monique Candelaria as Patient 14, Jenny Gabrielle as Callie, David Midthunder as Raoul, Vivian Nesbitt as Olivia Kmiec, Alex Gianopoulous as Renny.
6. From IMDB: '...investigative journalist, Anna, researching a missing friend who ingested an undocumented research chemical once tested on civilians by CIA MK-Ultra experiments.' 
7. There are references to numbers stations, hushed up kidnappings, and secret societies in the style of Lovecraft.  That will attract some of the conspiracy theorists.  On the other hand, this also pushes away many other potential viewers.  Coupled with the shaky cam, this is a polarizing film, and its likely audience is small.


2. Setup and Plot


1. Journalist Anne Roland's college friend James has gone missing.  Renny, the last man to see him alive has also gone missing after being interviewed extensively by police.  Anne pursues; her editor helps by connecting her to gonzo journalist/personality Thomas Blackburn.  She hopes that Blackburn will increase her knowledge of the drug that James ingested as an experiment for his next book.


2. During a visit to Blackburn's house, Anne meets his chemist friend Callie, who has synthesized some of the drug.  The trio drinks smaller quantities than James took, but the effects are still strong.  When Blackburn and Anne wake up from the drug's knockout punch, Callie is nowhere to be found.


3. Interleaved with the contemporary story are bits of archival footage that chronicle government experiments with some similar effects.  The electricity is temporarily lost, screaming ensues, the patients get free of restraints, and the patients are not to be found immediately.


4. Blackburn and Anne find Callie's lab, which contains a number of clues.  Will this be enough to let Anne solve the riddle of James' disappearance?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Small budget, but good acting, story, and direction.
2. Four stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 6/10 There was a lot of archival film (black and white, low resolution, blurry) and shaky cam footage (variable, but mostly bad).  However, unlike many other directors, Erickson seemed to know quite well how to use bad footage to increase the feeling of threat and isolation that thrillers need.


2. Sound: 8/10 The music and foley were good for increasing suspense and creepiness.


3. Acting: 8/10 Katia Winter and Ted Levine had a large percent of all the spoken lines.  Both of them did fine jobs.


4. Screenplay: 8/10 The script was not perfect, but did keep my attention.  The plot moved forward quickly enough that my usual strong disgust for found film was not invoked.  The providing of just enough clues to keep going was well done, and the exposition of motivations was nicely executed.  About the time that I thought the film was more of an adventure/thriller, the ending reminded me that it was truly a horror movie.  Well done.