Yet another XLrator Macabre film to knock my socks off was Blair Erickson’s Banshee Chapter. I picked it up on a whim and really enjoyed it from start to finish. While not completely a found footage film, Banshee Chapter utilizes the format, when needed.
Ted Levine really brings out his creativity in his role as Thomas Blackburn (a Hunter S. Thompson-esque washed-up writer). So many things have been done and beaten to death in the found footage sub-genre that it’s nice to see it with a new twist. I truly love films that keep things hidden in the dark. If you’re invested in a film, your imagination works overtime, creating your own monster.
The special effects are minimal yet effective and not spending a lot of time on camera also builds the creepy factor. Once the plot gets laid out, it becomes difficult to decipher what’s real and what is a product of the government drug. Not difficult in that “what the fuck is going on?” way, but more so in the Nightmare on Elm Street, “am I awake or dreaming?” way.
Blair Erickson and Daniel J. Healy wrote this to keep you guessing and obviously have a few conspiracy theories of their own. This is a good horror film with some great acting and it’s well worth the time to check it out.
I give it my seal of approval with 3 short wave radios out of 5.
I want to see this movie as there’s banshees in it. I’ve seen a few movies with these beings in it and I somehow just would like to see more Banshee movies. Plus this seems good.