If you are ready to be freaked out, this is the movie that'll do it. Banshee Chapter uses the MKUltra experiments of the 50s and 60s and turns it into a multi-dimensional head trip. The chemical is said to produce hallucinations but in this movie it makes the person a receiver that lets in an alternate lifeform to 'wear' them.
The movie opens with actual footage from years ago about the unethical MKUltra experiments. Then we have James who managed to get ahold of the DMT drug used in those experiments, and is being filmed to document the effects. Within no time, a short-wave radio broadcast begins randomly playing with bells not unlike an ice cream truck and German language counting. The camera footage starts to flake out while we see bits of entrails on outside walkways prior to a startling image of James with absent eyes and a distorted mouth providing a burst-from-your-seat jump scare.
While some people find jump scares boring, they can be very impactful if done right. Banshee Chapter has a well-paced collection of some of the most frightening jump scares imaginable. The images are rarely on screen for half a second but it's enough to keep you looking around the room in panic while still processing what you just kinda saw.
The fantastic Ted Levine is Thomas Blackburn, the central figure in the story. An author with a history of erratic behavior, and the person who sent James the drug. Despite the subject matter, Levine exhibits his trademark wit that fans have come to expect, but at no point does it impact the horror of the story. And for those observant types, the end reveal of Blackburn's true identity is included in his bookshelf.
The saturating eerie feel of the film is relentless. From the subtlety of the short-wave broadcast/signal that opens up the person, to the various scenarios of infected people pounding on doors or momentarily coming into sight with their long fingers, to the final shock that abruptly hits you like a hammer. Banshee Chapter does not suffer from being a low budget production, it probably benefits from it. Every time I've watched this movie, it freaks me out. And a word of warning, when I watched the movie through the surround system at a modest volume, one scene became so loud that it blew out two of my speakers. No joke!
The movie opens with actual footage from years ago about the unethical MKUltra experiments. Then we have James who managed to get ahold of the DMT drug used in those experiments, and is being filmed to document the effects. Within no time, a short-wave radio broadcast begins randomly playing with bells not unlike an ice cream truck and German language counting. The camera footage starts to flake out while we see bits of entrails on outside walkways prior to a startling image of James with absent eyes and a distorted mouth providing a burst-from-your-seat jump scare.
While some people find jump scares boring, they can be very impactful if done right. Banshee Chapter has a well-paced collection of some of the most frightening jump scares imaginable. The images are rarely on screen for half a second but it's enough to keep you looking around the room in panic while still processing what you just kinda saw.
The fantastic Ted Levine is Thomas Blackburn, the central figure in the story. An author with a history of erratic behavior, and the person who sent James the drug. Despite the subject matter, Levine exhibits his trademark wit that fans have come to expect, but at no point does it impact the horror of the story. And for those observant types, the end reveal of Blackburn's true identity is included in his bookshelf.
The saturating eerie feel of the film is relentless. From the subtlety of the short-wave broadcast/signal that opens up the person, to the various scenarios of infected people pounding on doors or momentarily coming into sight with their long fingers, to the final shock that abruptly hits you like a hammer. Banshee Chapter does not suffer from being a low budget production, it probably benefits from it. Every time I've watched this movie, it freaks me out. And a word of warning, when I watched the movie through the surround system at a modest volume, one scene became so loud that it blew out two of my speakers. No joke!
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