Review by Marie Robinson
I had good feelings about The Banshee Chapter (a.k.a. simply Banshee Chapter) from the moment I heard about it, and my gut was not wrong.
The
film begins with footage of James Hirsch (Michael McMillian, True
Blood), an aspiring writer who becomes fascinated with an alleged
hallucinogenic drug that the U.S. government once tested on unwitting
patients, with disturbing results that have been kept secret ever since.
James acquires the drug, which is described as a pure—and therefore
much more potent—batch of Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from “friends in
Colorado” and gets a buddy of his to film him as he ingests it. It isn’t
long until James and his sober friend are visited by some mysterious
malevolent entity, which results in the disappearance of the pair.
After
hearing about the incident, old college friend and investigative
journalist Anne Roland (Katia Winter, Sleepy Hollow) decides to embark
on a mission to uncover the truth not only about James’ disappearance,
but also the truth about the drug. Nothing could ever prepare her for
what she finds, which include sinister government experiment tapes,
cryptic radio broadcasts, and the horror of the cosmos. She is joined by
a Hunter S. Thompson-esque character named Thomas Blackburn (Ted
Levine, The Silence of the Lambs) who can help her piece together the rest of the mystery; but
finding the answers could be deadly.
Dimethyltryptamine, also
known as DMT, is a hallucinogen that when ingested offers an intense and
immersive experience. While on the drug one may feel completely
separate from reality, and many have reported seeing strange, celestial
beings. There is a subculture that believes that these sights and
experiences are not merely hallucinations, but actual transcendence.
Such was the subject of the 2010 documentary DMT: The Spirit Molecule.
DMT is found commonly in mammals, and has been located in the human
brain where it acts as a neurotransmitter. Since DMT has been discovered
in the pineal gland, it is thought to be one of the chemicals released
when one dreams… and dies.
A few years ago a friend of mine
turned me on to a very peculiar variety of shortwave radio broadcasts
called “number stations”. Number stations are characterized by an
artificial voice reciting numbers and/or letters. The voice, played only
against crackling static, is more often than not female, and sometimes
sounds like that of a child. Sometimes the voice gives way to a stream
of choppy music that sounds similar to me like that of an ice cream
truck. The nature of these encoded broadcasts is essentially unknown,
but is often speculated as being government-run stations used to
transmit messages to spies. Whatever they really are, they are downright
eerie.
The Banshee Chapter is an impressive directorial debut
from Blair Erickson that incorporates elements from both found footage
and mockumentary subgenres in an intriguing and creative way. The film
is smart, entertaining, and—oh, yes—scary. There were plenty of chilling
moments that had my skin crawling, and I jumped out of my seat more
than once. The story is not only presented in a stimulating way, it is
also a compelling story with feelings of Arthur Machen’s “The Great God
Pan” and overtones of H.P. Lovecraft. A particular story of
Lovecraft’s, “From Beyond”, is directly referenced in the film, but the
similarities go deeper than just that.
Treat yourself to
something different than all those possession films flooding the box
office, and maybe even get unnerved by The Banshee Chapter.
*And below is a sample of one of the many "numbers stations" out there....
3 comments:
Awesome review. Dying to see this one! It's probably my most anticipated film recently, next to HERE COMES THE DEVIL.
J.N.
www.james-newman.com
This is one I really want to see myself, I think it's ondemand right now. I need to watch it!
Thanks, James! I have a screener of "Here Comes the Devil". Very excited to watch it!!
Post a Comment