Page 1 of 1

Banshee Chapter

Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 9:48 pm
by ScS of the Fraternity
Several weeks ago I had the privilege to attend the Toronto Afterdark Festival and watch a fantastically fearsome film called Banshee Chapter. I should have reviewed it sooner, but the memories were just too terrifying to revisit.
Also I'm lazy. But mostly the terror.
Banshee Chapter follows Anna, a journalist investigating the disappearance of her friend during his research into the MK-Ultra program. Just before vanishing, Anna's friend dosed himself with a mysterious form of MDMA obtained from "a friend". This drug is connected to the real world phenomena of "numbers stations" and a violently eccentric counter-culture character based heavily upon Hunter Thomson.
The filmmakers were on hand to introduce the movie and answer questions. The film was described as a traditional ghost story, except that it is the ghost of a conspiracy haunting the whole of a country. The film explorers a number of themes, including authority gone awry, secrecy, and drug use and addiction. The theme of friendship plays heavily in the movie, but Banshee Chapter twists it into an insidious message.
The film pays reverent homage to H.P. Lovecraft's story "From Beyond". The story is specifically mentioned, and briefly summarized (albeit with slight artistic license). However, in some ways the film also borrows from Hounds of Tindalos, or Hypnos, and even a touch of Clark Ashton Smith's "Double Shadow".
Keep an eye out for Banshee Chapter for release in December. But then cover your eyes, because its scarry.