The Banshee Chapter

Like "Cat People", The Banshee Chapter is both elegant and terrifying.

Proving the “Paranormal Activity” formula can still work when used with canny restraint, Erickson achieves good results with long, eerie found-footage takes that end in jolts.

Where The Banshee Chapter thrives is the overwhelming claustrophobia of the film.

Director Blair Erickson surely has style to burn, even if he oftentimes betrays his atmospheric shorthand and gets cold feet at the most inopportune moments.

The central drama never fully engages, but the jolts that Banshee delivers are check-the-locks scary.

Blair Erickson’s inventive low-budget horror film doesn’t fully live up to its provocative premise, and its extensive use of the found-footage style gives it an all too familiar feel. But it offers some genuine scares along the way, as well as a terrific performance by the ever-reliable Ted Levine.

Blending supernatural hokum with real horrors of U.S. history — namely, the MKUltra experiments performed by the CIA in the 1950s — The Banshee Chapter superficially resembles some lost episode of "The X-Files."

The story in “The Banshee Chapter” creates an almost instantly captivating tale around urban legends that arose after it was made public of the black ops experiments the Government implemented on citizens during the 60’s and 70’s using LSD. That is a conspiracy lore ideology that I find myself trolling the internet reading. This element weaves eerily effortlessly into the Lovecraft world of horror, particularly the story surrounding the scientist that creates an antenna that becomes a gateway between worlds ultimately allowing both sides to move between. “The Banshee Chapter” pushes out a dark, nightmare that stays serious, flows nicely, and maintains a chilling atmosphere from start to finish without becoming boring. The acting in this film is pretty stellar, not too melodramatic or forced but so polished that it just seems over-rehearsed. The transitions between the found footage scenes and the standard third person point-of-view are balanced and move smoothly without the effects being made into some big production. The special effects and soundtrack in “The Banshee Chapter” both work nicely in creating a chilling, and entertaining atmosphere with moments that are gripping, and intense while feeling creepy as heck. The special effects are the usual gimmicks and tricks to create shock moments and suspense but the director maintains control of the elements so nothing looks cheap or pointless, or more importantly lacking.

I have not been this scared in a movie for a while! A promising new director! A lot of horror/ sci-fi filmsruin it by showing too much of a creature or whatever. I find it far more creepier when you only see flashes, what your imagination creates is often far scarier then some bad special effects! I screamed at least 5 times and covered my eyes alot ha!

The Banshee Chapter is jump scare after jump scare and thanks to slick directing, every single one is as effective as the last, even if you see them coming from a mile away.

Area 51, Chemtrails, HAARP: Die USA ist Heimat zahlreicher Verschwörungstheorien. Experimente der CIA an ahnungslosen Testsubjekten zur Bewusstseinskontrolle stellten sich jedoch als erschreckend wahr heraus. Der Pseudo-Found-Footage-Horror Banshee Chapter packt sich das MKULTRA-getaufte Programm und spinnt daraus seine eigene Geschichte: Eine Journalistin sucht Ihren vermissten Freund, der sich im Zuge von Buch-Recherchen selbst der berüchtigten Substanz aussetzte – und spurlos verschwand. Ihr Weg führt zu paranoiden Technik-Freaks, in die nächtliche Wüste von Nevada und ins surreale Heim des Drogenautors Blackburn. Zwar vorhersehbar, konstruiert und mit mauem Ende, punktet der Film mit netten Einstellungen, effektvollen Filtern und einem psychedelischen Soundtrack. Die Schocks gehen meist ins Leere, dafür ist Banshee Chapter umso fieser, wenn nichts passiert.

If you are looking for jumpscares you will be served. Actually most of these jumpscares are all the same ''Dark room, open flashlight, BANG an ugly face'' I could see every jumpscare coming from a mile away...Otherwise the storyline is nothing new, another sort of remake, the actors were quite well, the music & sound effects was fine. Unfortunately, overall I was pretty bored watching this movie...