The banshee is one of the lesser supernatural critters that hasn't been given much screen treatment. Arguably, Disney's Darby O'Gill is the starting point for the short list of treatments. Other than the Disney, and a new DtV release, Scream of the Banshee, due out later this year, this may be the only other film to showcase the thing. And boyoboy, is this a showcase, so much so that a great deal of the initial punch is flattened. I have to give some credit to these Aussie filmmakers for trying to feature something new, but the storyline is so muddled, the characterizations so shallow, and the special effects so over-used, that even with a short 81-minute run time, the viewing turned into heavy wading.
Claire and her (husband? boyfriend?) companion, Paul, open the film while driving to her rural home to visit Nana, her beloved-but-failing grandmother. At the homestead, in addition to Nana, we meet Claire's fox-trapping father, her sister, and her sister's boyfriend who happens to show up right after the others arrive, and is apparently allowed to sleep over. Claire has a chance to speak with bed-ridden Nana, and is informed that death is near. Nana also clutches what appears to be a bible, but is closer to a family diary. Claire's sister cooks dinner, which is so bad that Paul is forced to drive somewhere to get a pizza. On the way back he thinks he hits someone in the road, and his cautious investigation turns into one of the creepiest and scariest moments of the film -- the hook that kept me going all the way to the end. During the night, Claire is awakened by someone/thing screaming outside. Not a wail, but a series of shrieks that are pretty effective. She investigates, has an encounter that drives the rest of the story, and gets the whole household involved.
Once again, we have a film that features decent acting and production. I don't know if Dawn Klingberg is in makeup, or if she is indeed an aged actor, but she's perfect in her small role with her weathered, line face that breaks into a beautiful smile. Renee Willner is also quite effective as a frightened Claire -- the way she widens her eyes at certain sights and sounds actually works. The other players don't have much to do, but they do it pretty well.
The problem is the story. Again. According to imdb, story credits go to first-time feature writers Rob Townshend and Russell Friedrich, with help from first-time feature director Brett Anstey. It's hard to tell who the problem is here, but I'll go with Anstey who probably changed a few things in the mistaken assumption that more confrontations with the banshee (and other things that don't really go along with the main legend) will make the film more exciting. Instead, the film devolves into a series of encounters that are caused by modification to the original story as alluded to by Nan, and somewhat confirmed very late by the diary. These changes just don't make much sense and run counter to what appears to be a fairly original idea.
This film works okay if you turn off the logic motors in your head, and just enjoy all of the supernatural mayhem. But once again, there is too much repetition for no good reason. For me, this was a dissapointing film that began very well and drifted into ho-hum. But your mileage may vary.
... Reed
Claire and her (husband? boyfriend?) companion, Paul, open the film while driving to her rural home to visit Nana, her beloved-but-failing grandmother. At the homestead, in addition to Nana, we meet Claire's fox-trapping father, her sister, and her sister's boyfriend who happens to show up right after the others arrive, and is apparently allowed to sleep over. Claire has a chance to speak with bed-ridden Nana, and is informed that death is near. Nana also clutches what appears to be a bible, but is closer to a family diary. Claire's sister cooks dinner, which is so bad that Paul is forced to drive somewhere to get a pizza. On the way back he thinks he hits someone in the road, and his cautious investigation turns into one of the creepiest and scariest moments of the film -- the hook that kept me going all the way to the end. During the night, Claire is awakened by someone/thing screaming outside. Not a wail, but a series of shrieks that are pretty effective. She investigates, has an encounter that drives the rest of the story, and gets the whole household involved.
Once again, we have a film that features decent acting and production. I don't know if Dawn Klingberg is in makeup, or if she is indeed an aged actor, but she's perfect in her small role with her weathered, line face that breaks into a beautiful smile. Renee Willner is also quite effective as a frightened Claire -- the way she widens her eyes at certain sights and sounds actually works. The other players don't have much to do, but they do it pretty well.
The problem is the story. Again. According to imdb, story credits go to first-time feature writers Rob Townshend and Russell Friedrich, with help from first-time feature director Brett Anstey. It's hard to tell who the problem is here, but I'll go with Anstey who probably changed a few things in the mistaken assumption that more confrontations with the banshee (and other things that don't really go along with the main legend) will make the film more exciting. Instead, the film devolves into a series of encounters that are caused by modification to the original story as alluded to by Nan, and somewhat confirmed very late by the diary. These changes just don't make much sense and run counter to what appears to be a fairly original idea.
This film works okay if you turn off the logic motors in your head, and just enjoy all of the supernatural mayhem. But once again, there is too much repetition for no good reason. For me, this was a dissapointing film that began very well and drifted into ho-hum. But your mileage may vary.
... Reed
