A Banquet (2021) Review

A Banquet (2021) Review

Widowed mother Holly (Guillory – Luther, Love Actually) is pushed to breaking point when her daughter Betsey (Alexander) changes beyond all recognition. A life-altering experience leaves her unable to eat, but her weight doesn’t seem to drop and, as her behaviour becomes increasingly more erratic, her family are torn between love and fear.

Her younger sister’s (Stokes) own recent mental health problems may offer a solution, but when Grandmother June (Lindsay Duncan, Birdman, About Time) arrives, she puts pressure on Holly not to indulge Betsey’s behaviour… then things really start to unravel.

This female-centric horror drama – directed by Ruth Paxton making her feature film debut – has shades of THE EXORCIST in its make-up, as a mother scrambles to understand exactly what it is that is grossly affecting her eldest daughter and causing her not to eat, nor lose weight as a consequence. From an emotional point-of-view, it’s both painful and distressing to watch, but at the same time you can’t tear your eyes away from it.

The acting is first-rate, and this is another perfect example of how good British horror can be in the right hands. It’s lavishly mounted slow-burn of a movie that may not endear itself to those that veer towards more mainstream fare for their film diet. This is a shame as A BANQUET is both ambiguous and compelling and deserving of wider audience.

Special Features

• Deformity of the Flesh: An Interview with Ruth Paxton

• Improvised Exorcism: An interview with Jessica Alexander

• Produced in a Pandemic: An interview with Leonora Darby

• Dark Edges: An interview with David Liddell

• Glasgow Film Festival Q&A with Ruth Paxton, Jessica Alexander & Sienna Guillory

• Family Disorder: The Making of a Banquet

Limited Edition Contents

• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Jen Davies

• Soft cover book with new essays by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Jennie Kermode and Anya Stanley

• Six collectors’ art cards