Short Attention Span Review - Banshee Chapter (2013) - With Drug Influenced Spoilers

I read about this film in Rue Morgue, checked out the trailer on YouTube (below) and thought "looks pretty good." Sure, it has found footage elements - which normally make me want to swallow my own tongue - but anything dealing with weird pharmacology and extra-dimensional entities is worth checking out. I am happy I did.

Banshee Chapter follows Anne (Katia Winter) who is investigating the disappearance of college friend who, in turn, was looking into CIA drug experiments. Her friend, James (True Blood's Michael McMillan) was able to obtain samples of one experimental drug - DMT-19. He takes it...and something horrible happens. Anne's investigations lead to her discovering that the drug is not an hallucinogenic or truth serum...it is a substance that reconfigures the brain into a receiver. A receiver for something not of this world.

If you are familiar with the Lovercraft story "From Beyond" or the movie by the same name, you'll have a pretty good idea of what's happening. In fact, the story is name-checked by one character, Thomas Blackburn (Ted Levine channeling the shade of Hunter S. Thompson). The movie is a mix of found footage (some video camera footage from both James and Anne, as well as recovered footage of CIA tests in the Sixties) and standard filming. This leads to some confusion in shots, as it is not always clear what is "found footage" and what isn't. There are two ways to look at this; either it is just sloppy film-making or it is very purposeful. If it is the latter, which I think it is, I think it is what the extra-dimensional entities are seeing. I'm reading something into the film; but it seems tightly constructed enough that I assume this blurring between "found footage" and traditional visual narrative has a story driven purpose.

The acting is uniformly good. The effects are minimal and effective. The sound design, particularly the short-wave transmissions (based on numbers stations) that people under the influence of DMT-19 hear, is unsettling. Many of the ideas presented are both provocative and disturbing. The story appeals to me, although I'm predisposed to like stories about secret government programs, mind-altering drugs, Lovecraftian horrors and secret history.

The biggest problem is that, instead of trying to scare the audience, the filmmakers are content to startle them. I have an upcoming post about the difference between being afraid and being startled, but, suffice to say, in this film there are lots of scenes of stuff jumping at the camera or out of corners. This does cause the viewer to jump; but that's not because it's scarey. It's because there is sudden noise and movement. That can be fun - like the thrill of riding a roller-coaster - but ultimately, it's cheaper and less satisfying than an image or idea that scares you and stays with you.

Also, there are a couple of plot points that require some hand-waving to accept. Nothing too serious; but some tighter writing could have addressed them.

Anyway, this is a well-made, creepy movie. It has some rough edges, but is well-worth watching.