•

BluRay/DVD Reviews

BANSHEE!!!

By • Feb 11th, 2010 •

Share This:

I’m crazy about the Banshee in DARBY O’GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE, all solarized and wailing up a storm. I don’t know what this creature was supposed to be, but it was not a Banshee…

I rather took to Kevin Shea; he’s got a Mickey Rourke look, and a Mickey Rourke voice. Don’t know what he’s really capable of; I suspect he’s a local talent, but on a bigger budget with a longer schedule and another director…

I seem to remember, a few years back, that Music Video Distributors struck paydirt distributing JESUS CHRIST: VAMPIRE HUNTER. That was a micro-budget production, and pretty bad, but it found its market and is still remembered, and even shows up on the occasional favorite horror film list. Now they’ve got BANSHEE!!!, an indie low-budget fright fest about an Irish monster loose in the Connecticut woods, shrieking before killing its victims, imitating their presence (as in the HORROR IN THE HEIGHTS episode of KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER) to get close to future victims, and turning to what looks like TV static under certain conditions.

It’s an admirable effort, although from the beginning, when a blonde siren stops a car, gets in, and kills everyone, the casting of the creature’s blonde disguise was not on the money. And so it goes. Local talent for the most part, doing their best, but not terribly involving despite some narrative surprises. And the curious lack of nudity makes the film feel like a tease; not a good decision.

The creature, in its fleeting appearances, is a dark-colored CGI effect, a little reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen’s harpies in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, and also recalls (which I bet the filmmakers would like) EQUINOX. Again, it’s a decent home-grown attempt, with a lot of effort and thought put into the editing and the coverage, and you don’t feel cheated, just not quite satisfied. I wish the filmmakers (Director Theys is involved in several post production chores) good luck with future endeavors.

Tagged as:
Share This Article: Digg it | del.icio.us | Google | StumbleUpon | Technorati

Comments are closed.