User reviews

It PAINS me to rate this an average score, but damn that ending.

Absolutely no spoilers, but to ME, personally the climax, or more accurately, the last few moments, were such an incredible letdown. YOU or anyone may love it, and more power to you. So, I'm not really trying to discourage anyone from making it to the end. Hopefully, you'll get more out of it than me.

UP to that point...I really dug this movie. The atmosphere, tension building, acting, cinematography...ALL so top notch, you'd think you were watching a $50 million-dollar Hollywood film. In fact, I was so amazed during this movie, I was wondering why most Hollywood movies I see aren't half as good as this talent.

The film revolves around a family tragedy that leaves a single mom to raise her two daughters, the older of which is somehow transformed one night in the woods near a party she was attending and now...she won't eat. Okay, there's more to this, as expected, but her lack of eating, mood-swings and possible premonitions will increase alongside her mother's desperation to help her.

This is labelled as "horror," but I'd put it more as a slow-burn suspense/family drama. And I've seen movies like this before and no offense to this cast/crew, but much better. Such as the real horror movie, Raw. There was also a segment of the horror anthology, XX, called "The Box" - also, much better.

Still, it was fantastic to the end and I'll leave it up to you if you decide they did the story justice with their conclusion.

***

Final Thoughts: Completely different movie, but I would also compare this slightly to 2021's Malignant. And that's only a small part of A Banquet. Please know, I loved Malignant 3x more overall. Still, I felt the need to bring it up.

The movie had all this build up to leave you empty. The ending made me hate this movie even more. You keep waiting for something more to happen or be revealed and nothing ever happens. Just watching them characters go through confusion and pain the whole movie with nothing more given of what is making this happen. That had to be be the worse ending I have ever seen. If they couldn't complete the movie, then they should have left the movie a just a script they threw away. I will steer clear of this Director and writer in the future because if this is they way they do movies, I have better use of my time. HATED IT!!!!!

This story is a slow burn that only burns at the very end of the movie. When you're already so tired of the crap it's been spouting the entire time you're watching it. It's like an orgasm which was put on hold indefinitely. I regret that I didn't just fast forward all of these nonsensical gibberish right to the end. Cause even at the ending, there's not a single explanation for all of those crap they're throwing at the audience. This is a really good example for a bad psychological thriller. Slow, boring, no explanation, and have a crappy ending. Don't watch this piece of crap! Don't waste 1 hour and a half of your life for this garbage just like I did!

I feel like I've said this about so many movies. It's nothing. The story is nothing. It's so boring with zero intrigue. All abstract, nothing concrete. And by the time it's done, I'm left angered at wasting my time on nothing.

The movie is competently-made for the most part with good performances. But you need some substance to latch onto. In the end, the only thing I liked about this movie is the song during the end credits. (1 viewing, 3/25/2022)

I love everything about this movie,the atmosphere,the cast everything its just perfect. I wonder what really happen to holly and betsey but i guess it doesnt matter. I really enjoy everysecond watching this movie. If youre looking for jumpscare horror this movie might not be for you,but if you love slowburn horror/mystery thriller film with dark atmosphere you should try watching this movie.

Started slow and got slower as time went on. Seems like a pointless film to me. Doesn't entertain, doesn't provoke thought, doesn't provoke fear. Doesn't achieve anything, much better films out there, Next....

There are many psychological drama- horror movies which try to be multi-layered and ambiguous. Most of them fail. "A Banquet" succeeds.

It doesn't matter what is your interpretation, either way, this movie is still interesting at least.

This is not a horror film, there are no jump scares, gore, noone try to kills anyone. If you are looking for mindless fun, stay away.

This is a sad and depressing movie and you won't enjoy this. It's a dive into the madness or sadness, like a nightmare about the end of the world.

But there is still love and hope, unconditional love.

If you are under 25 years old, it will be difficult to understand what this is about. Same if you are not a parent. Difficult, not impossible though. This movie requires a level of emotional maturity.

Every actor here is amazing. If you are in the mood for an art drama mystery movie that will drain you emotionally, watch it. If not, don't.

After witnessing the death of her father, a young woman has a mysterious experience which leads her to believe that she is intended for a higher purpose.

Deliberately paced and slow burning, Ruth Paxton and Justin Bull's film manages to portray the existential horror without (too much) reliance on gross out or trope-ish apocalyptic imagery.

The slow burn unravelling of proceedings is sustained by smartly controlled filmmaking and excellent performances, particularly the double leads of Sienna Guillory and the extraordinary Jessica Alexander.

It's final scene feels a tad familiar but doesn't lessen the strength of what's gone before.

Well worth a look for admirers of films like Violation, Censor and Saint Maud or Von Triers mid period films, particularly Dogville and Melancholia.

I thought about this movie for a few days after I watched it and I came to one solid conclusion, "What was the point?". The acting was good, and the movie was intriguing and intense, but not in the ways that make for good cinema. The audience has to come away with a sense of satisfaction that their hour and a half wasn't wasted and I'm sorry, but I just can't say that about this movie. It's tiring, it requires a lot of patience and the pay off just isn't there. I get what they were trying to do but...no. It's just not happening with this movie.

If you are patient and can stand long periods of tedious camera shots where nothing happens, then this movie is for you. Everyone else will be bored to tears or worse, they'll end up asking, "What was the point?" like i did. I think that is the worst thing that can be said about any movie.

To the reviewers scoring this movie really high; Stop it.

It seems like there are a lot of disingenuous ratings for this movie ( take a look at their one movie review histories), probably by friends and family who think that scoring a movie high is doing these actors a favor. It isn't. It's deceiving people into thinking that this film is good when it is not.

There were a lot of things that I quite liked about this movie... unfortunately, the things that I didn't were relatively detrimental.

First off, because this is an easy go to for people that love to be generally dismissive and give a 1 star review... if you are not a fan of something with a definitive, clear ending... this is probably not for you. I didn't hate the ending, but even me myself I would have liked a little more clarity. Also, at no point was I bored during this but it is most certainly a slow burn. I do think it could have had some of the struggle in the third act cut, it became a bit repetitive and slowed the pacing down.

I quite liked this movie aesthetically. It was very atmospheric and the shots were beautiful. Also without this cast I don't think this movie would have been what it was at all. Everyone did an excellent job, especially the main girl and the mother.

This feels like a movie that a lot of the general public would find slow, boring and with little pay off... I however did not feel that way and would recommend it, just not fervently.

A Powerful Dark Dark Film . Brilliant acting. Film about a subject so close to fiction as to reality very well mixed when drama meets the horror that gets a young girl and her family. I love it. I really did love this British Horror film.

Greetings again from the darkness. For her first feature film, director Ruth Paxton tackles an ambitious story from writer Justin Bull. It's not an easy film to describe to someone who hasn't seen it, and it's even a bit of a challenge to have a discussion with anyone who has seen it. I'm not even sure whether to agree with the "horror" label, or if "psychological drama" is more accurate. It's all this uncertainty that keeps us watching the film, while also contributing to the dissatisfaction we feel at its conclusion.

Sienna Guillory stars as Holly, mother of two teenage daughters and caregiver to her very sick husband. The opening sequence shows the grizzly death that leaves Holly a widowed single mother. Betsey (Jessica Alexander) is fast-approaching college age and has a close relationship with her mother, while younger daughter Izzy (Ruby Stokes) is a developing ice skater who lives somewhat in the shadow of her big sister. This suburban family is rocked again when Betsey experiences an unexplained phenomenon under a blood moon after she drifts from the high school party she's attending.

Betsey's bizarre behavior goes far beyond the oddities we expect from teenagers. First of all, she refuses to eat. Not just vegetables, but anything. This goes on for weeks, and the most baffling part to mother Holly and the doctors (and viewers) is that Betsey doesn't lose weight. Despite multiple weigh-ins per day and zero food intake, she maintains a normal appearance. Betsey proclaims, "I'm not anorexic", and in our first clue, speaks of an impending cataclysmic event.

"It's coming" and "Not much longer" are the strange and vague predictions Betsey utters. All the while, Holly is doing what she can to help her daughter. Holly's mother June (Lindsay Duncan) arrives to offer advice and guidance, while Izzy is mostly left to her own devices as all attention is paid to mom's "special" daughter. The interaction between these four female characters crossing three generations is quite intriguing for us to watch unfold.

How do you fix something (or someone) when you don't know what the problem is? It's a frightening premise, and when it involves a teenager, it can glide into the horror realm. However, the film is overloaded with elements and possibilities: eating disorders, possession, exorcism, teenage body image, spiritual awakening, and even supernatural or alien presence. The film is so ambitious and always seems on the brink of entering the realm of excellence, yet it seems to fizzle at each crucial moment. When there is a break in the parent/child bond, the love and support of the parent is crucial, even if the ailment is a mystery.

People (writers) are running out of good scripts. What was this about? Slow burning our minds and wasted our time. Next time do the same with a boy as A Banquet part 2.

First off who ever did the cinematography and styling deserves an award. Don't listen to the negative reviews, and like the other high ratings stated this movie isn't for everyone. I'm not really sure how people said it was a "slow burn all the way to the end", when it had me glued to the screen, intrigued and feeling uneasy the entire time. (Coming from someone who has the attention span of a goldfish and extremely picky with movies, especially these days........

If you like eerie, anxiety induced psychological movies this is for you. I'll admit we've seen this theme before but it's nicely done.

If you're so bored to death, still I don't recommend you watching this so called horror movie. Don't believe me?.. Then try it.

The director and screenwriter(s) of this unimaginable "thing" should be banned lifelong.

Hey.

The characters we meet here are predominantly female, all respectably attractive and all hiding their own troubles. Everyone seems to walk on tiptoes around each other, so as not to unleash the deeper emotions that seem to be bubbling under the surface; where every sentence, every greeting, every question, begins with 'hey.'

Pretty young Betsy (Jessica Alexander) seems to have a supernatural experience we're not privy to, and mum Holly (Sienna Guillory) and sis Isabelle (Ruby Stokes) don't know how to cope with her behaviour. Lots of close-ups of mouths, eating, regurgitating. Shopping. Sitting in silence. A bit of pouting. Tedium occurs, and not just between the characters.

Hey. This is a world where we're all a bit stoned, all a bit in touch with our feelings (characters like this used to be called Sloane Rangers). That's, like, cool, of course, but it makes for pretty dull viewing. There are no real conversations here, just characters talking about themselves whilst those around them try desperately, and earnestly, to 'understand'. This goes on for 97 long minutes. Lindsay Duncan as June sweeps in and speaks a bit of sense; pity she doesn't hang around long.

Hey. I probably don't 'get' it: that's what the problem is. 'Entitled middle-class white girls' even get a mention here, before the navel-gazing, wistful piano music slips in.

This simply isn't my kind of film. It seems strangely self-congratulatory as if everyone concerned is convinced something profound is being created. If it appeals, great, but it's definitely an acquired taste. My score is 3 out of 10.

Gave up on "A Banquet" after 20 minutes. Body Horror eating disorders possible possession.

More nauseating than terrifying. Begins with a very disturbing death which shares the general theme of the film.

A very odd family all in all.

I'm not faint of heart or generally squeamish but I found this hard to swallow.

A Banquet (2021)

Tense Body Horror with Sienna Guillory. A teenage girl suddenly stops eating but stays the same weight.

Could she be a monster from Japanese folklore who has a hidden extra mouth?

Shown on Film 4on Friday 24 May. 11.10 pm. 92 mins. 27 days left to stream for free.