A Banquet

Name: A Banquet
Genre: Horror
Released: February 18, 2022
Duration: 97 min
Rating: 59
Cast: Deka Walmsley, Jessica Alexander, Jonathan Nyati, Kaine Zajaz, Lindsay Duncan

2022

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Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Midnight | Release Date: February 18, 2022 | NR

Starring: Deka Walmsley, Jessica Alexander, Jonathan Nyati, Kaine Zajaz, Lindsay Duncan, Richard Keep, Rina Mahoney, Ruby Stokes, Sienna Guillory, Walter van Dyk

Summary: Widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) is radically tested when her teenage daughter Betsey (Jessica Alexander) experiences a profound enlightenment and insists that her body is no longer her own, but in service to a higher power. Bound to her newfound faith, Betsey refuses to eat but loses no weight. In an agonizing dilemma, torn betweenWidowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) is radically tested when her teenage daughter Betsey (Jessica Alexander) experiences a profound enlightenment and insists that her body is no longer her own, but in service to a higher power. Bound to her newfound faith, Betsey refuses to eat but loses no weight. In an agonizing dilemma, torn between love and fear, Holly is forced to confront the boundaries of her own beliefs.… Expand

Director: Ruth Paxton

Genre(s): Horror

Rating: NR

Runtime: 97 min

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Critic Reviews

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Mar 9, 2022

Paxton’s movie sketches out the sinister dread just under the happy-family surface; she is in expert control of her film, achieving her effects with economy and force. It is really unnerving. Read full review

Allan Hunter

Sep 17, 2021

An intense combination of apocalyptic nightmare and family psychodrama. ... A provocative, rigorously composed film that confirms Paxton as a singular talent after a string of award-winning shorts. Read full review

Lena Wilson

Feb 17, 2022

You’re likely to leave this film starving for answers, but that hunger can be just as stimulating as it is burdensome. Read full review

Courtney Howard

Sep 17, 2021

The filmmakers raise some interesting points, but it becomes an exercise in frustration to interpret the calculated connection between disordered eating, the metaphysical, and religious, medieval martyrdom. With nary any tangible scares, or much to truly unnerve or unsettle except from an empathetic humanistic standpoint, this feature-length directorial debut is assured, but far too ambiguous for its own good. Read full review

Screen Rant Nadir Samara

Feb 24, 2022

A Banquet is a beautifully made psychological thriller with nuanced performances and a gross hook. Read full review

Noel Murray

Feb 17, 2022

Muted and ambiguous — sometimes to a fault — “A Banquet” is well acted and well crafted and should resonate with viewers who have had experiences similar to those of the movie’s perpetually anxious mother. Read full review

John DeFore

Sep 17, 2021

Justin Bull’s screenplay comes up short, failing to adequately capture the depth of its teen’s encounter with the abyss — her anorexia is the aftermath of an apocalyptic revelation — and to integrate it into the more comprehensible domestic tensions that serve as the plotless film’s only framework. Read full review

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JLuis_001

Apr 22, 2022

The atmosphere is quite unsettling and I liked that. This is psychological horror, with an intimate but not necessarily subtle style. The scares are uneventful, but it doesn't resort to cheap devices in that area either, which is appreciated.

A Banquet is a film that is clearly taking aThe atmosphere is quite unsettling and I liked that. This is psychological horror, with an intimate but not necessarily subtle style. The scares are uneventful, but it doesn't resort to cheap devices in that area either, which is appreciated.

A Banquet is a film that is clearly taking a serious approach overall, but the balance of its themes ranging from isolation to body issues are not given a consistent treatment, exposing a story that works well at times and doesn't at others.

The performances are among the most remarkable aspects of this film. The actors seem sufficiently committed to their characters to sustain what the plot sets them up to do.

The ambiguity of their conclusion feels outdated, though it allows the audience to give it different meanings, which in some measure is actually more helpful.… Expand

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