126. The Banishing; movie review

 

THE BANISHING

Cert 15

97 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong supernatural threat, bloody images, sex

Blimey, we've seen some odd endings to movies but Mrs W and I were bewildered by the one in The Banishing.

I shall try not to give the game away but there is a key scene involving a bishop, some bones and the Nazis which is completely unexplained.

But, hold on, Chris Smith's film is apparently based on the true story of Britain's most haunted house.

So, is the bit about the Nazis fact or fiction?

Who knows, but it is fair to say that the last ten minutes of The Banishing are more than a tad confusing.

The movie is set at a vicarage in Essex where there have been two tragic and violent deaths several years previously.

Apparently, the vicar's wife went mad because she was seeing things and her husband drifted away from his usual benign character in his rage.

Now a former missionary (John Heffernan) has taken over at the rectory and is joined by his new wife (Jessica Brown Findlay) and her daughter (Anya McKenna-Bruce).

The husband and wife are strangely ill-at-ease with each other and it begins to emerge that theirs is an unconventional marriage.

Anyway, within a very short time there are noises and visions which shake up mum and daughter whose reactions destabilise the already fragile vicar.

Meanwhile, there is a battle between renowned psychic researcher Harry Price (Sean Harris) and the local bishop (John Lynch).

The latter's reaction to the hauntings and towards the vicar and his family is particularly intense, bordering on vicious.

Meanwhile, Price is so convinced that spirits are loose in the house that he pleads with them to leave.

The Banishing has a familiar list of haunted house regulars - apparitions, mirror, skeletons, clergy and a ghostbuster.

Consequently, our reaction to much of it was 'seen there, done that.'

Smith might have been on to something by adding something a bit different with the backdrop of the brewing war but the link with the Nazis was strangely hamfisted.

Reasons to watch: If you are a fan of haunted house films

Reasons to avoid: Lots of cliches and strange finale

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 3.5/10

Did you know? Harry Price was an expert amateur conjurer and joined the Magic Circle in 1922. His expertise in sleight-of-hand and magic tricks stood him in good stead for what would become his all-consuming passion, the investigation of paranormal phenomena.

The final word. Chris Smith: “I'm actually much more interested in films like The Shining which is almost more of a psychological film than it is a haunted house movie, so this film very quickly went down the line of… ghosts being the demons that you bury away in yourself... what's haunting you.”
 

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