Films that take a true incident or event in history and turn it into a feature are fairly common today and can be very effective as entertainment. That’s what we have here with Banshee Chapter, a low budget movie that delves into a horrible revelation that the American Government has practiced mind control with a drug on humans. While the event is frightening to know it actually happened, this film takes the premise to an extreme level that turns into a low level of credibility. Now on DVD, the movie intended to terrify does little more than exaggerate the information becoming intimidating at best.
Statement from Filmmaker: “In 1963 the U.S. government began experimenting on unsuspecting Americans with chemical agents intended to induce mind control. The program was named MK-ULTRA.” This was admitted by Stansfield Turner CIA Director on September 21, 1977 at a hearing. This is followed by Former President Bill Clinton speaking in a news clip. “Thousands of government sponsored experiments did take place at hospitals, universities and military bases around our nation. Some were unethical; not only by today’s standards, but in the standards at the time they were conducted. The United States of America offers a sincere apology to those of our citizens who were subjected to these experiments to their families to their communities.” The announcement by President Bill Clinton was taken from White House Press Conference Footage Courtesy of CSPAN Archives.
The film gets played out by actors who take the roles of Anne Rolland (Katia Winter), an investigative journalist and Thomas Blackburn (Ted Levine) an author who may have been implicated with Hirsch in getting him the drug. After getting the news Anne sets out on a trail to find James Hirsch (Michael McMillian) a close friend and fellow college classmate who has gone missing. Suspected of taking the experimental mind control hallucinogen DMT19 (Dimethyltryptamine), her quest takes her into a strange world of exploring his whereabouts by following information from his last taped interview.
When she’s close to solving the mystery and gets confronted by ugly creatures, Anne has to fight for her life. Director and writer Blair Erickson chose a good subject matter for his film and does a considerably good job in view of his meager budget that is spent heavily on 3D camera usage. His actors have a string of credits to their name and work their characters into the interesting concept as well as they can. Most noted are Ted Levine (Lt. Hank Wade in TV’s “The Bridge) who plays Thomas Blackburn and Katia Winter (who plays Katrina in TV’s “Sleepy Hollow”).
Erickson makes Banshee Chapter a little too plastic however, probably due to the 3D equipment he uses that looses its softness when needed for many scenes throughout the production. It comes across too pristine at times making the sets look like cardboard cut outs and unrealistic looking experimental rooms. He takes his cameras in too close giving his production a home movie feel, rather than one that’s creepy, dark and foreboding. In several instances it looks like he used low light filters or night vision where main characters and the revealing beasts become barely visible.
While the exposition of a very revealing governmental misconduct does provide abhorrent factual information, it would have been better served as a documentary rather than a horror flick. It’s a prime example of how not to use a true happening in a movie that plays out in fictional dialogue. If there’s enough evidence to the Dimethyltryptamine use with backing archive film and photos, it may just be the breakout historical film of this decade for a budding filmmaker. Unfortunately it may be very difficult because most of the government files were ordered to be destroyed following the disclosure. But, wouldn’t it be amazing if there are copies of the files hidden somewhere? Just saying.
The DVD has a fair Bonus feature that quickly takes you through the advent of the movie and ‘making of’:
“What is a Banshee Chapter” Producer Stephanie Riggs, producer Corey Mosa and writer/director Blair Erickson talks about coming up with the idea for the film and why they wanted to make it and the truth behind the script.
“Directing Banshee Chapter” Director Erickson takes you through the filming and we are treated by comments by some of the actors.
“The History Behind Banshee Chapter” Director Erickson goes into the footage used in the film and the truth behind the premise of his movie.
“Banshee Chapter Shooting in 3D” Producer Corey Mosa and Director Erickson talk about the use of 3D to enhance his film. He says that even with a low budget it didn’t stop him from trying to get the best filming as possible. This is very short and sweet, but does lend credence to using the medium for budding filmmakers.
Banshee Chapter has been rated Rated R by the MPAA for some violence/disturbing images, drug use, language and brief nudity. While it was filmed using 3D cameras, unfortunately I was not able to see it in that format as it’s not available from the distributors for viewing.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Katia Winter, Ted Levine, Michael McMillian, Alex Gianopoulos
Writer and Director: Blair Erickson
MPAA Rating: Rated R for some violence/disturbing images, drug use, language and brief nudity
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr 37 min
Video Release Date: February 4, 2014
Original Film Release Date: December 12, 2013
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: XLrator Media
