The fight between Betsy and Holly over stomaching a single oily pea for dinner is the best representation of their struggle-but narrative evolution never blossoms. Holly endures her own mother’s scolding glances while trying to do right for her inexplicably reprogrammed daughter.
Not exactly the reassurance a mother wants to hear.Ī Banquet’s horrors are exquisitely maternal. There’s no medical explanation for Betsy’s condition, except-as per her words-that she’s been enlightened and taken over by something unknown. Soon after, Betsy loses her appetite and cannot consume food without extreme convulsions. Holly’s invalid husband dies a particularly gruesome death-the bedridden husk of man swallows toxic chemicals and stains his household’s floor with vomit before expiring for Holly and Betsy to discover. Sienna Guillory stars as Holly, a newly widowed parent left alone with daughters Betsy (Jessica Alexander) and Isabelle (Ruby Stokes). Still, it’s hard to comprehend A Banquet’s languishing pace-one made even more pronounced by such an unsatisfying finale misfire. Fans of quieter horror stories might devour the emotional trauma that meets a tepid possession arc. Justin Bull’s screenplay focuses heavily on two acts that seem to be building somewhere, then the credits smash as the third act fizzles away after reaching nothing but a simmer. It’s a film that learns the wrong lessons from A24-bred horror standouts and invests every cent into this “don’t show, don’t tell” application of sorrow. I’m confident some will find the arthouse ambiguity of Ruth Paxton’s A Banquet insidiously enthralling-unfortunately, that’s not my experience.
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