A Banquet is a 2021 British horror film directed by Ruth Paxton and written by Justin Bull. The film stars Sienna Guillory, Jessica Alexander, and Ruby Stokes. The film follows widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) and her two daughters Betsey (Jessica Alexander) and Isabelle (Ruby Stokes) grieving for their loss after their father’s suicide. The story centers on Holly and her eldest daughter Betsy who has a mysterious encounter in the woods which Betsy believes is a supernatural experience. After the incident, Betsy refuses to eat but does not lose weight and she insists that she has been chosen and something of a higher power has taken over her body. Holly is now faced with a dilemma of how to deal with her daughter. A Banquet premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Variety described the themes covered by the horror film and wrote, “Compelling themes centered on anxiety, possession, motherhood, nourishment (and the lack thereof), doomsday dread, hysteria, and faith are funneled through the lens of multi-generational feminine trauma.” New York Times also wrote a review of the film praising the actors’ performance. “It’s a pretty grueling watch. There are clear parallels to be drawn between the Hughes’ dynamic and that of a family afflicted by addiction or debilitating mental illness; and Guillory, Alexander and Stokes ground the story with wrenching performances.” The film is quite disturbing to watch and leaves you with a lot of questions but it also deals with important themes about the dynamics of a family. If you were hooked into A Banquet and you’re looking for similar movies to watch, here are five dark horror/thriller films worth watching.
Saint Maud
Dealing with similar themes of obsession and religion, the 2019 British psychological horror film Saint Maud written and directed by Rose Glass in her feature directorial debut is a must-watch. The story follows pious hospice nurse Maud (portrayed by Morfydd Clark) caring for Amanda, a retired dancer with cancer. Maud becomes obsessed with saving Amanda’s soul at whatever cost. The film received critical acclaim praising the film’s chilling atmosphere and the actors’ performances. New York Times described the film as an “exceptional horror movie and wrote, “The ensuing interplay between caregiver and patient, faith and denial, asceticism and intemperance, veers from chilling to morbidly comic.”
Veronica
The 2017 Spanish horror film Veronica directed by Paco Plaza also offers a supernatural and chilling story. The film is loosely based on true events of the mysterious death of teenager Estefanía Gutiérrez Lázaro after holding a seance at school. After using the ouija board to summon her father who passed, the girl starts experiencing supernatural disturbances and is bombarded by the supernatural force in the apartment where she and her family lives. Variety wrote a review of the film and praised the chilling atmosphere of the film.“Plaza is no hack; leaving behind the found-footage conventions of the “[REC]” films, he stages this modestly scaled enterprise with an elegant, straightforward polish, imbuing the family’s ordinary flat with ominous atmospherics.”
Hereditary
A horror film that also involves the dynamics of a family just like A Banquet is the 2018 psychological horror film Hereditary, written and directed by Ari Aster in his directorial debut. It stars Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, and Gabriel Byrne. The film centers on Annie Graham (Toni Collette) and her family grieving over the death of her mother. The family begins experiencing supernatural events and uncovering dark secrets about their ancestry. The film received acclaim from critics and become A24’s highest-grossing film worldwide. The film received a nomination in the 2019 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards for Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie and Best Actress for Toni Collette. In The Guardian‘s review, they praised Collette’s performance in the film saying, “The direction, shooting and orchestral score are all brilliant, but it would be nothing at all without the terrific performance of Toni Collette in the lead, her face a mask of fear and anger. She is a scary-movie Medea in extreme closeup.”
The Lodge
The Lodge is a 2019 psychological horror-thriller film directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, written by Franz, Fiala, and Sergio Casci, and starring Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Alicia Silverstone, and Richard Armitage. The film follows Grace, her fiancé, and her step-children on a retreat at an isolated cabin. When Grace’s fiancé suddenly needs to leave for work, she is left to care for the children and the three have difficulty starting to get along. When a blizzard occurs and they are trapped in the cabin, they start experiencing strange events and Grace’s past also gets uncovered. Variety published a review of the film and wrote, “Genre homage does not appear to be an intention here, but the film is certainly at its best in fostering a sense of stylish dread and orchestrating some harrowing individual sequences.”
Breaking the Waves
The 1996 drama film Breaking the Waves shares similar themes with A Banquet but Breaking the Waves is less of a horror film and more of a psychological drama. The film was directed and co-written by Lars von Trier and stars Emily Watson. The film is set in a small and religious Scottish town in the early 1970s. The story centers on Bess McNeill (Emily Watson) and her partner Jan Nyman (Stellan Skarsgard) who works in an oil rig. After Jan gets terribly injured and paralyzed she asks Bess to have sex with other men. Bess firmly believes that Jan’s favor is a sacrifice she must do and such action is God’s work that sacrifice that can help and cure Jan. The film has received numerous accolades, including the Grand Prix at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival and Watson receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In Roger Ebert’s review, the film was praised for its take on themes of spirituality and religious belief. “‘Breaking the Waves’ is emotionally and spiritually challenging, hammering at conventional morality with the belief that God not only sees all, but understands a great deal more than we give Him credit for.”
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