Synopsis
Some houses were never meant to be a home
In the 1930s, a young reverend and his family are forced to confront their worst fears when they discover their new home holds a horrifying secret.
The Banishing
2020 Directed by Christopher Smith
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There will never be too many atmospheric horror movies about breathy English women trembling down the hallways of a haunted Victorian mansion and growing paranoid about whatever it is they hear going bump in the night. So it should be an unalloyed pleasure to watch a new one as musty and well-polished as Christopher Smith’s “The Banishing.”
All of the proper ingredients are in place, starting with a creepy old house based on the Borley Rectory (which occultist Harry Price designated as “the most haunted house in England”), some wide-eyed new tenants ripe for the scaring, and an oppressive religious streak that’s paved over all manner of dark secrets since an order of monks first occupied the property during the…
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This had all of the moldy old 70’s vibes I love... meticulous gothic mansion paranoia horror ingredients akin to some of my very favorite films (and books) and made the wise choice of forgoing the usual histrionics that plague modern takes on stories such as these.
I actually love a lot going on here—it’s a good old fashioned haunted house yarn fit for a paperback with well worn pages and creased outer sleeves. Gorgeous yet musty wallpaper, a child talking to dolls, and ‘am I going insane’ while wondering around the house happenings... it’s the equivalent of an ‘old fashioned’ at a local watering-hole or a fancy pub. The kind of work Mike Flanagan would absolutely crush akin to the total annihilation…
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I wouldn't call myself a Christopher Smith super fan but I thought Black Death was interesting and enjoyed Severance and Triangle quite a lot, but with the best will in the world, this foray into haunted house territory is serviceable at best. Perhaps if you hadn't seen many horror films before it might strike more of a chord as it's not badly made by any means, but being an avid consumer of the dark arts, almost all of the story beats here were familiar, bordering on cliché. This might sound a bit harsh, but I feel like some filmmakers secure funding first then scratch around for ideas, while others are driven by a great idea to get a project made…
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I imagine this is what CORALINE would look like if the story were told from the POV of her mom.
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I enjoyed this probably more than most because it’s a haunted house movie and a very old school one at that! Full of atmosphere and dread with only a handful of jump scares so I applaud it for taking that slower paced approach. Unfortunately it takes it a little too slow at times.
I’ve been a fan of Christopher Smith ever since the first time I saw Creep although I need to rewatch Black Death because I was in too deep a haze to remember anything when I first watched it. But I like his stuff and even if this is probably his least impressive movie I’ve seen, it’s still full of great creepy imagery and Jessica Brown Findlay is just a very watchable and likable actress so it’s worth a watch!
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"Clean up what you can, Dr. Sutter. Burn the rest."
During the first years of World War II, Morley Hall, a grand mansion with a troubled past serves as a rectory for the Catholic church. It's located in an English parish that hasn't had a congregation since the last priest supposedly left for the colonies. Much of the house is closed off as it's in disrepair and costs too much to heat in the winter. Linus is a Vicar within the faith who is allowed to take residence in the house as he attempts to rebuild the congregation. What seems like an ideal assignment for a man of god quickly goes sour when his wife and daughter begin to act…
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The Banishing is a much less engaging version of The Conjuring imho. The ominous vibes, creepy gothic setting, and the dread inducing atmosphere were great. Unfortunately I never really gave a damn about the family being haunted. There were a few cool scenes involving various ghosts and hooded figures at least. Religious undertones that went over my head. I didn't hate this film as much as many but I didn't love it either.
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Family moves into creepy house where a bunch of people previously died ... I’ve already seen poltergeist thanks.. didn’t finish so no grade
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Christopher Smith’s “The Banishing” draws inspiration from ‘70s and possibly early ‘80s horror movies, the ones rooted in drama that just so happens to have a terrible, rotten thing marinating in its core. Those expecting a mile-a-minute jump-scare-athon are likely to be disappointed because this terror flick is more interested in getting period details right, establishing an eerie atmosphere coupled with deliberate pacing, and inspiring us to squint at the dark corners of a room just in case someone or… something might be hiding in there. However, the picture fails to match the intensity of its inspirations because the screenplay by David Beton, Ray Bogdanovich, and Dean Lines has habit of holding the viewers’ hands: the story does not leave…
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i was more entertained reading the wikipedia synopsis to try to understand wtf was going on than i was by the actual movie
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Ever since I saw the amazing and underrated Triangle I've been hoping for something as interesting and well thought out from director Christopher Smith. I thought this could be it, but alas...
The Banishing is a horror period piece set in England, 1930's, about a Vicar's family who moves into a new manor provided by this small town's church. And well, you know how the premise usually goes.
This film presents itself with some really interesting concepts and ideas (some of them seen in Triangle and others reminded me of the far superior Mike Flanagan's The Hunting of Bly Manor), but unfortunately none of these ideas are used beyond that. They never come to a satisfying fruition, and are never…
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Creepy imagery, slick production and pretty locations. A welcome return to the genre for Chris Smith who adds yet another new flavour to his impressive list of horrors titles but the film is not without its faults as it spends a lot of time dreading around familiar haunted house tropes and relying on overlong builds where the pay off isn’t worth the queue time. When the horror is at the front of the film, it does shine, and Smith expertly crafts some scenes which could contain genuine shivers. The performances are the real stars, in particular those of Jessica Brown Findlay and Sean Harris who both put on a masterclass. It’s interesting that Smith did not write this film, as…