A Banquet (2021) User Reviews

This is like Saint Maud Part 2.

[mochteam · 5/10 · 11 December 2022]

And that's not a good thing. A girl that has holy visions and nothing happens but her rambling and weird behavior throughout the film and then at the end something actually happens but by that time you don't care because you just want the movie to be over.

That's pretty much both the plot to Saint Maud and this movie. I hated Saint Maud with a passion because of that. I didn't hate this movie as much because it at least stayed grounded in reality where the family did think the girl was mentally ill and took her to see doctors and tried to get her help. There wasn't exactly anyone that was on board with the nonsense and they didn't annoy you for an hour and 30 minutes run time trying to make you wonder if what you were seeing was really taking place or a hallucination. The movie isn't like that and that's why this plot execution is more enjoyable than in Saint Maud.

Mostly the movie is about the toll of having to live and take care of someone that is mentally ill till the final scene where you're still left to wonder if she actually was or wasn't crazy. It's an open ender and I also hate those type of endings.

There's moments in the end where the girl seems to be the exact opposite of how she was for the entire film. Asking for an Ambulance and it appears the mother being the one to deny her aid. There's the reveal that the daughter had rigged the scale to show that she wasn't losing weight when in reality she was. So in actuality she died from self starvation and not some sort of divine rapture.

The movie ending is rather contradictory and just seems to derail the story by trying to be both grounded in reality and spiritually supernatural at the same time and the low key reveal that the mother suffered from mental illness as a child and now the daughter is basically acting out in the same way.

This reminds me also of another movie with a similar plot called "The Wonder." Where a young girl is seen as God's chosen one because she doesn't eat. Although that movie was more of a mystery movie than what this type of film was but equally as boring.

At the end of it all I can only say that this movie is great to watch if you have it on in the background. It's good enough just to pay part attention to it because not much really happens of note in the film till the end and even that is a crock of question mark nonsense.

I give this movie a 5/10 though because the acting wasn't bad and I didn't dislike the characters. It was shot nicely and the responses seemed more realistic. Although I have my own theory of this movie and that was that the mother kept the daughter at home instead of sending her off to the mental institution because she couldn't afford the care. She is having financial troubles throughout the movie after her husband passes (which is never brought up again btw) and to me that seemd most likely the reason why her crazy daughter is left to home care rather than a hospital where she could get the right treatment.

My interpretation is that the daughter had a breakdown after her father died and coped with her grief by pretending she was chosen by God and the mother eventually cracked towards the end after dealing with the stress of her daughters behavior and her financial problems. It showed where the youngest daughter was also having a personality change from the stress of dealing with her sister and her mother.

So the biggest flaw of this movie is that it has too many paths but the route is not clear as to what's really going on and those types of movies are the most annoying.

Not a Recommended Diet

[thesar-2 · 5/10 · 5 June 2022]

It PAINS me to rate this an average score, but damn that ending.

Absolutely no spoilers, but to ME, personally the climax, or more accurately, the last few moments, were such an incredible letdown. YOU or anyone may love it, and more power to you. So, I'm not really trying to discourage anyone from making it to the end. Hopefully, you'll get more out of it than me.

UP to that point...I really dug this movie. The atmosphere, tension building, acting, cinematography...ALL so top notch, you'd think you were watching a $50 million-dollar Hollywood film. In fact, I was so amazed during this movie, I was wondering why most Hollywood movies I see aren't half as good as this talent.

The film revolves around a family tragedy that leaves a single mom to raise her two daughters, the older of which is somehow transformed one night in the woods near a party she was attending and now...she won't eat. Okay, there's more to this, as expected, but her lack of eating, mood-swings and possible premonitions will increase alongside her mother's desperation to help her.

This is labelled as "horror," but I'd put it more as a slow-burn suspense/family drama. And I've seen movies like this before and no offense to this cast/crew, but much better. Such as the real horror movie, Raw. There was also a segment of the horror anthology, XX, called "The Box" - also, much better.

Still, it was fantastic to the end and I'll leave it up to you if you decide they did the story justice with their conclusion.

***

Final Thoughts: Completely different movie, but I would also compare this slightly to 2021's Malignant. And that's only a small part of A Banquet. Please know, I loved Malignant 3x more overall. Still, I felt the need to bring it up.

Edging with no climax

[captmorgan-18330 · 5/10 · 1 September 2022]

I wanted to like this movie, I really did. The acting was pretty damn good and the story kept my attention, but overall this movie had issues much like the characters. It just seemed like the filmmakers could not decide what kind of film they wanted to make at all. So when all is said and done for me this one was all edging and no climax for me, and honestly...isn't the climax the fun part?

Betsey doesn't eat for six months and shows no physical signs that she is losing weight so the viewer believes that something supernatural is occurring. Oh, but then at the end it is evident that she tampered with the scale which is why she was the same weight everyday, and we are back to a simple movie about mental illness. But leave it to mom to start glowing and lighting up while wandering the streets implying that maybe she is a star and Betsey was telling the truth the whole time.

When I watch a movie I don't mind having to interpret endings and themes but the filmmaker needs to give me enough to make that interpretation. This movie was like a puzzle with pieces missing, and so unsatisfying to put together because it will never be complete.

Waste of Time

[micalove-63879 · 1/10 · 21 February 2023]

The movie had all this build up to leave you empty. The ending made me hate this movie even more. You keep waiting for something more to happen or be revealed and nothing ever happens. Just watching them characters go through confusion and pain the whole movie with nothing more given of what is making this happen. That had to be be the worse ending I have ever seen. If they couldn't complete the movie, then they should have left the movie a just a script they threw away. I will steer clear of this Director and writer in the future because if this is they way they do movies, I have better use of my time. HATED IT!!!!!

Artsy fartsy ending

[lizhalexander · 5/10 · 8 December 2022]

I am really tired of these artsy fartsy movies that end up not explaining anything about what was actually going on. Maybe there are some subtleties that I'm just missing out on, I don't know. And I'm glad that we live in a society where people can express whatever it is they need to express and whatever way they need to express it... But this is frustrating for me as a horror movie lover.

What was actually wrong with the girl? What was she suffering from in the end? Just the result of malnutrition? Or was she really the servant of a higher power? Did the world actually end? Or did the mom just have a heart attack and die from grief?

Was all this the result of the girl seeing her dad die in such a terrible and dramatic way at the beginning of the movie? Or was there something else going on? Did the stuff the girl was taking at the party having effect on her mentality and that's why she went crazy? What was Mom hospitalized for when she was younger? Did she have the same condition? Hallucinations? What was it the girl was seeing? Was it real or fake?

I have too many questions about what was actually going on, and while the acting and everything was supreme, it was another one of those stories that just doesn't really go anywhere even after all that drama.

Secondly, kind of tired of deep, nowhere going dramas in my horror. Horror. Was the point of all that? Was this another case of a hard director trying to work out his or her own weird issues through cinema? Sure is an expensive way to do therapy!

I'm going to have to look this up and see what the deal is. Maybe they were going for an Oscar or something, I don't know.

A Bullcrap

[cahidi · 3/10 · 22 February 2022]

This story is a slow burn that only burns at the very end of the movie. When you're already so tired of the crap it's been spouting the entire time you're watching it. It's like an orgasm which was put on hold indefinitely. I regret that I didn't just fast forward all of these nonsensical gibberish right to the end. Cause even at the ending, there's not a single explanation for all of those crap they're throwing at the audience. This is a really good example for a bad psychological thriller. Slow, boring, no explanation, and have a crappy ending. Don't watch this piece of crap! Don't waste 1 hour and a half of your life for this garbage just like I did!

There is a LOT to Unpack Here...

[jjenk911 · 7/10 · 15 June 2022]

I watched this movie this evening and...WOW. There's a lot of unpack. From what I've seen, this is what I unpacked: It's a film about loss and grief, mental illness, an existential dread of what happens next, where we go from here, and what's the point of all of this, and there's an underpinning of a supernatural event that may or may not have happened.

As the movie progresses, you're unsure whether or not Holly's eldest daughter, Betsey, has been chosen to do something, or it's all in her head. Holly experiences the same event that Betsey does and...was it real? Was it all in their heads? It's really up to you to decide. If you like slow, weird movies, this will be in your wheelhouse. If not, then I wouldn't recommend it. A solid film, 7/10.

and the point is?

[jamiegates-28471 · 3/10 · 13 March 2022]

Started slow and got slower as time went on. Seems like a pointless film to me. Doesn't entertain, doesn't provoke thought, doesn't provoke fear. Doesn't achieve anything, much better films out there, Next....

Great movie

[raganabahargawa-18200 · 7/10 · 21 June 2022]

I love everything about this movie,the atmosphere,the cast everything its just perfect. I wonder what really happen to holly and betsey but i guess it doesnt matter. I really enjoy everysecond watching this movie. If youre looking for jumpscare horror this movie might not be for you,but if you love slowburn horror/mystery thriller film with dark atmosphere you should try watching this movie.

Another nothing movie

[FeastMode · 1/10 · 26 March 2022]

I feel like I've said this about so many movies. It's nothing. The story is nothing. It's so boring with zero intrigue. All abstract, nothing concrete. And by the time it's done, I'm left angered at wasting my time on nothing.

The movie is competently-made for the most part with good performances. But you need some substance to latch onto. In the end, the only thing I liked about this movie is the song during the end credits. (1 viewing, 3/25/2022)

7.8/10. A GREAT MOVIE FOR A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE

[athanasiosze · 8/10 · 25 February 2022]

There are many psychological drama- horror movies which try to be multi-layered and ambiguous. Most of them fail. "A Banquet" succeeds.

It doesn't matter what is your interpretation, either way, this movie is still interesting at least.

This is not a horror film, there are no jump scares, gore, noone try to kills anyone. If you are looking for mindless fun, stay away.

This is a sad and depressing movie and you won't enjoy this. It's a dive into the madness or sadness, like a nightmare about the end of the world.

But there is still love and hope, unconditional love.

If you are under 25 years old, it will be difficult to understand what this is about. Same if you are not a parent. Difficult, not impossible though. This movie requires a level of emotional maturity.

Every actor here is amazing. If you are in the mood for an art drama mystery movie that will drain you emotionally, watch it. If not, don't.

Special

[confirmeddeath · 7/10 · 26 February 2022]

A story about a mother and her daughter... and daughter... A daughter that finds herself lacking goals.

A daughter willing to make the people around her suffer, so that she can feel special.

This is not a horror, it's a drama.

The ending is left to interpretation, however, you do have two options, supernatural or mental illness. It gave a skewed view to portray it as supernatural. A girl not eating food for months etc... Then it shows the tempered with scale, and the mother realizing her mistake... and the daughter admitting to wanting to feel special... 1. She would died in a few weeks.

2. Her body would showed sign of weight loss, even if the scale was showing no weight loss...

These kinds of movies leave a horrible taste in my mouth... If I wanted a unfinished movie, I'd just gone to sleep and had a beautiful dream ruined by the alarm clock...

Pay attention to the reviews that have only reviewed this film

[manuelasaez · 5/10 · 20 May 2022]

I thought about this movie for a few days after I watched it and I came to one solid conclusion, "What was the point?". The acting was good, and the movie was intriguing and intense, but not in the ways that make for good cinema. The audience has to come away with a sense of satisfaction that their hour and a half wasn't wasted and I'm sorry, but I just can't say that about this movie. It's tiring, it requires a lot of patience and the pay off just isn't there. I get what they were trying to do but...no. It's just not happening with this movie.

If you are patient and can stand long periods of tedious camera shots where nothing happens, then this movie is for you. Everyone else will be bored to tears or worse, they'll end up asking, "What was the point?" like i did. I think that is the worst thing that can be said about any movie.

To the reviewers scoring this movie really high; Stop it.

It seems like there are a lot of disingenuous ratings for this movie ( take a look at their one movie review histories), probably by friends and family who think that scoring a movie high is doing these actors a favor. It isn't. It's deceiving people into thinking that this film is good when it is not.

Voldemort, is that you back there?

[Howling_at_the_Moon_Reviews · 5/10 · 7 December 2022]

There were a lot of things that I quite liked about this movie... unfortunately, the things that I didn't were relatively detrimental.

First off, because this is an easy go to for people that love to be generally dismissive and give a 1 star review... if you are not a fan of something with a definitive, clear ending... this is probably not for you. I didn't hate the ending, but even me myself I would have liked a little more clarity. Also, at no point was I bored during this but it is most certainly a slow burn. I do think it could have had some of the struggle in the third act cut, it became a bit repetitive and slowed the pacing down.

I quite liked this movie aesthetically. It was very atmospheric and the shots were beautiful. Also without this cast I don't think this movie would have been what it was at all. Everyone did an excellent job, especially the main girl and the mother.

This feels like a movie that a lot of the general public would find slow, boring and with little pay off... I however did not feel that way and would recommend it, just not fervently.

Badddddd

[mobarkgop · 1/10 · 20 February 2022]

Film It's not good I hope there's no other movie like this movie. Very bad In terms of the story or the characters is not suitable And it's not scary. Mentally Singers Movie.

Awful

[najafianmorteza · 1/10 · 25 February 2022]

This is a very bad story. I don't like it . It is waste of time. I didn't understand the whole film. What was the stars? .what was the end of that?. I think producers and director just want make a joke.

Slow burning and very effective

[gillman11 · 7/10 · 15 November 2021]

After witnessing the death of her father, a young woman has a mysterious experience which leads her to believe that she is intended for a higher purpose.

Deliberately paced and slow burning, Ruth Paxton and Justin Bull's film manages to portray the existential horror without (too much) reliance on gross out or trope-ish apocalyptic imagery.

The slow burn unravelling of proceedings is sustained by smartly controlled filmmaking and excellent performances, particularly the double leads of Sienna Guillory and the extraordinary Jessica Alexander.

It's final scene feels a tad familiar but doesn't lessen the strength of what's gone before.

Well worth a look for admirers of films like Violation, Censor and Saint Maud or Von Triers mid period films, particularly Dogville and Melancholia.

If you watch it, you will hate yourself for doing that

[mightyarash · 2/10 · 22 February 2022]

If you're so bored to death, still I don't recommend you watching this so called horror movie. Don't believe me?.. Then try it.

The director and screenwriter(s) of this unimaginable "thing" should be banned lifelong.

Subtle, Suspenseful, Psychological

[JoshuaMercott · 7/10 · 4 March 2022]

It started off slow but picked up pace and raced to an eerie finish. "A Banquet" may not come close to touching the horror-genre films we've come to enjoy over the years. But what it lacked in overt demonic forces it made up for in subtle supernatural thrill.

Directed by Ruth Paxton, the movie carried weight more as a psychological thriller than anything explicitly paranormal. It focused on the life and travails of a young woman named Betsey (played by Jessica Alexander) who experienced spooky circumstances, which compelled her mother Holly (played by Sienna Guillory) to do whatever she knew she had to do to save her daughter.

After an unknown encounter in the woods during a blood moon night, Betsey seemed to have lost all desire for food. Her appetite was not just completely out of whack, she ended up despising food of any kind, for no verifiable reason.

To Holly's horror, Betsey nearly choked on a single greenpea. Even Betsey's sister Isabelle (played by Ruby Stokes) could not wrap her mind around what was happening. An admission to a 24-7 care clinic soon followed where Betsey's bizarre symptoms gradually become indecipherable, not to forget that creepy disembodied whisper.

She came back, seemingly all hale and healthy, but her strange problem persisted. It later appeared as if she was drawing the 'nutrients' she needed directly from sunlight, akin to photosynthesis. One thing led to another, and grandmother June (played by Lindsay Duncan) paid them a visit to see if she could help out in any way. June came carrying answers to Betsey's mystery illness - the girl neither fell sick nor grew thin after not eating a single bite for weeks.

Betsey soon found herself voluntarily taking her mother to where it all started, at a treeline that looked as ordinary as any other, except this one was the source of the whispering voice that Betsey started hearing a while before she'd lost her appetite altogether.

Both Sienna, Jessica, Ruby, and Lindsay gave stirring performances as Holly, Betsey, Isabelle, and June, respectively. Good musical scoring by CJ Mirra. David Liddell's cinematography was neat, and gave nothing away. The same can be said of Matyas Fekete's editing. Good work all round by other cast and crew members too.

"A Banquet" on Amazon Prime VOD held suspense, subtlety, and a distinct thread of psychological horror. The film held its cards close to the chest until the last possible minute. The very preparation of vegetarian meals held a menacing angle, a threat whose source evaded me. The movie captivated all the way to a (cliffhanger) end, and contained existential elements.

Easily the worst horror movie of the year! Full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Avoid at all freaking cost!

[kwenchow · 1/10 · 23 June 2022]

This film start with a woman feeding a man, and the woman hugging the man scene! As turnout, this film is about a daughter "Betsey" need to survive from the possession of the demon! Entire film full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the walking scene, overuse of the searching scene, overuse of the yelling scene, overuse of the calling names scene, overuse of the staring scene, overuse of the drinking scene, overuse of the smoking scene, overuse of the preparing food scene, overuse of the sleeping scene, overuse of the talking on the phone scene, overuse of the hugging scene, and overuse of the vomiting scene! Make the film unwatchable! At the end, Betsey, and her mother "Holly" both died! That's it! Wasting time to watch!

Beautifully disturbing...

[jessicaswnsn · 8/10 · 4 January 2023]

First off who ever did the cinematography and styling deserves an award. Don't listen to the negative reviews, and like the other high ratings stated this movie isn't for everyone. I'm not really sure how people said it was a "slow burn all the way to the end", when it had me glued to the screen, intrigued and feeling uneasy the entire time. (Coming from someone who has the attention span of a goldfish and extremely picky with movies, especially these days........

If you like eerie, anxiety induced psychological movies this is for you. I'll admit we've seen this theme before but it's nicely done.

A Powerful Dark Film

[portal1790 · 7/10 · 19 February 2022]

A Powerful Dark Dark Film . Brilliant acting. Film about a subject so close to fiction as to reality very well mixed when drama meets the horror that gets a young girl and her family. I love it. I really did love this British Horror film.

Seriously what was this?

[darabisam · 3/10 · 11 March 2022]

People (writers) are running out of good scripts. What was this about? Slow burning our minds and wasted our time. Next time do the same with a boy as A Banquet part 2.

"Some people are just destined for stuff, right?"

[parry_na · 3/10 · 19 July 2023]

Hey.

The characters we meet here are predominantly female, all respectably attractive and all hiding their own troubles. Everyone seems to walk on tiptoes around each other, so as not to unleash the deeper emotions that seem to be bubbling under the surface; where every sentence, every greeting, every question, begins with 'hey.'

Pretty young Betsy (Jessica Alexander) seems to have a supernatural experience we're not privy to, and mum Holly (Sienna Guillory) and sis Isabelle (Ruby Stokes) don't know how to cope with her behaviour. Lots of close-ups of mouths, eating, regurgitating. Shopping. Sitting in silence. A bit of pouting. Tedium occurs, and not just between the characters.

Hey. This is a world where we're all a bit stoned, all a bit in touch with our feelings (characters like this used to be called Sloane Rangers). That's, like, cool, of course, but it makes for pretty dull viewing. There are no real conversations here, just characters talking about themselves whilst those around them try desperately, and earnestly, to 'understand'. This goes on for 97 long minutes. Lindsay Duncan as June sweeps in and speaks a bit of sense; pity she doesn't hang around long.

Hey. I probably don't 'get' it: that's what the problem is. 'Entitled middle-class white girls' even get a mention here, before the navel-gazing, wistful piano music slips in.

This simply isn't my kind of film. It seems strangely self-congratulatory as if everyone concerned is convinced something profound is being created. If it appeals, great, but it's definitely an acquired taste. My score is 3 out of 10.

A bit weird

[scaryjase-06161 · 4/10 · 24 May 2023]

Oh yes, it's most definitely "a bit weird". There are lots of very strange camera angles and the sound is very strange as well with the weirdest bits being accentuated for no obvious reason. And food is a constant theme throughout the film - filmed in close-up and often in very stark colour (reds and greens are a favourite). But mostly, there's. Very.

Stilted. And odd.

Dialogue.

And for a long time, there's no obvious plot. Yes, as The Guardian says, one of the daughters, Betsey, develops a mysterious eating disorder and there's obviously some kind of supernatural/horror element to it, but it doesn't go out of the way to explain anything. At first it's annoying, but it does build to a sense of dread - partly because of the writing and direction, but mostly because of the nagging feeling that I was going to watch the whole film and nothing was going to be explained.

So - did it nail the ending? Welll, it fashioned quite an intriguing ending which I totally wasn't expecting, but it explained absolutely nothing - if anything, it just introduced more mystery. I'd say I was not happy about it, but to be honest "unsurprised" was probably my major reaction. I'm also completely intrigued as to why The Guardian described this as "social-comment body horror" - there's very little social comment and yes, she does have an eating disorder, but a big part of the film is that her body is not affected in the slightest...

Within the confines of the film, it is well acted. Jessica Alexander is suitably distant as Betsey - she believes she's been chosen and her sense of rapture is well conveyed. Sienna Guillory as Holly, her mother and Ruby Stokes as Izzy, her sister are both suitably uncertain how to react and Lindsay Duncan is as good as you'd expect as the annoying grandmother. However, a lot of the time, they're not given an awful lot to do - it just feels like a bit of a waste.

As a whole, this all felt more like an art installation than a film - there are some neat touches at times, but as a whole I just didn't work for me and there are some scenes which felt completely out of place. I was very much reminded of Censor - it's similarly stylish, intriguing and ultimately unsatisfactory. I can believe that the director had a grand vision which might make the story make more sense and I'm sure I could read plenty of articles on the internet which would offer up multiple conflicting theories, but that's just not gonna happen.