Scream of the Banshee (2011) Movie Review, Trailer and Poster

USA 2011
Director: Steven C. Miller
Cast: Marcelle Baer, Leanne Cochran, Todd Haberkorn, Lauren Holly, Edrick Browne, Kim Ormiston, Garrett Hines, Lance Henriksen
Rating: R
Release Date: 26 March 2011; 26 July 2011 (DVD)
Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

The Movie Review

This is another film by After Dark which aired by SyFy Channel. Now people... Don't you think negatively, this movie is one of the better versions churned out by SyFy TV networks. Let's just give it some chances, because if you love horror movies, I guess you'll get entertained somehow. But... (and this is a big but), you just have to really lower your expectations and you're not new in watching horror films.

Scream of the Banshee is a SyFy original movie and it is also an After Dark original. Since the first indie horror film festival, After Dark Production Company has been introducing the world with some brightest mind in horror and some of the titles are really memorable either for its quality or the premise. But bad movies are also inevitable which unfortunately this time that's just might be the case.


SCREAM Of The BANSHEE
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

Scream of the Banshee opens with Irish knights in year 1188 are hunting a vicious looking creature in the woods and they finally able to contain it inside a metallic box..

Professor Whelan (Lauren Holly) is an archeologist who is currently baffled by a mysterious package containing 12th Century Irish steel Gauntlet. Along with it, is a map which points directly to a secret room in the university. In that abandoned room, Professor Whelan and her students, Otto and Janie, find a metallic box which can be opened by using this gauntlet. Curiosity takes over these scientists and they open it by using the gauntlet and they are gonna regret it for the rest of their lives, if... they're lucky enough to live that long...

This horror film starts very well with some suspense and considerably scary looking monster but somehow nearing the finale, the writer arguably confused of how to make it interesting and they fill the running length with unnecessary scenes which are clearly shot just to make the characters do something. The cinematography and effects are nothing special and the acting ranges from good to utter fake. But the story and premise are actually quite nice as well as the musical score.

Different with another After Dark Original movie, Unearthed (2007) which is a pure monster flick, Scream of the Banshee combined monster figure with supernatural entity. Banshee is an ghost in a form of an old woman who cries/scream violently. And in Indonesian this would be called as Nenek Grondong, and actually the movie itself is similar to Indonesian B-movie horror. If Indonesian B movies often present bikini fiesta then Scream of the Banshee --aside of being bloody gory-- also gives a short scene of nudity, but it's nowhere near being titillating! How can you enjoy a scary looking female with monster head goes on topless?! Ironically, without this good performance from Kim Ormiston (as the Banshee), the movie would really be blah.

© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com
Twitter: @movielogy
posted: Thursday, 4 Aug 2011 08:11 pm