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[BD Review] ‘Banshee Chapter’ Has the Right Level Of Eerie

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Banshee Chapter, written and directed by Blair Erickson, is a new take on the H.P. Lovecraft story “From Beyond”. And while the story has been told in numerous ways over time, this latest entry is actually quite entertaining.

Anne is a journalist whose friend James has gone missing after taking the experimental drug dimethyltryptamine-19 – which has been part of government studies under Project MKUltra. MKUltra is an actual human research operation that ran from the early 1950s until 1973. It studied ways to manipulate the mental state of human beings and alter brain functionality. Of course, DMT-19 expands the mind to a point in which other worldly beings can then enter. Yes, the drug turns the human brain into a receiver of sorts, which is connected to a radio transmission that is being picked up on – most strongly in the desert. The transmission is a non-human voice reading a series of letters and numbers that make no sense – until the climax of the film.

Radio transmissions of this sort, especially ones that appear to be in a childlike voice, alone, are incredibly bothersome to me. I’ve read over the years about such types of broadcasts, with explanations being everything from government transmissions to amateur ham radio users communicating. The most troubling, however, is the concept that these transmissions could be from other planes of existence, or aliens, to say it simply. Banshee Chapter takes this concept, combined with the mind altering drugs, and turns it into an enjoyable 87-minute film.

The movie does start off a bit rocky. At first glance, it could be confused for a found footage film as James’ brief journey of taking DMT-19 is intercut with stock footage of government officials confirming, and apologizing, that MKUltra happened. The narrative changes, sometimes mixing in a bit of handheld camera footage, and moves on with the story. There are subtle scares throughout – which are quite eerie. Perhaps with a larger budget, which was one of the holdbacks of filming, these could have been further drawn out. Both money and time constraints are what have been noted for any downfalls of the film. Yet, as these scares stand in the film, they are very effective. There are a few moments intended to be frightening that are more annoying, however – like MKUltra test subjects screaming in sync with loud music cues. They are not necessary, but luckily the glimpses of the monstrous beings outweigh them in creating an unsettling environment.

Most commendable are Katia Winter and Ted Levine’s performances. Winter is simply convincing as Anne and Levine, but known as Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs, is completely at home as Thomas Blackburn – a Hunter S. Thompson type character that has done DMT-19 as a recreational drug. The two have perfect chemistry for their adventure in trying to find James and the source of the transmission that seems to be bringing these beings into their safe realm. The characters themselves are given at least enough background and motive to make them believable and their actions do not seem overly farfetched.

While it is a story that has already been told, combining drug experimentation with the eerie radio transmissions, and just brief glimpses of monsters, provides the right level of disturbing imagery and storyline to make Banshee Chapter a worthwhile watch.

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‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]

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Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.

Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.

Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.

And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.

While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.

Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.

Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!

Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.

Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.

Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!

More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.

So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.

If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.

Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.

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