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.

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.

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.