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and wanders off into the woods. After she returns, she refuses to eat, but claims to have had visions of a dark future, but one in which also she is special and her mother is a star. Although she does not seem to lose weight, her mother, distraught, takes her to doctors and specialists and empties out her bank account trying to find someone who can help.
275:
A woman, Holly, is taking care of her very sick husband. He drinks poison to kill himself. Her daughter, Betsey, is preparing to apply to go to university, but is unsure of what to focus her studies on. A teacher asks her to make a list of what she thinks is most important. Later, she goes to a party
441:
commended Paxton's direction and the performances of
Alexander and Guillory, but wrote that "Bull's screenplay comes up short, failing to adequately capture the depth of its teen's encounter with the abyss and to integrate it into the more comprehensible domestic tensions that serve as the plotless
283:
and suggests that is what Betsey is: a monster who is feeding off of Holly's family. She offers to take Holly's younger daughter, Izzy, if she wants to escape what is happening, which she does. Betsey tells her mother that something is coming, and no matter what happens she should love and support
448:
called the film "moderately creepy but emotionally insubstantial", writing that, "With nary any tangible scares, or much to truly unnerve or unsettle except from an empathetic humanistic standpoint, this feature-length directorial debut is assured, but far too ambiguous for its own good."
351:. It was released in select theaters and on digital platforms on 18 February 2022. It was released on Blu-ray in 2021 by UK distributor Second Sight Films as a special edition including the Blu-ray and essays by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Heather Wixson, and Jennie Kermode.
284:
her through it. They pass a terrible night together, and in the morning Betsey tells her mother that her love made everything possible. She dies. Holly, distraught, wanders out into the street. Stricken by grief, she collapses, but then appears to glow with a strange light.
38:
414:, gave the film a score of two-and-a-half out of four stars, lamenting that, "because the sound design is so vivid and Paxton's eye for disturbing detail is so creative, it's even more frustrating that the payoff is so unsatisfying." Brian Tallerico, also of
388:
wrote that "The film's slow-burn magic lies in the many questions it raises as it skitters to a fitful, explosive end", concluding: "You're likely to leave this movie starving for answers, but that hunger can be just as stimulating as it is burdensome." The
431:
is at its best when it burrows inside the confines of its nearly all-female cast — here, it seems, is a truly new take on what it means to live inside a woman's skin — but continued attempts to contextualize the saga in other ways fall flat."
422:
as "a strong concept in search of a movie", stating that it is "constantly threatening to shape itself into something focused and powerful, but is too content to leave many of its best ideas unexplored."
367:, the film has an approval rating of 55% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's consensus reads, "If it isn't without its share of empty calories,
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is well acted and well crafted and should resonate with viewers who have had experiences similar to those of the movie's perpetually anxious mother."
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Noel Murray gave the film a mostly positive review, writing: "Muted and ambiguous — sometimes to a fault —
945:
530:"'A Banquet' Producer Leonora Darby on Serving Up a Female-Driven Psychological Horror Film With Bite"
968:
1046:
913:"'A Banquet' Review: Overstuffed and Underfed, This Chilling Debut Bites Off More Than It Can Chew"
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score of 59 out of 100 based on 15 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
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626:"'A Banquet' Trailer: Mother-Daughter Bond Turns Apocalyptic in IFC Midnight Horror"
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826:"Review: A girl's decision leads to horror for her mother in well-made 'A Banquet'"
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267:. It was released in select theaters and on digital platforms on 18 February 2022.
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969:"'A Banquet' Review: Female-Forward Horror Movie Is Starved for a Good Scare"
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as widowed mother Holly, whose husband, the father of her daughters Betsey (
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remains a lavishly appointed treat for fans of slow-burning horror." On
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directed by Ruth Paxton and written by Justin Bull. The film stars
719:"Psychological Horror 'A Banquet' Tests the Faith of IFC Midnight"
691:"Psychological Horror 'A Banquet' Tests the Faith of HanWay Films"
663:"HanWay Films boards Ruth Paxton psychological horror 'A Banquet'"
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Holly's mother visits and tells her of the
Japanese legend of the
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427:'s Kate Erbland gave the film a grade of "C+", concluding that "
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acquired the North
America distribution rights to the film.
746:"A Banquet (2021) Limited Edition Blu-ray (Second Sight)"
567:"'A Banquet' Review: Starving for a Higher Purpose"
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857:"A Banquet movie review & film summary (2022)"
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885:"TIFF 2021: Violet, A Banquet, Kicking Blood"
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329:Filming was completed on September 3, 2020.
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442:film's only framework." Courtney Howard of
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967:Howard, Courtney (10 September 2021).
941:"'A Banquet': Film Review | TIFF 2021"
883:Tallerico, Brian (11 September 2021).
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717:Barraclough, Leo (3 December 2020).
661:Rosser, Michael (3 September 2020).
528:Barraclough, Leo (9 November 2020).
911:Erbland, Kate (10 September 2021).
349:Toronto International Film Festival
265:Toronto International Film Festival
939:DeFore, John (10 September 2021).
624:Lattanzio, Ryan (5 January 2022).
337:At the beginning of December 2020
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824:Murray, Noel (17 February 2022).
565:Wilson, Lena (17 February 2022).
689:Miska, Brad (3 September 2020).
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1077:English-language horror films
347:had its premiere at the 2021
1067:2020s English-language films
171:10 September 2021
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186:18 February 2022
42:Promotional release poster
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1052:British teen horror films
320:Walter van Dyk as Dentist
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21:Banquet (disambiguation)
16:2021 British horror film
946:The Hollywood Reporter
597:"A Banquet: Showtimes"
311:Kaine Zajaz as Dominic
263:premiered at the 2021
144:REP Productions 8 Ltd
855:(18 February 2022).
138:Tea Shop Productions
19:For other uses, see
1072:2020s British films
798:"A Banquet Reviews"
435:John DeFore of the
141:Riverstone Pictures
572:The New York Times
438:Hollywood Reporter
385:The New York Times
308:as Isabelle Hughes
241:is a 2021 British
1062:2021 horror films
831:Los Angeles Times
724:Bloody Disgusting
696:Bloody Disgusting
392:Los Angeles Times
375:, the film has a
361:review aggregator
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82:Laure Vaysse
76:James Harris
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980:21 February
952:21 February
924:21 February
896:21 February
868:21 February
837:21 February
771:"A Banquet"
668:ScreenDaily
637:21 February
578:21 February
467:"A Banquet"
306:Ruby Stokes
255:Ruby Stokes
243:horror film
107:Ruby Stokes
64:Produced by
59:Justin Bull
51:Ruth Paxton
48:Directed by
1047:2021 films
1041:Categories
1016:Metacritic
803:Metacritic
755:13 January
730:17 January
702:17 January
674:17 January
541:17 January
478:17 January
453:References
373:Metacritic
325:Production
227:Box office
206:97 minutes
190:2022-02-18
175:2021-09-10
125:Production
56:Written by
1027:A Banquet
1011:A Banquet
1000:A Banquet
918:IndieWire
631:IndieWire
606:4 October
496:A Banquet
472:IFC Films
429:A Banquet
425:IndieWire
420:A Banquet
400:A Banquet
369:A Banquet
355:Reception
345:A Banquet
261:A Banquet
238:A Banquet
127:companies
79:Mark Lane
73:Nik Bower
31:A Banquet
513:11 March
363:website
230:$ 13,125
219:Language
119:CJ Mirra
116:Music by
90:Starring
974:Variety
809:30 June
782:30 June
535:Variety
445:Variety
359:On the
333:Release
317:as June
222:English
211:Country
188: (
173: (
179: (
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1005:IMDb
982:2022
954:2022
926:2022
898:2022
870:2022
839:2022
811:2022
784:2022
757:2023
732:2021
704:2021
676:2021
639:2022
608:2021
601:TIFF
580:2022
543:2021
515:2022
508:IMDb
480:2021
288:Cast
271:Plot
181:TIFF
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