James Hirsch (Michael McMillian) takes an enhanced form of DMT and disappears without a trace. James’ college buddy, Anne Roland (Katia Winter), starts investigating her friend’s disappearance and follows a trail that twists through covert government drug testing, shortwave radio signals and an infamous writer named Thomas Blackburn (Ted Levine). With the exception of the schmaltzy lost-love angle, Banshee Chapter effectively employs conventional plot devices and character tropes while maintaining a fair amount of originality. Loose ends are left hanging, not every detail reconciles with the whole and the viewer is forced to play fill-in-the-blanks, but everything works so long as you concentrate on reacting instead of thinking. It’s no postmodern masterpiece but a creepy atmosphere, plenty of jump scares and the uncanny presence of Lavine (think: “it rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again”) make Banshee Chapter a scream-worthy scary movie.
