Cry of the Banshee

1970 "Hell hath no fury like a sorceress scorned!"
5.5| 1h31m| R| en| More Info
Released: 22 July 1970 Released
Producted By: American International Pictures
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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In seventeenth century England Lord Whitman wages unending war on what he sees as the ever-present scourge of witchcraft, and many local villagers have suffered at his hands. But one victim uses her occult powers to curse his family, enlisting unknowing help from one of the household.

Genre

Horror

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Director

Gordon Hessler

Production Companies

American International Pictures

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Cry of the Banshee Audience Reviews

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
Steineded How sad is this?
Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
utgard14 This is a nasty bit of business made by AIP during that dreary period where the colorful, fun horror movies of the '60s were giving way to the darker, grittier movies of the '70s. It stars Vincent Price, easily the biggest name in horror in the '60s. Despite the title, there's no banshees in this movie. It's about an evil magistrate (Price) who abuses and kills people in his village in the name of witch hunting. Similar at this point to another (better) Price vehicle from around this time called The Conqueror Worm. But the similarities end there as the main plot is about some witches summoning a demon or something to seek revenge on Price and his wicked children. No banshees to be found. Lots of sexual stuff, though, and not all of it consensual. There's even a song about rape in the movie. So...yeah...more banshees and less rape, please. This is an ugly, cheap, and unpleasant exploitation movie. It's not fun enough to be entertaining and, as for horror, it couldn't scare a five year-old. One interesting little bit of trivia is that Terry Gilliam did the opening credits. They're done in that same style Monty Python was famous for.
Coventry This was the third collaboration (in barely two years time) between director Gordon Hessler, scriptwriter Christopher Wicking and horror veteran Vincent Price, after the wondrously atmospheric Victorian tale "The Oblong Box" and the uniquely bizarre "Scream and Scream Again". "Cry of the Banshee" certainly isn't a bad effort; I for one found it very much amusing at least, but due to its lead actor, periodic setting and subject matter, it will always and automatically get compared with "The Witchfinder General" and come out as the weakest one. This isn't even so much of a disgrace, as that other Vincent Price classic which was released two years prior, is simply a bona fide masterpiece. Perhaps I'm very much biased, because I'm a) a downright fanatic Vincent Price worshiper and b) obsessed with purchasing horror movies that deal with witchery and satanic cults, and therefore I don't think "Cry of the Banshee" deserves all the harsh & negative reviews around here. Honesty does require me to admit that the film contain a couple of severe flaws, however, most notably the underdevelopment of the main characters and the overly exploitative nature. You can somewhat expect a bit of gratuitous nudity and perversion in a movie about burning witches and corrupt magistrates, but the sequences in "Cry of the Banshee" – especially those during the first fifteen minutes – are quite degrading and misogynist. Price usually didn't star in that type of cinema. At certain moments it's actually noticeable that he doesn't agree with the raw undertones of his dialogs and he tries hard to give his character of sadist magistrate Edward Whitman more depth and background. He's the patriarch of a rich and spoiled family, and abuses his magistrate position to randomly accuse innocent women of witchcraft and subsequently submits them to public humiliation and torture. When he orders to slaughter half a coven of actual Satan worshipers, the lead witch Oona puts a curse on him and his family. Her vengeance is extracted through an acquaintance of the family, the eccentric stranger Roderick who communicates with animals, as he mutates into a banshee overnight. There are really a lot of sub plots with terrific potential, but sadly they're not elaborated. There are a lot of intrigues within the Whitman family, like the oldest son who distanced himself from his father and Edward's third wife feels more affection for Roderick than for her barbaric husband. Personally, I also would have preferred a little more info regarding the banshee itself. It's a fascinating creature, with nicely grim make-up effects and aggressive personality, but we don't know too much about its mythical background. The finale is brilliant, though, and there are several moments of sheer suspense and grisly medieval ambiance.
doug1717 Certainly not a horrible film, but it really isn't a good one. It falls short by not having a defined plot or well written story. The film has atmosphere, some nice outdoor settings, pretty good costumes, a fair bit of pre silicone nudity, and some action. But the action/violence is more psychotic/misogynist in the absence of a clear plot and better dialogue. A much better film in a similar vein is "L'Avocat Du Diable" (Devil's Advocate), a French subtitled film from the 80's about a witch trial based on historical records. Vincent Price is good, but he has little to work with, and most of the male cast with the exception of Roderick are merely brutal and cartoonish. The parts of Vincent's wife and his daughter Maureen are a wasted effort by attractive actresses as they have little dialogue or defined character to keep your interest. Roderick seems more of a rip off of "Incubus" than an original bad guy, but instead of being a summoned ravisher, he is a physical male who sleeps with Vincent's female relatives and eventually turns into some sort of werewolf when summoned by Oona. Also the witch Oona is surrounded by decidedly wimpy witches and warlocks who look more appropriate to a Greek or Roman Bacchanalia than a witches' Sabat. The opening credits feature very poor cartooning by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python. Had the makers invested a bit of time in research, close ups of Bosch's paintings would have served the film better. Despite its obvious shortcomings it is still watchable, but it leaves you wishing they had invested more effort into the story.
Jonathon Dabell The title is probably the most interesting thing about this competent but totally undistinguished horror flick, in which Vincent Price returns to Witchfinder General (aka Conqueror Worm) territory. Other than frequent flashes of nudity, Cry Of The Banshee has a dated air to it and feels very much like one of the films Roger Corman's team was turning out in the early '60s. It is nearly always a pleasure to watch (and listen to) Price, mainly because he manages to bring great charisma to his characters even when they're rotten to the core. In this one his performance as Lord Edward Whitman is as polished as usual, but the character is so thoroughly dislikable - so totally free of sympathy or compassion - that not even an actor as charismatic as Price can make him appealing to the viewer.In Elizabethan England, a wicked magistrate named Lord Edward Whitman (Vincent Price) is obsessed with finding and tracking down those who practise witchcraft. However, Whitman has a nasty habit of abusing his own position of power – quite often, he falsely accuses pretty young peasant women of witchery and has them beaten, stripped and humiliated for the private entertainment of himself and his family. Unsuspectingly, Lord Whitman actually stumbles upon a REAL coven of witches, led by the powerful but mostly peaceful Oona (Elisabeth Bergner). After subjecting them to his usual brand of torment and degradation, he has all the witches killed apart from Oona herself. Later, Oona summons the titular banshee so that it can work its way through Whitman's family circle, killing off his odious relatives until only he remains. The banshee manifests itself in the guise of a handsome young man named Roderick (Patrick Mower), who manoeuvres his way into the Whitman household and makes them pay with their lives for the terror they have brought upon so many innocent people….The film opens with a surprisingly imaginative titles sequence which is the work of Monty Python alumnus Terry Gilliam. It is sad that little of that imagination is to be found in the remainder of the film. Gordon Hessler directs in routine fashion, moving the proceedings along in a workmanlike but rarely enthralling manner. The supporting performances are generally OK, given that the script is made up of standard characters and situations (having said that, the film's climactic "twist" is admittedly well handled, with a satisfying and rather creepy sting in the tail). Cry Of The Banshee is hardly the stuff of classic horror – there are better horror movies, there are better Vincent Price movies, and there are better movies about witch-hunting – but on the whole it is passable fare. Those who like old-school chillers in the Hammer Horror/Roger Corman style will probably find this an entertaining time-filler.