Scream of the Banshee (2011)

Scream of the Banshee (2011) Dir. by Steven C. Miller

An archeology professor unearths a dangerous artifact, unwittingly releasing a creature that is able to kill with the power of its bone-splitting scream.



I know... I know... it aired on SyFy tonight so there will be 9 million other bloggers tonight that post this review, but it is really the first feature length horror film I have watched in a month or so. Judging from this sexy poster here... I'm going to go ahead and guess there were some scenes cut out of this film from After Dark Films for its premiere on SyFy. That being said... The poster is pretty flippin sweet. I had been waiting for this night for quite some time now. It marks the 200th SyFy original film aired on Saturday nights and that is a pretty big accomplishment. I think Scream of the Banshee fits in really well with their group of crappy but awesome movies!

I didn't know what to think about Steven C Miller at first. I don't typically like filmmakers out of Full Sail University in Florida, but I have a friend that goes there now, and so I give it a chance now. It also helps that Miller made that insanely fun flick Automaton Transfusion, so I knew there was a chance I would enjoy this... and I did.



The whole article for this film should be "This has Lance Henriksen in it..." Then give my vote, but I can't do that because his role is so small, so I have to talk about other people. That being said... Lauren Holly is in it! She really adds the veteran actress feel to the film, and pretty much carries it. I'm not saying anyone else does a bad job, in fact... voice actor Todd Haberkorn did an amazing job in his supporting role in front of the camera for once. As far as everyone else they are never bad enough to be a distracting part of the film.

For anyone else out there that knows me well, knows that I'm a bit of a mythology and legend freak. So when I knew they were doing a story involving the Banshee from Irish folklore, I was damn ecstatic. Miller managed to use various elements of the original banshee background and do it very well. The image of the creature itself is more of his own creation than what is given in a majority of the books, but he makes it his own, and I respect that. I mean... it is a horror film, so he has to make it look scary. Overall... the film was entertaining. It was one of the better SyFy original films, just barely edging Sharkoctopus, haha. I wouldn't mind seeing the unedited version of this sometime, but it had creative deaths and used the folklore well, so I enjoyed it.

Entertainment Value: 7/10 Screaming Severed Heads
Cinematic Value: 7/10 Screaming Severed Heads