The Banishing

Christopher Smith returns to the horror genre. The Banishing is pretty basic genre fare though, which is a shame as Smith has shown himself pretty apt at putting a unique spin on the genre in the past. Not that this is a bad film, anything but, it's just a bit too by numbers for its own good.

A house with a dark past, that's what you're getting here. People hear voices, mirrors show ghostly reflections and a local madman warns the new inhabitants that something is awry. By the time everybody is finally on board it's already too late, as the ghost has taken control of the family living there.

The Banishing is a solid slowburner, but it lacks the audiovisual finish to stand out. There are some very moody scenes, performances are good across the board and there are a few solid scares, but overall it's not enough to convince me this wasn't just another haunted house flick sporting a dramatic backstory. Quality filler, but I'd hoped for something more.