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A Banquet
A young woman undergoes a disturbing transformation in Ruth Paxton’s extraordinary psychological horror tale.
Director: Ruth Paxton
Overview
Teenage Betsey lives at home with her mother and younger sister. Still devastated by the untimely death of her father, Betsey shares a close bond with her family, but tensions begin to surface when an unexplained experience at a friend’s house party sees her slowly start to withdraw from those around her. Refusing to eat, but losing no weight, Betsey’s behaviour becomes increasing erratic, until she makes the claim that her body is no longer her own, but now in service to an external force.
Following the likes of Raw and Saint Maud, Ruth Paxton’s striking feature debut forms part of an exciting new wave of female-driven horror cinema. Using genre storytelling to craft a potent, often horrifying, portrait of adolescent trauma, body dysmorphia and self-harm, A Banquet has the power to terrify, whilst offering plenty to sink your teeth into.
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