Cry of the Banshee, 1970.
Directed by Gordon Hessler.
Starring Vincent Price, Hilary Dwyer, Michael Elphick, Elisabeth Bergner, Patrick Mower, Hugh Griffith, Essy Persson, Sally Geeson, and Stephan Chase.
SYNOPSIS:
In 16th century England, a witch-hunting magistrate is cursed when he falls afoul of a witch.
Released as part of Hammer’s new ‘Hammer Presents’ range of titles that weren’t made by the studio but by contemporaries and adjacent studios, Cry of the Banshee stars Vincent Price as Lord Edward Whitman, a tyrant who has a particular disdain for witchcraft and is more than happy to torture villagers just in case they are witches, even though they probably are not. After livestock gets killed and Whitman’s unruly family members start causing trouble, Whitman decides to have a purge of all the ‘witches’ in the area, but when he incurs the wrath of Oona (Elisabeth Bergner), a genuine witch who oversees a local coven, he becomes the victim of a curse that won’t be that easy to shake.
Originally made and distributed by American International Pictures at the peak of the folk horror boom of the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, Cry of the Banshee is an odd one as it contains all of the same ingredients that the more revered titles of the genre – Witchfinder General, Blood on Satan’s Claw, etc. – and yet it wasn’t as fondly received as either of those movies at the time and never really garnered much of a following in the years since, despite not really doing anything different to other movies of a similar ilk. Yes, it was made by AIP, who are obviously American and not Hammer, Amicus or Tigon, but unless you were a film buff and dug into the history of it that would probably have gone over most casual audiences heads, plus Vincent Price – who was American – and Hilary Dwyer were also in the very popular Witchfinder General the previous year, which gave it some folk horror familiarity.
Perhaps the one big drawback was that the movie didn’t actually have a banshee in it, the creature summoned by Oona and her coven resembling something closer to a werewolf, and it doesn’t make an appearance until near the end of the movie, with it being represented by howls and the remains of dead animals to let you know something is out there. Other than that, the story concentrates on Whitman lording(!) it over the peasants in his local village and dealing with his family of wrong ‘uns, all of which is made a lot more enjoyable than it sounds by Vincent Price doing what he was known for at the time and hamming it up, pantomime villain style.
The supporting cast are solid, with an early appearance by British TV favourite Michael Elphick standing out as he wasn’t gravelly voiced (although he was still bad tempered), and familiar faces like Patrick Mower, Sally Geeson and the aforementioned Hilary Dwyer all delivering charming performances, despite everyone’s clothes getting ripped open every few minutes because… well, that is what folk horror movies did.
So, despite not ever starring in Hammer-produced movie, we can now say that Vincent Price has appeared in a Hammer-released one (sort of), as the studio have put together a decent package for fans and collectors. Not as extensive as their mothership releases, Cry of the Banshee comes with two 4K UHD discs, one featuring the Director’s Cut in widescreen and full-frame aspect ratios and the other featuring AIP’s theatrical re-edit, along with an audio commentary by author Chris Alexander, an interview with critic Kim Newman and an archive interview with director Gordon Hessler. The 4K upgrade gives the movie a natural look, complete with consistent grain and lots of details in those wonderful medieval sets, although it isn’t really a colourful film so nothing really pops out (except for the wenches’ naked breasts, of which there are a lot).
Overall, it is a treat to have one more Vincent Price-led folk horror in 4K UHD to sit alongside the other notable titles in the genre that have already had luscious upgrades, and having Price’s face on the cover of a package that also has the Hammer logo on it feels like something special (and that new cover artwork is fantastic), but, as a movie, Cry of the Banshee is a little less fun and not quite as memorable as other horror movies from the time.
Perhaps it was fatigue at seeing Vincent Price being Vincent Price-in-a-period-horror-movie again (this was just before he started making more contemporary horror movies), or maybe because the script wasn’t as dynamic or gruesome as it should have been, but whatever it was/is, Cry of the Banshee is still a suitable title to kick off the ‘Hammer Presents’ range, and if this is what we get for the first one then what other treats do Hammer have in store for us further down the line?
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
