IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE THE HAUNTED HOUSE THAT COUNTS

Haunted house filmmaking is compelling. Acclaimed director Christopher Smith‘s Shudder Original The Banishing fits that intrigue. The film dates back to the 1930s where WWII and Nazi Germany is right around the corner and ready to rise. Set in the Borley Rectory, a family of three decides to move into the “most haunted house in England”.

Jessica Brown Findlay plays Marianne who becomes the wife of a young vicar named Linus played by actor John Heffernan. Marianne’s daughter Adelaide played by Anya-McKenna Bruce joins in on the move to this creepy house. Once they settle into their new confines, the characters begin to unravel themselves along with a little shop of horrors. The mood intensifies as the audience begins to feel unsettling with the atmosphere of the film.

Marianne Forster

We begin with Marianne who starts to have hallucinations and vivid dreams. She begins to hear creepy things in the walls and tries to keep it together. The film introduces Malachi played by John Lynch who is a high priest on a search for a wanted man. His underlying mission is to find Marianne as he knows much about her past. The audience becomes curious about her character as she gives more clues about the life she led before she met Linus. This does not bode well with all the horror she experiences within the household. It’s a sign that she will not be able to pull off what she wants to do.

Linus Forster

The young vicar Linus is quite the character study within The Banishing. You can sense he is strictly by the book (ie. The Bible) and that his repressed needs for intimacy and love will lead to something dreadful in the future. The audience sees this in the beginning with Linus. He punishes himself in the word of God after his wife tries to become intimate with him. Linus has an aggressive and somewhat violent side to him. Especially, when he first encounters the Occultist, Harry Reed played by Sean Harris. The two don’t actually hit it off the first time they meet. Linus slams the door on Harry’s suggestion of getting the family out of the house.

Adelaide Forster

Three becomes a crowd when Adelaide’s character starts to bloom within the film. Along with her parents drifting off in their own little horror zones, Adelaide goes off on her own. She begins to play with porcelain voodoo-like dolls and houses left in her bedroom. A doppelganger of Adelaide appears in a mysterious mirror of which she finds interesting to play with. She starts to omit that Marianne is her actual mother. This is when all the demonic forces are in play inside the household. Their relationship begins to deteriorate even further when the audience begins to learn about Marianne’s tumultuous past.

The Banishing holds true to the saying that the past comes back to haunt you. Specifically, the film’s characters fail to face the demons of their past. This all takes place right around the corner of WWII where anxiety already is at an all-time high. Marianne’s failure to reconcile with her past spills over to others embedded in her web of deceit.

Those who are entangled in this web and spooked within this household all have their own demons they must face. The most haunted house in England symbolizes what the characters in the film are facing at the moment. The actual haunted house in the film The Banishing is their true selves. Failure to comply with a past or a demon within does not allow you to move on in life. You become trapped in which director Christopher Smith does so well in his films with his characters. The reality is the real haunted house that we all live in is within our minds. That is why what is inside of us is what counts.

An Interview with Christopher Smith

Watch FERNTV‘s exclusive interview below with director Christopher Smith. He discusses the process of making The Banishing and some filmmaking tips. Also click here to watch The Banishing now.