I clearly remember seeing this American International release in 1970 when it first came out and really disliking it. The movie was directed by Gordon Hessler who became AIP’s go to Poe director after Roger Corman moved on. It really seemed like a slipshod affair with a jumbled storyline and poor editing. I’m rather surprised that I bought the DVD in 2003 but the price was right and I wanted to see if it was as bad as I remembered. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it wasn’t even the same movie that I saw. In fact the difference was like night and day.
AIP frequently altered their British made horror films for release in the U.S. to avoid the then new R rating which meant that no one under 17 could see them. That would mean a big loss of revenue. In the case of CRY OF THE BANSHEE not only were scenes drastically re-edited from the original cut but an imaginative title sequence by Terry Gilliam (before MONTY PYTHON) was completely scrapped and the entire movie was re-scored. Seeing BANSHEE again, in the original British version, raised my opinion of it considerably and my opinion of of director Hessler. He appears in a short documentary explaining what was changed and it reveals his approach to the Gothic horror genre.
Vincent Price plays a 16th century magistrate who delivers harsh justice to those he believes are practicing witchcraft (sound familiar?). In this case they actually are practicing witches and the leader of the local coven (1930s actress Elisabeth Bergner) summons a demonic spirit in the form of a groomsman (Patrick Mower) to destroy Price and his family. This would be the last movie for actress Hillary Dwyer who was so memorable in WITCHFINDER GENERAL. She quit acting, got married, and as Hillary Heath became a successful producer for British TV. Veteran Welsh character actor Hugh Griffith has a small but colorful role as a local gravedigger.
While this movie hardly qualifies as a masterpiece, it is a late example of the Gothic horror film that perished with the advent of the Italian “Giallo” and THE EXORCIST. BANSHEE is essentially a reworking of Michael Reeves’ WITCHFINDER GENERAL (CONQUEROR WORM in the U. S.) and like WG, it has absolutely nothing to do with Poe and is extremely misogynistic. Still it’s worth your time if you’re a fan of Gothic horror but it shows the genre in decline. However much worse was to come.
The Capsule Critic 