Widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) is radically tested when her teenage daughter Betsey (Jessica Alexander) experiences a profound enlightenment and insists that her body is no longer her own, but in service to a higher power. Bound to her newfound faith, Betsey refuses to eat but loses no weight. In an agonizing dilemma, torn between love and fear, Holly is forced to confront the boundaries of her own beliefs.

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Video Quality

A Banquet debuts on Blu-Ray with a terrific 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio which captures this story perfectly. The transfer provides a strong amount of detail and clarity even when drenched in shadows. The film takes place primarily in different interiors with low lighting, but there is never an issue with making out distinct edges of objects. The movie plays with darkness to elevate tension which is complemented by deep black levels. You are treated to a substantial amount of depth with banding only proving to be an issue in a handful of instances. The movie itself has a slightly cooler color palette that renders quite nicely on screen, especially when it comes to the natural landscapes that you can observe in some of the daytime outings. No damage or digital noise was detected that would detract from this transfer. RLJE has delivered a solid presentation for this one.

Audio Quality

The film comes to Blu-Ray with an effective DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original English. The dialogue is the primary focus which is balanced well with the sound effects and the music where nothing sounds overloaded. The movie does conjure up some memorable environmental sounds which provides a very eerie atmosphere to put you on edge. Surround channels get some vibrant activity during the outdoor scenes and with the ambiance of certain interiors. The low end adds some effective texture that is appreciated as you track Betsey’s journey. This track does everything that is asked of it, and it is one that will be appreciated by fans. There are English SDH subtitles provided.

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc.

Final Thoughts

A Banquet is a slickly produced psychological horror feature that intrigues with its premise but fails to stick the landing with something that satisfies. The atmosphere is on point and the performances really sell the existential dread of the scenario, but truly unsettling moments are few and far between. While we appreciate a lot about this one, the ambition of the project does not match up with the execution. RLJE Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and nothing in the way of special features.

A Banquet is currently available to purchase on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: RLJE Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.