Banshee Chapter has just laid claim to being the first film ever released in virtual reality. The folks behind the gaming and entertainment production company Jamwix, have partnered with director Blair Erickson to make this happen. It would now appear as if the age of VR films is upon us.
So, it appears that Jamwix has utilized a post-production conversion method to surround the viewer’s field of vision with the movie’s frame. The video shows little footage through the lens of the Oculus Rift to identify exactly how far the visual’s perimeters actually are.
It’s certain that the film is not entirely immersive in an omnidirectional sense, however, the footage does show that the effect of the VR application has the potential to at least be interesting. Whether or not they just zoomed in on the frame and mapped it to the headset doesn’t really matter.
What does matter is Ted Levine. This is his movie entirely and if you haven’t seen it yet, you should. Imagine if Hunter S. Thompson’s last days were spent drugged up and trying to unravel a government conspiracy involving horrific mind and body altering drugs. It’s ridiculous.
This now cements Ted Levine as the first major movie star to be in a film specifically rendered in virtual reality. Let’s hope Matt Frewer gets his turn at bat next.