This gets a lot of hype for being a scary film, and it's really not. It's more of a true life drama based on a haunting that.... probably never really happened.
Or at least I'm skeptical about it.
The main problem is that it tries to show a little too much. The first rape really didn't, and the close ups and jerky movement made it a little more chilling... and then they tried to to the Fx game and show a little more... and that's there the cheese came in.
This is the kind of movie that does a lot better if the hide things in the shadows.
However... it does build tension and suspense and is builds it pretty well. It leaves you with a paranoid nervous feeling as you are watching it and, that is really the reason why people like me watch movies like this... to illicate a visceral emotional response, and, in this case, rather than fear it's nervous paranoia...
... and that is just as good, it puts the film in the mission accomplished category, it did what it's supposed to do.
But the cheese. I'm tempted to say that the technology wasn't there to make it look anything but cheesy, however... no... even today that doesn't work in movies. What works is showing less, inferring more, and allowing the viewers' own imagination to, well, to scare the heck out of them.
Despite that, however, it's still a movie that builds suspense, it's still a movie that makes the viewer nervous, and that is the reason we watch these movies, and it does do that better than most.
Very up and down in its telling of an horrendous story.
This is the loosely based on facts story of Carla Moran, a woman who was allegedly tormented and sexually molested by an invisible demon.
Regardless of if the facts of the case are fictionalised for impact, or if indeed there is any basis of truth to the attacks in question, The Entity as a film fails to rise above average due to sloppy direction and a very poor script, whilst the score from Charles Bernstein is akin to being hit over the head repeatedly with a blunt instrument.
That said, the film isn't a total wash out, there are genuine moments of dread in the piece, and most of the tension and fear is realised from a very credible performance from Barbara Hershey as Carla. The nature of the beast with this type of picture will always be open to either scoffing or a fear of the unknown, so to get the audience involved with a topic like this you really need your protagonist to be believable, Hershey manages to do this in spite of the character being hopelessly under written. There is no real urgency or understanding of feelings portrayed other than a few rushed sequences, it's kind of like poor Carla saying she's been attacked by a demon and her doctor going, oh OK, lets talk about it.
If you believe in the paranormal etc is irrelevant, that The Entity isn't a terrifying story is sadly just a missed opportunity to not only scare, but to induce thought provoking conversation. 4/10
Pretty bizarre but also unique supernatural movie featuring a great performance from Barbara Hershey. While the final act was a bit lame considering what happened before, still worth checking out if you haven't already.
Probably will watch the documentaries on the real life aspects on Doris Bither.
