The Entity (1981)

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writers:

Frank De Felitta (novel)
Frank De Felitta (writer)

Release Date:

4 February 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

There is no escape from something you cannot see

Plot:

Supposedly based partially on a true story, a woman is tormented and sexually molested by an invisible demon.

Plot Keywords:

Attack | Demon | Haunted House | Mirror | Scream

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Barbara Hershey	...	Carla Moran
Ron Silver	...	Phil Sneiderman
David Labiosa	...	Billy
George Coe	...	Dr. Weber
Margaret Blye	...	Cindy Nash
Jacqueline Brookes	...	Dr. Cooley
Richard Brestoff	...	Gene Kraft
Michael Alldredge	...	George Nash
Raymond Singer	...	Joe Mehan
Allan Rich	...	Dr. Walcott
Natasha Ryan	...	Julie
Melanie Gaffin	...	Kim
Alex Rocco	...	Jerry Anderson
Sully Boyar	...	Mr. Reisz
Tom Stern	...	Woody Browne

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:R (Ontario) | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, California, USA

Company:

Alleanza Cinematografica Italiana (A.C.I.)

Trivia:

For the scenes where the entity disturbs Carla Moran by touching her, the visual effects team designed a hot air stream's system, pretending fingers that "touch" her body.

Quotes:

Carla Moran: Your Heylu is burning.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hawa (2003)

Soundtrack:

Saturday Nite's All Right For Fighting

Warning: Invisible Sex Offenders are Always Closer than they ...errr... appear!

I never heard about the case before (and I'm too lazy to do further research) but if this story, like it claims, is indeed based on factual events, then it really is one of the greatest supernatural mysteries in the history of mankind! Barbara Hershey stars, in what unquestionably is the role of her life, as the struggling mother of three children who gets (sexually) assaulted – repeatedly – by an invisible spirit everywhere she goes. The inexplicable attacks naturally affect Carla's social life and pretty soon her sanity as well. When seeking for help, Carla becomes the desired study-object of scientists in several different branches, but none of them really cares for the woman's growing agony, since they're all defending their own obnoxious "theories". The theme and background of this remarkable film are a bit similar to Steven Spielberg's blockbuster "Poltergeist", but that's pretty much where the comparison stops. The supernatural "horror" in Poltergeist is childish nonsense compared to the genuinely devastating and often disturbing footage featuring in this film by Sidney J. Furie. The scenes in which Hershey's character is defenselessly thrown around the room are truly rough and the sight of her being raped by something you cannot see makes you feel very, VERY uncomfortable. Despite the sleazy-sounding premise that, in the hands of other directors, easily could have resulted in an overly exploitative and graphic picture, "The Entity" is very suspenseful and compelling. I'm not even sure this movie fully qualifies as horror, as it feels a lot more like psychological drama and – at times – even like a portrait of pure feminist power. Carla Moran is such a strong woman and determined to survive this nightmare, whereas all the male characters in the story are either stubborn egoists or insensitive bastards. Their insufferable personalities are brilliantly illustrated by the camera's reluctance to picture them! The male characters in "The Entity" are often just voices off the screen or partial faces in sequences dominated by Barbara Hershey's image, which is a really efficient trick actually. You can't possibly develop sympathy or respect for someone you can't initially see and, by the time they fully appear on screen, it's too late already. The film delivers great shocks, surprises, uncanny music and special effects and the wholesome is overall very tense. Whether truthful or not, the screenplay approaches the bizarre supernatural events with great respect and inserts absolutely no humorist situations or satirical disbelief. It's a little hard to stomach sometimes and two hours of intense substance like this perhaps is too long, still, it's an impressive piece of 80's cinema.