"The Entity" is a horror movie that will stay in your mind forever.
The movie is not an easy watch, it's rather disturbing but for some reason it catches the viewers' attention.
There's something that isn't mentioned about the "entity". The paranormal phenomenon is known in the occultism field as a demon called an "Incubus". This demon rapes women and there are true Incubus cases registered. The movie doesn't digs in that aspect because there are many sub-plots. Also, the religious point of view isn't shown (I think that in order to avoid a comparison with "The Exorcist") and could've worked to understand more the phenomenon.
"The Entity" works perfectly as a horror movie with dramatic and sci-fi tones. The combination worked and the result is one of the most shocking horror movies of all time. Cheesy is you say but effective. Take the movie seriously and enjoy.
*HUGE SPOILERS* Carla Moran is a middle class working woman with three children (two young girls and a teenager son) with a normal life. Everything seems to be normal in Carla's life until one night she's raped in her bedroom by an unseen evil spirit. The attacks continue and make Carla wonder if she's out of her mind.
After Carla is almost killed in her car by the entity, she seeks help with Philip Sneiderman, a psychologist. The psychological exams' results indicate that Carla is a healthy, intelligent woman that may be experiencing problems caused by childhood-teenage traumas. Carla was molested by her dad as a child and later he married and got pregnant at 16. Billy her son was the result of her first marriage. Carla got married for a second after her first husband's death, but her second marriage also ended abruptly.
Psychologists diagnose that Mrs. Moran's physical injuries are caused by masturbation and deliriums. The truth is that no medicine or treatment is working and the attacks continue and increase on intensity. Desperate for help, Carla and her best friend go to a library in search of books of the occultism and parapsychology. There they find two scientists from the same University as Dr. Sneidermen that agree to help her with her case. At night the entity makes an apparition and the scientists (or doctors, parapsychologists, whatever) take pictures of it and take them to the faculty in order to start investigations about it.
What is this "entity"? Why did it pick Carla? Is it possible that Carla's traumas have something to do with the attacks? The attacks never stop and the entity seems to be challenging the rules of nature.
*** The action starts pretty soon so you get really interested on what could happen next. In the first five minutes the first "entity" attack happens and that's when you know you're watching something different from the genre. That scene is filled with tension, violence, and the feeling of uncertainty that only a few movies can create. The scene where Carla is attacked and Billy (her son) tries to help her but is pushed violently by the entity is a truly frightening scene as the desperate cries for help from Carla look totally believable. The lightning f/x was not called for in my opinion but still added tension to the scene. The most violent scene happens when Jerry (Carla's Moran) enters their bedroom and witnesses how the entity is raping Carla. The scene is very explicit as it's shown how Carla's breasts are being rubbed violently and she's also beaten. The scenes are very disturbing but manage to do something that's not very common in the genre; they scare the audience. Most of the times disturbing scenes (a la "Last House on the Left") provoke repulsion but in this movie they manage to create fear and a feeling of uncertainty. "The Entity" is a scary movie for it's scenes. The ending didn't work for me as the method to "stop" and paralize the entity is beyond reality. That may be the "Hollywood aspect" that was inserted by 20th Century Fox. The recreation of Carla Moran's house in the faculty lab in order to trap the entity didn't work for me.
The very last scene of the movie is truly frightening. The threatening voice of the entity saying "welcome to the house, c***" sent shivers up to my funny bone. The correct way to end a scary movie is with a scary movie.
ACTING Great. Simply great. A powerful, totally believable, performance by Barbara Hershey (Carla Moran) worths the watch. The performance is extremely difficult as Hershey had to create a mix of emotions for a situation that can't be explained! I mean, the difficulty grade on this performance is very high and she delivered greatly. The woman knows how to show pain, happiness, desperation, and fear of now knowing what's going on. A versatile and incredible performance. Ron Silver (Philip Sneiderman) gives a solid performance. The character is annoying but the performance is very good. David Labiosa (Billy) gives a good performance whenever he's on screen. Nice job in choosing the right actors.
DIRECTION Sidney Furey created one of the most stunning horror movies ever. His direction is solid and managed to create very scary scenes. The direction is stylish and totally works for this horror movie. "The Entity" is something that you won't see very often; visually talking.
F/X, CINEMATOGRAPHY, SCORE. -The f/x are just OK. The lightning effects look very cheap but you don't mind as the scenes where they appear are full of tension.
-The cinematography is surprisingly good. There's a correct use of light, dark, and small places. Very good use of cinematography to create fear. -The score is very effective. I describe it as violent and always gives me the creeps. If the attack scenes are frightening is also because the score impresses. The drum violently beating and the electric guitar are stuff to remember.
8.5/10 Scary scenes, powerful performances, chilling soundtrack, and a very interesting plot make this an unforgettable movie. One of the most frightening movies ever that if taken seriously could scare the hell out of you. Worths a watch by EVERY horror fan of the genre. This movie is an underrated basic element for the 80's horror.
The movie is not an easy watch, it's rather disturbing but for some reason it catches the viewers' attention.
There's something that isn't mentioned about the "entity". The paranormal phenomenon is known in the occultism field as a demon called an "Incubus". This demon rapes women and there are true Incubus cases registered. The movie doesn't digs in that aspect because there are many sub-plots. Also, the religious point of view isn't shown (I think that in order to avoid a comparison with "The Exorcist") and could've worked to understand more the phenomenon.
"The Entity" works perfectly as a horror movie with dramatic and sci-fi tones. The combination worked and the result is one of the most shocking horror movies of all time. Cheesy is you say but effective. Take the movie seriously and enjoy.
*HUGE SPOILERS* Carla Moran is a middle class working woman with three children (two young girls and a teenager son) with a normal life. Everything seems to be normal in Carla's life until one night she's raped in her bedroom by an unseen evil spirit. The attacks continue and make Carla wonder if she's out of her mind.
After Carla is almost killed in her car by the entity, she seeks help with Philip Sneiderman, a psychologist. The psychological exams' results indicate that Carla is a healthy, intelligent woman that may be experiencing problems caused by childhood-teenage traumas. Carla was molested by her dad as a child and later he married and got pregnant at 16. Billy her son was the result of her first marriage. Carla got married for a second after her first husband's death, but her second marriage also ended abruptly.
Psychologists diagnose that Mrs. Moran's physical injuries are caused by masturbation and deliriums. The truth is that no medicine or treatment is working and the attacks continue and increase on intensity. Desperate for help, Carla and her best friend go to a library in search of books of the occultism and parapsychology. There they find two scientists from the same University as Dr. Sneidermen that agree to help her with her case. At night the entity makes an apparition and the scientists (or doctors, parapsychologists, whatever) take pictures of it and take them to the faculty in order to start investigations about it.
What is this "entity"? Why did it pick Carla? Is it possible that Carla's traumas have something to do with the attacks? The attacks never stop and the entity seems to be challenging the rules of nature.
*** The action starts pretty soon so you get really interested on what could happen next. In the first five minutes the first "entity" attack happens and that's when you know you're watching something different from the genre. That scene is filled with tension, violence, and the feeling of uncertainty that only a few movies can create. The scene where Carla is attacked and Billy (her son) tries to help her but is pushed violently by the entity is a truly frightening scene as the desperate cries for help from Carla look totally believable. The lightning f/x was not called for in my opinion but still added tension to the scene. The most violent scene happens when Jerry (Carla's Moran) enters their bedroom and witnesses how the entity is raping Carla. The scene is very explicit as it's shown how Carla's breasts are being rubbed violently and she's also beaten. The scenes are very disturbing but manage to do something that's not very common in the genre; they scare the audience. Most of the times disturbing scenes (a la "Last House on the Left") provoke repulsion but in this movie they manage to create fear and a feeling of uncertainty. "The Entity" is a scary movie for it's scenes. The ending didn't work for me as the method to "stop" and paralize the entity is beyond reality. That may be the "Hollywood aspect" that was inserted by 20th Century Fox. The recreation of Carla Moran's house in the faculty lab in order to trap the entity didn't work for me.
The very last scene of the movie is truly frightening. The threatening voice of the entity saying "welcome to the house, c***" sent shivers up to my funny bone. The correct way to end a scary movie is with a scary movie.
ACTING Great. Simply great. A powerful, totally believable, performance by Barbara Hershey (Carla Moran) worths the watch. The performance is extremely difficult as Hershey had to create a mix of emotions for a situation that can't be explained! I mean, the difficulty grade on this performance is very high and she delivered greatly. The woman knows how to show pain, happiness, desperation, and fear of now knowing what's going on. A versatile and incredible performance. Ron Silver (Philip Sneiderman) gives a solid performance. The character is annoying but the performance is very good. David Labiosa (Billy) gives a good performance whenever he's on screen. Nice job in choosing the right actors.
DIRECTION Sidney Furey created one of the most stunning horror movies ever. His direction is solid and managed to create very scary scenes. The direction is stylish and totally works for this horror movie. "The Entity" is something that you won't see very often; visually talking.
F/X, CINEMATOGRAPHY, SCORE. -The f/x are just OK. The lightning effects look very cheap but you don't mind as the scenes where they appear are full of tension.
-The cinematography is surprisingly good. There's a correct use of light, dark, and small places. Very good use of cinematography to create fear. -The score is very effective. I describe it as violent and always gives me the creeps. If the attack scenes are frightening is also because the score impresses. The drum violently beating and the electric guitar are stuff to remember.
8.5/10 Scary scenes, powerful performances, chilling soundtrack, and a very interesting plot make this an unforgettable movie. One of the most frightening movies ever that if taken seriously could scare the hell out of you. Worths a watch by EVERY horror fan of the genre. This movie is an underrated basic element for the 80's horror.