The Entity (1983)

I had seen the horror flick "The Entity" once many years ago. I had forgotten just how truly terrifying this story is. These are not half-ass "jump scares". These are bare-knuckle punches to the jaw. They come immediately. And they never relent. Barbara Hershey is astonishing in a role as difficult and demanding as can possibly be imagined. Very few actresses could have played her character as convincingly nor with such humanity. Ron Silver is one of my favorite actors. He is perfection as a critical component in this story.You'll notice I'm not mentioning a plot. I could, but it would not render proper justice here. You have simply got to see the film. As you watch, you, like me, will constantly be asking, "What in the hell would I do? What CAN I do?" The chilling epilogue presented during the final seconds of "The Entity" make these questions even more disturbing. This one sticks with you.

SPOILER: Discussion of the special effects to depict the invisible entity's effects on Carla THE ENTITY was in pre-production in the summer of 1981. In early 1983 the movie hit the theaters. THE ENTITY was a fascinating and scary depiction of what reputedly happened to a California woman back in the early 1970s but in my opinion the movie was too long. It dragged on too long with the psychoanalysis of Carla and the paranormal investigation of the entity. It slowed down the movie.There used to be a discussion forum in IMDb, not too long ago abolished by its management due to misuse by immature trolls. But when it was there, several posters were curious about the special effects and how it was done. Luckily, I know how because I read about it in a monthly horror film magazine in the summer of 1981. An interviewer spoke with a young woman employed in the prop department. Here's how it was done.The prop department fabricated a silicone polymer cast body of the actress, Barbara Hershey. The prop body had legs and arms and no head, which will be explained. The torso was not solid but empty from the back. Technicians attached strings or thin cords to the underside of the torso's breasts. During filming, a fake bed stood atop a low platform, which could not be seen by the camera. The actress, Barbara Hershey, lay nearly supine inside the fake mattress. Her head and neck stuck out from a hole in the mattress. The simulated silicone, realistic body of Hershey was placed atop the mattress and edged up to Hershey's neck. Her natural long hair was placed around her neck to cover up the obvious seam to the silicone polymer body prop. Whenever the scene showed the invisible entity fondling the sleeping Carla's breasts, it was the hidden prop technicians below in the platform, pulling the strings attached to the silicone polymer mannequin's breasts. It was simple, non-complicated technology. For the most part it worked and looked effective but it still had its limits. The film result looked like an invisible, non-human hand with only four fingers arranged like chair legs was gently pressing down on Carla's breasts. The technology was not available to simulate a true human hand, left or right, that would simulate fondling each breast from the outer sides as would occur with human left and right hands. This may be indicative that the invisible entity, of course being non-human, possessed non-human invisible hands. Nor could the prop department simulate touching of the nipples. Simulating kissing of Carla's (Hershey)lips was not technologically possible so it wasn't attempted. That could have possibly been attempted with a mannequin prop head but it wasn't considered, probably due to technological limitations and costs. The fullest special effects are seen much later in the movie when Carla's boyfriend visits and presents her with a gift of a blue, silk robe. Puzzled as to her delay, he enters her bedroom and is horrified to see the naked Carla lying on her bed being assaulted as her flesh shows it but there is no visible assailant. That was the best full depiction of the polymer silicone cast mannequin body. Of course the movie intended to be a blend of horror and science fiction and avoid any pornographic elements so there was a limit to what was being shown. Also, close-ups could have revealed the true prop nature of Carla's 'body'. Still, for its time, THE ENTITY was surprising if not shocking because nothing similar in Hollywood memory had been filmed, and the special effects appeared advanced to viewers. Critics were unsure and ambivalent of the film. It's box office returns were moderate. The brief flash of horror movie popularity from 1978 to 1983 was winding down and would not reappear until the early 21st century.

I knew this was kind of scary movie, and from the title it suggested something to do with the paranormal, and being one I had heard of a few times I was definitely up for giving it a go, directed by Sidney J. Furie (The Ipcress File, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace). Basically Carla Moran (Barbara Hershey) is an ordinary single mother, one night she is violently attacked and raped, but the assailant is invisible. Carla talks about her experience to her family and friends, but she is shunned and they think she has gone, so she speaks to a psychiatrist, Dr. Phil Sneiderman (Ron Silver), she tentatively agrees to undergo therapy. Another attack occurs, Carla is left with bite marks and bruises, but with past traumas in her childhood and adolescence, including sexual and physical abuse, teenage pregnancy and the violent death of her first husband, the doctors believes she has inflicted them on herself. However, Carla's children witness an attack for themselves, Dr. Sneiderman urges her to commit herself to a psychiatric hospital for observation, but she refuses, instead turning to parapsychologists, they witness several paranormal activities and agree to study the home. Carla is reassured that she is being taken seriously, and after more attacks and studying, she agrees to to participate in an elaborate parapsychologist experiment, a full mock-up of her home is created to lure the entity into a trap, they will attempt to freeze the spirit in liquid helium. The experiment goes ahead, Carla does indeed have the unseen being attempting to attack her, it is frozen and trapped in a mass of ice, Dr. Sneiderman finally believes her, it eventually breaks free and vanishes. Carla returns home, and the end text says that the entity remains present, but the attacks have become less frequent and less severe than previously. Also starring David Labiosa as Billy, George Coe as Dr. Weber, Margaret Blye as Cindy Nash, Jacqueline Brookes as Dr. Cooley, Richard Brestoff as Gene Kraft and Michael Alldredge as George Nash. Hershey gives a very good performance as the innocent woman suffering at the hands of invisible demonic force, other characters question if she is crazy for a while, of course they realise the terror is real, there is only a little special effects stuff, but the tension of this complex chiller is ramped up at the right moments, overall it is an atmospheric enough "fact-based" psychological and supernatural horror thriller. Worth watching!

The Entity is a very effective little horror gem. I will start off with the stuff I did not enjoy. First is the ending which is very cheesy and goes against everything the first part of the film was building towards. And the Film does suffer a bit when they bring in the paranormal investigators come into the story. The acting is serviceable at the least and the musical score is as shocking and excellent. The first part of the film is truly terrifying and scary. The rape scenes are brutal and not for the faint of heart. See this flick if you want to see a good supernatural horror film. Skip it if you are easily disturbed by graphic paranormal violence.