The Film: 4/5

Carla Moran (Barbara Hershey), a single mother raising a son and two daughters while working a stressful day job and attending night school classes, returns to her quaint Los Angeles home after yet another tiring day at the grind, wanting nothing more than to relax and decompress so she can do it all over again once morning comes. In her bedroom preparing for a good night’s rest, she is attacked and raped but is unable to get a look at her assailant. That’s because there was no one there, at least not in a physical form. The only person who experiences its presence is Carla, and whatever it is, it’s far from finished with her.

Thus begins The Entity, a psychological horror film that attracted a considerable amount of controversy at the time of its release in 1983 but has developed into a cult classic among fans of supernatural fright flicks, chief among them being the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Supposedly based on a true story that was turned into a best-selling novel in 1978 by author (Audrey Rose) and director (Dark Night of the Scarecrow) Frank De Felitta, The Entity was adapted into screenplay form by De Felitta and made cinematic reality by director Sidney J. Furie, the man also responsible for some great movies (The Ipcress File, The Boys in Company C), some forgettable ones (Iron Eagle I & II, The Taking of Beverly Hills), and one outright disaster (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace).

Independently produced by American Cinema Productions and distributed theatrically in the U.S. and throughout the world by 20^th Century Fox, The Entity takes advantage of every one of its 125 minutes to reveal itself as far more than the exploitative supernatural thriller for which the plot would have you mistake Furie’s feature. The extended running time and the languid pacing (provided by editor Frank J. Urioste, who would later apply his special cutting skills on classic action films like Robocop, Die Hard, Total Recall, and Tombstone) are essential in allowing the viewer to get to know Carla Moran and developing the unusual and chilling case of which she finds herself the almost helpless subject. If the film was shorter, it would have to have focused primarily on the plot and kept any character growth and exploration a secondary matter, but The Entity would not have worked as well as it did had Furie and De Felitta took that approach.

The film works fantastically as both a harrowing supernatural thriller, a grounded domestic drama with sharp character development, and a provocative parable about the physical and emotional anguish women endure when they are raped and the humiliation many of them experience when they report the rapes to the authorities and have their accounts greeted with skepticism and ridicule. The titular paranormal apparition is no mischievous poltergeist, but an abusive psychopath who terrorizes Carla for reasons neither she or anyone else in her life can figure out. Even when her own children and the man she loves are able to witness the attacks, the very people she turns to for help still take her stories with more than a few grains of salt. Sanity versus insanity, one school of science versus another with a conflicting philosophy, the real world versus the afterlife, and caught in the middle of these battles is Carla Moran.

Carla is not a damsel-in-distress; though she is surrounded by strong men in her life, including her son Billy (David Labiosa) and caring boyfriend Jerry (Alex Rocco), she ultimately must face the malevolent evil trying to destroy her body and mind by herself. She is both the victim and the hero of The Entity, a strong woman with a dark past that may have returned to invade her present and ruin any future she might have. A team of psychiatrists and paranormal experts, including the empathetic but skeptical Dr. Phil Sneiderman (Ron Silver), try various approaches to Carla’s strange case. Some of them believe her house could be haunted by a vengeful spirit trapped within its walls, while the concerned Sneiderman wonders if the traumas she suffered growing up could have permanently scarred Carla psychologically and the attacks are nothing more than further evidence that she needs to be institutionalized.

The Entity could have easily descended into a parade of FX-heavy camp lunacy, but Furie and De Felitta take a more grounded and serious approach to the material that allows for its horror elements to never overwhelm the emotional journey of Carla Moran and Dr. Sneiderman’s attempts to keep her from being exploited by the parapsychologists and enduring further physical and psychological damage. The sequences where Carla endures the violent onslaughts of the spirit are made convincing through the strength of Hershey’s amazing performance (which reminded me at times of Isabelle Adjani’s spellbinding work in Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession), the skewed camera angles Furie and cinematographer Stephen H. Burum (Rumble Fish, The Untouchables) create to heighten the tension of the scenes and reflect the shock and uncertainty Carla is left feeling after each attack, and a nerve-ratting electronic/orchestral score composed by Charles Bernstein (White Lightning, A Nightmare on Elm Street).

The fear and agony Hershey expresses during the rape scenes brilliantly convey the remorseless brutality of the violation her body and soul endure. The bathroom attack is by far the most horrific of these suspenseful set pieces, but each one is constructed out of the mounting dread triggered by Bernstein’s eerie music, some well-executed effects work (credited to, among others, the late Stan Winston), and the sympathy we feel for Carla Moran thanks to Hershey’s successful efforts in making a woman many only knew as a character in a best-selling novel into a flesh-and-blood human being. Some of the effects have dated, as this was a film made in the 1980’s, but they get the job done. Furie saves some of the juiciest practical FX work in The Entity for a finale that comes close to going over the edge into full-on absurdity but is saved from that fate by the performances and a script that finally provides Carla with a satisfying conclusion to her character arc even though the film frustratingly refuses to give us any plausible explanation for the attacks.

Silver compliments Hershey’s performance with a terrific one of his own as the concerned but cautious Sneiderman, the actor’s natural charm and restrained intensity serving the character and film remarkably well even as the visual effects threaten to seize control over the proceedings in the final stretch. Furie stocked the supporting cast, standouts including George Coe (Kramer vs. Kramer) as Sneiderman’s superior, Margaret Blye (The Italian Job) as Carla’s best friend and one of the few people in her life who believes her, David Labiosa (Blood In, Blood Out) as her protective son Billy, Alex Rocco (The Godfather) as her boyfriend, and Jacqueline Brookes (Ghost Story) as the head of a parapsychology team who goes head to head with Sneiderman’s analytical approach to Carla’s situation and comes up with an unorthodox method for helping her confront her spiritual assailant in the finale.

Audio/Video: 4/5

Eureka’s high-definition transfer of The Entity, presented in full 1080p resolution and in the film’s original 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, is mostly identical to the one found on the 2012 Region A Blu-ray from Anchor Bay but it benefits from a moderately elevated brightness. Grain content is stable and consistent, black levels are strong enough to keep the action visible while preserving the terrifying mood of the more intense scenes, and details look their best in close-up shots. The earthy suburban color scheme of warm browns and lush greens is preserved adequately, with accurate flesh tones present and looking their absolute best. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a rather robust and balanced recreation of the unnerving Dolby Stereo sound mix from the film’s theatrical release (it was also given a 6-track sound mix for a selection of 70mm engagements). Every element of the mix is given its necessary space and volume to be heard with clarity and depth, and their integration never creates unintentional overlap or distortion. English subtitles have also been provided.

Extras: 1/5

The only bonus feature is the original theatrical trailer (1:22).

Overall: 3/5

Thirty-five years after its theatrical release, The Entity remains an intelligent, underrated chiller made with pure cinematic skill and given life by an excellent cast headed by the superb Barbara Hershey. Some extras on this Blu-ray, but the high-definition transfer is a modest step up from the previous U.S. edition. I would recommend this if you’re looking for a challenging and intense 1980’s horror film shrouded in ambiguity and guaranteed to have you sleeping with your lights on and your bedroom door locked for a while.