The Entity

Last night, I revisited a horror film I haven't seen since the 80's, 1982's The Entity.

Barbara Hershey stars as Carla, a single mother of three barely making ends meet. One evening before getting ready for bed, Carla is thrown across the room and is brutally raped by an invisible force. Nobody believes her and the attacks continue night after night. She confides in a doctor, Ron Silver, who believes that it's all in her head. She turns to a group of paranormal scientists in hopes of catching her attacker and returning to a normal existence.

Hershey, who I always felt was an underrated actress, turns in a very moving, and a very physical performance. She is amazing. This is her show and she owns it. Director Sidney J. Furie does a terrific job in creating the suspense needed. He said that he didn't see this as a horror film but as a suspense thriller. The film actually works on both levels. It was based on a true story and both Furie and Hershey went out of their way to avoid the details of the real life events. They didn't even meet with the woman who inspired it.

Supposedly their was a dream sequence that was cut from the film that had Carla seeing the entity as her son and being raped by him. The filmmakers felt that this probably wouldn't pass in early 80's cinema.

This is one of Martin Scorsese's favorite horror films, and it's easy to see why. The Entity is a tight little suspense number with a terrific performance from Hershey.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.