The Entity

Starring: Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, David Labiosa
Written by: Frank De Felitta

Director: Sidney J. Furie
Year: 1982

Rating: * * *   Stars       +       (Fan Bonus 1/2  )  Total: * * * 1/2

A single mother is tormented by an invisible demon.

Barbara Hershey plays Carla Moran, a single mother of three going about her daily routines when she's attacked and raped by an invisible presence in her house. The entity seems to return again and again, sexually assaulting her. Fearing for her safety and the safety of her children she stays with friend, but has to return home when her friend and husband get into a fight. With nowhere to turn, she seeks the help of a psychiatrist, Phil Sniederman (Ron Silverman), who believes this is all in her head. He also begins to suspect that she's having sexual fantasies about her oldest son, Billy, and is pushing the review board into having her committed. 

Unlike traditional haunted house stories, there is no escalation of events. The disturbances start of the film in a big way, and continue on from there. The fact that the entity is seeking to sexually assault Carla is a profound concept for films of this ilk. From a woman's standpoint, being the victim of rape is in and of itself a humiliating and shameful experience. It's something they don't like to share. But it returns again, and if she doesn't talk about it and seek help, how will she escape the torment? The problem here is it isn't human. It's a demon, or ghost, or some type of malevolent spirit. People who are affected by such entities are also reluctant to share their experience for fear of skepticism and ridicule. So watching this film, one truly gains sympathy for Carla as she has to deal with the shame and ridicule of a "ghostly rapist." It isn't until she comes across some university students who investigate such things that she feels vindicated and empowered to confront the entity. But her psychiatrist feels they are only reinforcing her delusions and thus is only making things worse for her as she'll never get better.

The film is supposed to be based on a true story, much like Amityville Horror, adding to the creepy factor. Due to its subject matter, parents will want to keep their youngsters away from this film. But nearly 30 years later, this film still can scare audiences.

SEE THE TRAILER: The Entity