By – Gareth Jones

For fans of based on true story horror, Barbara Hershey, feminist horror

I remember seeing the poster for The Entity either at a video store or being advertised on HBO.  It reminded me of another film that I wanted to see called The Keep which I did end up seeing and I still enjoy to this day, although I wish that Michael Mann had been able to make the film he wanted to make.  However, I never did see The Entity until last week.  I am glad that I saw it as an adult.  It is a terrifying film that deals with a very difficult subject matter, sexual assault, wrapped up in a based on a true story supernatural film.

The film is written by Frank de Felitta, based on his novel from 1978 which told the true story of Doris Bither who claimed to have been raped and assaulted by a poltergeist. Coming out in 1982, the same year as Poltergeist, The Entity was a bit lost in the shuffle.  It was directed by Sidney J. Furie, who had made a variety of films in the 60s and 70s including The Ipcress File and Lady Sings the Blues. Sadly, after The Entity, he is most well known for the Iron Eagle film series. He does bring an established confidence to the film and staged some genuinely frightening scenes.

The film tells the story of a single mother of three who is trying to keep herself and her family fed and housed. She is near her wit’s end when suddenly some kind of supernatural force starts to rape and assault her.  She is played magnificently by Barbara Hershey.  There are so truly harrowing scenes that genuinely merit a trigger warning.  The special effects, the music, and her performance make these scenes nearly unbearable. Her children see these and even her strong, teenage son is not able to help her. Obviously, this completely upends her world and she seeks help, first with a best friend, and then with a psychiatrist played by Ron Silver.  He does not believe her but is willing to listen and try to find a breakthrough.  Things appear to get better before they get so much worse.  All of this creates an unnerving film that still is upsetting today. In fact, it may be even more powerful now.  Initially, upon release it was not that well received and was even controversial for its depiction of sexual assault. The film really does an amazing job showing the true struggle of women and how the medical profession does not believe them or exploits them for gain.  It definitely was a product of the late 70s second wave feminism but also incorporates ideas of sexual autonomy and freedom.  This is greatly enhanced with the incredible performance of Hershey.  It is cliche to say that it is a brave performance, but it is applicable here. As mentioned before, the score for this film is by Charles Bernstein, who has scored over 200 films including A Nightmare on Elm Street, Cujo, and April Fool’s Day, but this score has to be his most disturbing.  Inspired by Bernard Hermann, in particular Psycho, but taking the intensity even higher for the assault scenes. You have been warned.

I also want to mention the great special effect animatronics made by the immortal Stan Winston. HIs contributions made the encounter scenes even more traumatic.  All in all, this is a film worth seeing for Barbara Hershey’s performance and the important feminist elements that are still just as important today as in 1982.

Available to stream on the Criterion Channel