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The only major mistake Furie makes is approving the horribly obnoxious score. Instead of screeching violins, the soundtrack is filled with rocking guitars, making you not jump out of your seat, but tap your foot. The questionable music distracted my emotions. While my eyes were telling me to be scared, my ears were telling me to relax.

Even with a script that goes all over the place in terms of quality, Barbara Hershey delivers a performance way above the rest of the film’s standards. While the other cast members do a fine job, Hershey is the only memorable part. Playing the role of Carla with an unexpected weakness to begin with; it only makes the finale more satisfying as she grows into a stronger character. While being raped by an invisible ghost (to rock music) may be laughable, Hershey’s commitment makes the multiple sequences (showing just how repetitive the script is) tense and disturbing.

Positively received and shot for pennies, The Entity possessed theaters in the US starting February 4, 1983. Filmed in '82, Fox pushed the film up from being squashed by another specter-filled scary flick, Poltergeist. When The Entity was released, instead of capitalizing on ghost-mania that The Amityville Horror and the Spielberg produced house horror started, it just seemed like a knock-off. In the end, while churning a profit, it wasn’t a game changer, wrapping up with $13.3 million ($33.6 million today).

The Entity has gained a minor cult following for its notable special effects; more specifically, how they managed to make Barbara Hershey’s breasts look like invisible hands were groping them. Admittedly, it is impressive even today. Another notable thing is how the ghost remains invisible, making a shaking mirror and blown open doors just as scary as a multi-million dollar CGI creature creation (something I can appreciate, believing for the most case when it comes to horror – the cheaper, the better).

Representing the virtues of the supernatural horror genre: cheap, spooky, no CGI, and R-rated; The Entity was the counterpoint to the late-90s/early-00s obsession with PG-13 horror that carried a heavy price tag. However, with the success of Saw, Paranormal Activity, Insidious and the found-footage trend where the most expensive thing about the movie is the camera, The Entity is not with us in terms of needing a film that produces low-budget scares around a ghost. In fact, the film, while disturbing, is lacking the scare quotient, given that we have seen most of what has happened in other horror films today. While not necessarily fair, that is the nature of the horror genre – when you have seen one, you have seen them all.

Having some admirable qualities, The Entity is more for horror buffs to dissect scenes that have influenced the genre rather than watch it as a whole.

While Barbara Hershey may have been held captivated by the evil spirit following her, The Entity has all too loose of a grip over the audience.

Verdict: Not With Us
4 out of 10

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