Review of The Entity (1982) by Kenny N — 03 Feb 2016

Only serious cinema fans know about this one. Martin Scorsese called it one of the scariest movies he's ever seen. And it is very frightening.Carla Moran's just a regular single Mother of three lovely children, oldest child Billy reluctantly becoming the man of the house due to the death of his father, who wasn't a nice guy.

Carla's Father, a minister, wasn't a nice guy either. She says he held her "in a way Fathers shouldn't hold their little girls." Carla's had it rough. So she's attending secretarial school by day and attending to her little ones at night.

But one night, just as she's about to go to sleep...she's raped. The thing is, there was nobody in the house, nobody broke in, there was no body at all. Such begins a chain of terrifying attacks at the hands of an evil ghost creature who has taken over Carla's house and not only has it's way with her, but also hurts her children, friends, and boyfriend (ex boyfriend once The Entity attacks him.

) Dr. Phil Sneiderman, friendly neighborhood psychiatrist, thinks it's all just in Carla's mind, despite unexplained evidence to the contrary. He wants to help and is a good guy, but he's up against a force greater than his science could possibly defeat.

Instead, Carla recruits a team of ghost hunters, who confirm, indeed, that something malevolent is living in her house, driving her insane, and it must be stopped. So it's a battle between psychiatry, parapsychiatry, and one woman who will not be a helpless victim anymore to try and drive out this thing that should not be.

Frank De Felitta adapted his novel to the screen, and both are said to be inspired by a true story. That might be the scariest thing of all. The show belongs to Barbara Hershey as Carla. Helpless one minute, hellbent on vengeance the next, she switches shades on a dime and never breaks stride.

Extra credit for David Labiosa as Billy, trying his hardest to take care of his little sisters while Mom has the fight of her life. Definitely a different take on the "haunted house" movie, with a powerhouse performance by it's star.

Hunt it down.