Best Horror Movie You Never Saw: The Entity (1983)

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Welcome to Arrow in the Head's The Best Horror Movie You Never Saw, which will be dedicated to highlighting horror films that, for one reason or another, don't get as much love as we think they should. We know plenty of you horror hounds out there will have seen many of the movies we pick, but there will be plenty of you who have not. This column is for all of you!

This week we take a look at Sidney J. Furie's disturbing ghost story THE ENTITY (OWN IT HERE)!

THE STORY: A single mother is sexually assaulted repeatedly by a phantom she cannot see. That's really the plot and there's really nothing more to be said.

THE HISTORY: Novelist Frank DeFelitta found inspiration for THE ENTITY from the (supposedly) true story of Doris Bither, a woman who claimed she was repeatedly assaulted by ghosts in her home. He actually became personally invested in her story, being convinced by parapsychologists to look into her case and even attend a seance in her home. A skeptic at first, he and others attending the seance evidently saw a ghost manifest itself and attack certain members of the party. Thoroughly moved by the experience, DeFelitta took a year to research the phenomena and eventually wrote THE ENTITY, which was released in 1978. Three years later, it was made into a film by Sidney J. Furie, although its theaterical release in the states was delayed by two years.

WHY IT'S GREAT: THE ENTITY is an unrelentingly disturbing, almost stunningly uncomfortable viewing experience from start to finish. When we think of certain horror movies as "fun" or "enjoyable," I have a hard time putting THE ENTITY into those categories. Oh, it's effective alright, and as a pure horror experience it delivers the goods – that is to say, it delivers genuine, shocking horror. I really wonder what audiences thought of it when it was released in 1982. At a time when slasher movies were all the rage, here came a visceral nightmare that gave the crowd long, unblinking sequences of rape and abuse. Not exactly popcorn movie material for the teenage crowd.

The rapist in the movie is a demon, or a ghost, or a phantom. An entity of some kind. Doesn't matter what its classification is. It's an invisible monster that preys on and tortures a helpless woman and her family. The "entity" of the title should be in the pantheon of loathsome horror movie villains, but because we can never see it, it flies a little under the radar. Make no mistake, though: it's as foul a being as Pazuzu in THE EXORCIST or Damien in THE OMEN. It just doesn't get any love (or hate, more accurately) because it's completely invisible. If it had a face it would be as repugnant as almost any horror film baddie you can think of.

The movie tosses you into the nightmare world of Carla Moran, played impeccably by Barbara Hershey. Five minutes into the movie, we have barely met Carla and her three children but understand them to be a fairly normal family undeserving of what's about to befall them. Five minutes in and Carla is attacked by The Entity in a sequence punctuated by disconcerting chords of death metal music (every one of the entity's "appearances" is accompanied by this startling music). Hershey's performance is raw, and each assault sequence is simulated with unnerving authenticity. For the first hour of the movie – maybe more – it seems as though Carla is never safe from the specter; indeed, she isn't, as the attacks come with horrific frequency. Now, this is where one would rightfully argue Carla and her family should leave the house for good – and they do abandon it for a brief amount of time – but no matter. It eventually becomes clear the thing will follow her anywhere. This is nightmare logic at work, and Carla is fully enveloped in the entity's relentless grip. We're just the viewer, incapable of telling her it's foolish to think she'll get a good night's sleep while that cretin lurks around.

The second half of the movie becomes a little preposterous, as the scope of Carla's situation widens and interests more characters. She meets a kind psychiatrist (Ron Silver) who thinks it's all in her head, of course, and eventually comes into contact with some parapsychologists who devise an elaborate, practically insane plan to trap the invisible villain. The finale is really rather ridiculous, but you can forgive it because it at least eases off the intense psychological terror the movie has provided for its first two acts.

"I didn’t meet the woman I played. I met some of the investigators who worked on it. It was an interesting case because it had two very different interpretations. One was psychiatric and one was paranormal. The paranormal people I met a bit, but the psychiatric was taken from a bunch of cases. Both ideas were really interesting to me. Whether it was happening to her or whether she was so insane that she was creating this and raising marks on herself. That was probably more fascinating to me. Not to be critical of the movie, but I guess it is, I would like it to have it more in the middle. We don’t know and that’s more interesting.” – Barbara Hershey, Assignment X

When it's over, you've been hung out to dry by THE ENTITY; two hours of one of the more demanding, frequently brutal ghost stories you'll ever encounter.

BEST SCENE: This isn't an easy movie to award a "Best Scene" to, since it's often so unpleasant. Most shocking scene, however, might go to the sequence in the bathroom, where Carla is viciously set upon by the entity… and possibly two other unseen perpetrators as well. Incredibly disturbing stuff.

WHERE TO WATCH IT: Scream Factory just released a neat new Blu-ray of the film. It doesn't appear to be streaming anywhere, but I'm sure the more industrious of you will be able to find it.

PARTING SHOT: THE ENTITY is not what you'd call a rollicking romp of a film – you can't put this in the same category as THE CONJURING or INSIDIOUS flicks, for example – but if you want to test your mettle and watch a really nasty supernatural number, THE ENTITY will give you plenty to freak out about.