One of the most credible and fascinating cases of supernatural activity is the case of Doris Bither. Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, many aspects of this case are hard to discredit. I first became aware of this case when Art Bell raved about a TV movie he had watched called The Entity. Art would go on, a few months later, to bring Dr. Barry Taff onto his show to discuss the real story that inspired the film. While Dr. Taff states that the film was Hollywood-ified, the story’s base elements, moral questions, and overall gist were correct. The physical book is difficult (EXPENSIVE) to get at this point, so my basis on the accuracy of this life-to-screen adaptation is based on Dr. Taff’s words, some articles, and a few other bits and bobs.
The Entity follows Carla Moran (Barbara Hershey), a single mother with three kids, doing everything she can to make her way. As soon as she clocks out of her secretary position, she heads to a local university for typing school–Carla wants to give her children the best life possible. Her son Billy (David Labiosa) is a gruff and hardworking kid and is there for her through thick and thin. One fateful night, Carla is viciously sexually assaulted by an unseen force. These attacks grow in force and pain as the nights go on, eventually leading to Billy finding himself with a broken wrist (arm in real life). Carla scours the supernatural shelves at a bookstore and overhears two paranormal investigators discussing a case. After speaking with these two men, they vow to get to the bottom of the entity ruining her life.
Director Sidney J. Furie and writer Frank De Felitta (based on De Felitta’s novel of the same name) is an astounding feature that breaks many molds, poses intense questions, and puts the answer in the hands of the audience. With a total of 11 split diopter shots and enough Dutch angles to make a 6’ 1” blond hair blue eyed person blush, The Entity is a film that sits with you for a long time. As the violence ramps up, cinematographer Stephen H. Burum gets bolder. Shot composition goes from “normal” to awkwardly framed to give viewers a sense that something sinister is lurking beneath the surface; a subconscious sucker punch of filmmaking magic.
Barbara Hershey provides a brilliant performance that nauseates viewers with a tang of too much authenticity. But it’s the men in the film that are the rubber bands Hershey bounces her performances off of. Dr. Phil Sneiderman (Ron Silver) is the grounding force of Carla’s relationships. You’d think it’s her son Billy who is her rock, but there’s this strange will they/won’t they that was thankfully [mostly] cut out of the film. Dr. Sneiderman tries to go against the plethora of doctors who attempt to chalk Carla’s experiences to childhood sexual trauma. Once Dr. Sneiderman breaks that bond he built with Carla, their entire relationship flips on its head. Sneiderman’s character flip comes when Dr. Webb (George Coe) chalks all of this up to a mass delusion, and he is the one who tells Sneiderman [basically] to disregard Carla’s assumptions and to get her to believe that all Carla wants to do is masturbate and forget about her sexual frustrations.
On the other hand, you have parapsychologists Gene Kraft (Richard Brestoff) and Joe Mehan (Raymond Singer), who attempt to use Carla’s pain to prove what they think is correct. Even though Gene and Joe seem to have Carla’s best interests in mind, they, along with their boss Dr. Elizabeth Cooley (Jacqueline Brookes), see this as an opportunity to further their academic careers–they go so far as to put Carla in danger time and time again.
Thirdly, you have Carla’s constantly out-of-town boyfriend Jerry Anderson (Alex Rocco). Jerry seemingly loves Carla with his heart and soul, but at the core of Carla’s story, he can’t get past his own holdups. Once he sees his girlfriend, who he was moments before saying he wanted to move in with, get sexually assaulted by a ghost right before his eyes, he calls it quits. All of the men in Carla’s life have their own ulterior motives. This goes hand in hand with the men in Carla’s life who have taken advantage of her in more ways than one.
The scenes of Carla’s assaults are very difficult to watch. At no point do you see an awful-looking 80s attempt at rotoscoping a ghostly figure into the sexual assaults, rather, you watch Carla become overtaken by an invisible force. This truly creates a connection between Carla and the viewers. You are also witnessing this assault happen, and you cannot figure out what is doing it. Even though there are no 80s VFX ghosts, we do get some great Stan Winston effects. One particular gnarly-looking effect is one when an invisible hand harshly squeezes Carla’s bare breasts.
The assaults get more and more rough as they go on. And while they are tough to watch, they’re difficult to listen to. Yes, hearing Carla scream for help and having her son helplessly watch his mother get assaulted is hard to watch. It’s Charles Bernstein’s score that adds a new level of terror. From silence to a deafening guitar lick, undercut by hammering drum strikes, and angelic-sounding piano chords. The second that sound comes through, you know Carla is in trouble.
One of the interesting things I thought during this film was that Insidious is just a watered-down version of The Entity. Plus Barbara Hershey is in both films. In real life, Doris moved houses and the entity followed her no matter where she went. The film ends with a “where are they now” update, and the film also confirms that the entity followed Carla as she moved. Like The Entity, Insidious has a story where “it’s not the house that’s haunted…it’s Dalton.” Also, you have the parapsychologists who are completely mirrored in Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson). Gene is the nerdy-looking investigator with glasses, and Joe is the one with the receding hairline and bearded face. Plus, both teams are run by an old white lady.
Funnily enough, James Wan’s production company Atomic Monster has completed a script for a remake of The Entity.
There aren’t many inaccuracies between the real-life story and the film. Dr. Barry Taff states, as I mentioned earlier, that there were a few exaggerated ideas, but the heart of the story is there, and that’s what matters. That being said, the film’s finale puts Carla in a controlled environment–she’s basically a lab rat. Dr. Taff noted that he had pitched that idea, but it was just way too expensive. So the whole liquid hydrogen freezing the ghost subplot did not happen. However, the team extensively studied Doris.
If you haven’t seen The Entity, then you are missing out. This film was incredibly powerful and captures Doris’s story in a way that feels proper and authentic to its source material. The Entity is truly frightening and stands the test of time. Even if you aren’t scared of paranormal stories, The Entity will keep you on the edge of your seat. While the film’s subject matter may be challenging to watch and sit with, I know I will be revisiting this film many times.