Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- somber
- ominous
- oppressive
- late night horror viewing
- 1980s horror marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Barbara Hershey’s intense, touching performance and the film’s disturbing premise, while finding the direction, pacing, and exploitation elements uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Carla is physically attacked in her locked home by an entity that cannot be seen.
The entity's repeated assaults make sexual violence the central mechanism of terror.
Carla struggles to persuade others that the attacks are real while psychotherapy and competing explanations fail her.
Locked rooms, off-kilter angles, and familiar settings become oppressive sites of supernatural threat.
Films like The Entity, and why
The Exorcist
supernatural assault horror centered on a woman’s escalating victimization and resistance
The Haunting
psychological supernatural horror using domestic space, ambiguity, and oppressive unseen forces
Thelma
feminist supernatural horror where gendered violence becomes a source of dread and confrontation
The Brood
body-centered horror blending sexual threat, psychological distress, and provocative metaphor
Movie Details
- Director
- Sidney J. Furie
- Release Date
- 1982-09-30
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (605)
Cast
- Barbara Hershey
- Ron Silver
- David Labiosa
- George Coe
- Margaret Blye
- Jacqueline Brookes
- Richard Brestoff
- Michael Alldredge
- Raymond Singer
- Allan Rich
Common questions
- What is The Entity about?
- A battered single mother seeks help from parapsychologists when an invisible supernatural attacker turns her home into a site of escalating terror.
- What is The Entity like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Entity as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Entity violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Entity as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Entity?
- Critics broadly praised Barbara Hershey’s intense, touching performance and the film’s disturbing premise, while finding the direction, pacing, and exploitation elements uneven.
- Which films are like The Entity?
- Films with a similar feel include The Exorcist, The Haunting, Thelma, and The Brood.
- How long is The Entity?
- The Entity runs 125 minutes.
