THE ENTITY (1982)
Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 125 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio 4.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Sidney J. Furie
Cast: Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, David Labiosa, George Cole, Alex Rocco
Single-mom Carla Moran (Barbara Hershey, Black Swan) lives at home with her teenage son Billy (David Labiosa) and two adolescent daughters, she's an average California mom, until one night while alone in her room she is assaulted and raped by an unseen force, that's right folks, ghost rape! Now let me be clear, this sounds like pure schlocky exploitation, but there's more to it then what that shocking premise would seem to imply.
The assault happens again, only with more poltergeists activity surrounding it, causing she and her children to temporarily flee the home in terror. The assaults continue, one even nearly causing a car accident, and this time leaving behind visual evidence by way of hand prints and what look to bite marks on her inner thigh. However, when her teen son says that no one was in the house she begins to think that maybe she's going crazy, seeking the help of arrogant psychologist Dr. Sneiderman (Ron Silver, The Arrival), who believes that the incidents are purely delusions caused by a childhood sexual trauma, which are revealed during the therapy sessions.
The assaults continue, including one right in front of her kids, her son tries to intervene but is caught in some sort of electrical discharge and is thrown across the room, breaking his arm. Carla then runs into a pair of parapsychologists from the local college, though they are skeptical of her story but nonetheless spend the night in the home and are shocked by the previously unfathomed supernatural activity happening within the home and around the woman, thus beginning a full-on 24-hour monitoring of the home, and though the spectral attacks seem to stop altogether there's still plenty of strange supernatural activity happening in the home.
With the attacks waning Carla begins to feel more at ease, feeling that the parapsychologists interventions are more effective than Dr. Sneiderman's psychiatric therapies, though he still tries to convince her that the he feels the events are all psychological in nature, and are happening in her head.
During an intimate night at home with her boyfriend Jerry (Alex Rocco, Freebie and the Bean) Carla experiences the most horrific assault to date, with the spectral attacker pinning a nude Carla to the bed, her breasts being being graphically groped by the unseen force, this is the scene that I saw on TV as a kid, and it traumatized me in a weird way, of course my adolescent mind was curious about the breasts on display, but on the other hand the ghostly sexual assault horrified me to no end.
The film culminates on a strange note, with a weird experiment happening at the university where Carla's house has been painstakingly recreated in a controlled environment. The plan is to freeze the spectral force using liquid helium, which also puts Carla in great danger, but so desperate is she to be rid of the ghostly rapist that she's willing to risk life and limb to do so. The whole experiment seems a bit over-the-top compared to what's been happening in the film thus far, but I guess they needed a big finish for the film.
This is a movie that traumatized me as a kid, and even now I think it's a harrowing watch, thanks in part to the atmospheric visuals captured by cinematographer Stephen H. Burum (Body Double), and a strong script by Frank De Felitta (Audrey Rose), but the film is anchored by the sympathetic yet strong performance from Barbara Hershey, who is really phenomenal here, turning what could have been a cheap slice of ghost-rape exploitation into a thoughtful examination. This is a movie that easily could have gone wrong in so many ways and numerous times, it could have slipped into the realm of ghostly exploitation, but thanks to the controlled direction of Sidney J. Furie (The Jazz Singer) and a wonderful turn from Hershey it walks the line, but there are times I think it goes a bit overboard. Notably during those "thrasher" music cues that start up during the assaults, sounding very similar to the music sting used throughout Maximum Overdrive (1986), and again when the entity speaks a single line of dialogue at the very end, but overall this one is still a frightening, and harrowing tale of supernatural rape.
Audio/Video: The Entity (1982) arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory in 1080p HD framed in the 2.35:1 scope aspect ratio. I have the benefit of also owning this film on three separate Blu-ray releases, from Eureka Entertainment, Umbrella Entertainment, and the initial release from Anchor Bay. This release looks to mirror the Anchor Bay scan, appearing a bit darker and more saturated than both the Umbrella and Eureka releases, which are slightly brighter by comparison.
Scream Factory offer something not previously available on previous Blu-ray release. They include the English DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 track, but they also offer the original DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo mix, plus the DTS-HD MA 4.1 mix from the 70mm presentation of the film. All options are crisp and clean, with the Charles Bernstein score is both atmospheric and jarring, really amping up when the "thrasher" attack theme is cranked. Optional English subtitles are provided.
While Scream could not get approval for a new scan of the film from 20th Century Fox they have come through with some great cool extras, beginning with a brand new interview with star Barbara Hershey who speaks about being drawn to the controversial film by the supernatural versus psychiatric nature of the role, touching on the true life story that inspired the film, and choosing not to meet with the woman her role was based on, unsure if that was even an option. Hershey also goes into the details of filming the harrowing ghost-rape scene, including how they filmed the infamous booby-grope stuff.
Actor David Labiosa who played Carla's teenage son speaks about landing the role following his appearance in a popular TV film, and the joy of working with Barbara Hershey and Ron Silver, the latter of who took the teen out to dinner and sightseeing in California. He also speaks about how refusing to shoot a particular stunt scene may have lead to other scenes of his being cut, including an incestuous scene with his character's mother, He also lost some screen time after on-set injury resulted in him breaking his wrist. The reason her turned down shooting his own stunt is rather silly when you hear about it.
Composer Charles Bernstein shows-up for a 17-min interview, beginning by saying despite scoring o er a hundred of films it's always these horror films that get discussed hyears afterward. He describes his scoring process, creating the "thrasher" theme, and going into the unique way that director Sidney J. Furie worked with music in his films, and praising the performance of Barbara Hershey.
Editor Frank J. Urioste shows up for a 12-min interview, talking about how he came to work with the director, his family's background in music, and touching on the real encounters experienced by writer Frank De Felita encountered that inspired his film, and his own strange encounters while editing this film.
The film also gets a brand new audio commentary with with author/filmmaker Daniel Kremer (Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films), which gives a career retrospective of the director, filled with loads of anecdotes and factoids about the making of the film.
Rounding out the extras we have a Trailers From Hell commentary from Suspiria remake director Luca Guadagnino, a vintage 27-min featurette The Entity Files, which recounts the real-life case that inspired the film, plus a trailer, TV and radio spots, plus an image gallery.
The single-disc Blu-ray release comes housed a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring illustration from artist Joel Robinson, the reverse side featuring the original poster artwork. Not a huge fan of the new artwork, for whatever reason this is a release that has never really had a great artwork option in my opinion, who would of thought it would be so hard to capture the essence of a ghost-rape film? Well, look up the Turkish movie poster, those guys almost got it, but you won't find it in the gallery on this one.
Special Features:
- NEW Inner Strength – an interview with actress Barbara Hershey (19 min)
- NEW Seeing Is Believing – an interview with actor David Labiosa (14 min)
- NEW High Dread – an interview With Composer Charles Bernstein (17 min)
- NEW Spirits & Sprocket Holes – an interview With Editor Frank J. Urioste (12 min)
- NEW Audio Commentary with author/filmmaker Daniel Kremer (Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films)
- Trailers From Hell - The Entity with audio commentary by Luca Guadagnino (Suspiria - 2018) (2 min)
- The Entity Files Featurette (27 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (1 min)
- TV Spots (1 min)
- Radio Spotsn (1 min)
- Still Gallery
- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio 4.1
This spectral-terror thriller really holds up, it's a weird one for sure though, a rape story by way of The Legend of Hell House (1973) complete with psycho-analysis, parapsychology, and harrowing sexual assault - yet somehow it manages not to be a slice of ghost/rape exploitation. While it's a shame Scream Factory couldn't get approval for a new scan of the film the new extras and original audio options make this the more appealing release of the quartet of Blu-rays currently available, highly recommended.
THE ENTITY (1982)
Label: Umbrella Entertainment
Region Code: Region A/B
Rating: 18 Certificate
Duration: 125 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Sidney J. Furie
Cast: Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, David Labiosa, George Cole, Alex Rocco
Single-mom Carla Moran (Barbara Hershey, Black Swan)lives at home with her teenage son Billy (David Labiosa) and two adolescent daughters, she's an average California mom, until one night while alone in her room she is assaulted and raped by an unseen force, that's right folks, ghost rape! Now let me be clear, this sounds like pure schlocky exploitation, but there's more to it then that shocking premise would imply.
The assault happens again, only with more poltergeists activity surrounding it, causing she and her children flee the home in terror for the night. Follow-up assaults nearly cause a car accident and leave behind visual marks, including hand prints and bite marks on her inner thigh. However, when her teen son says that no one was in the house she begins to think that maybe she's crazy, and seeks the help of psychologist Dr. Sneiderman (Ron Silver, The Arrival), who believes that the incidents are delusions caused by childhood sexual trauma, which are revealed during the therapy sessions.
The assaults continue, including one right in front of her kids, her son tries to intervene but is caught in some sort of electrical discharge and thrown across the room, breaking his arm. Carla then run s into a pair of parapsychologists from the local college at a bookstore, though they are skeptical of her story at first they decide to spend the night in the house and are shocked by the previously unfathomed supernatural activity happening within the home and around the woman, thus beginning a full-on 24-hour monitoring of the home, and the attacks seem stop altogether though supernatural activity is still taking place.
With the attacks seemingly waning in strength Carla begins to feel more at ease, feeling that the parapsychologists are more effective than Dr. Sneiderman's therapies, though he still tries to convince her that the he feels the events are all in her head - which from experience I can tell you is no way to win an argument with a woman. One night while trying to have an intimate moment with her boyfriend Jerry (Alex Rocco, Freebie and the Bean), we experiences the most horrific assault to date, which is witnessed by Jerry with the spectral terror pinning Carla nude to the bed, in a graphic visual of her breasts being groped by the unseen force, this is a scene I saw on TV as a kid and it traumatized me in a weird way, on one had the adolescent mind was curious about the breasts, on the other hand the ghostly sexual assault horrified me!
The movie culminates with a weird experiment at the university where Carla's house has been painstakingly recreated in a controlled environment, and the plan is too freeze the spectral terror using liquid helium, which also puts Carla in great danger, but so desperate is she to be rid of the ghostly rapist that she's willing to risk death,
The movie certainly traumatized e as a kid, I still think it's a harrowing watch, due in part to the atmospheric visuals captured by cinematographer Stephen H. Burum (Body Double), and a strong script by Frank De Felitta (Audrey Rose), but in my mind anchored by the sympathetic yet strong performance from Barbara Hershey, who is phenomenal here. This is a movie that easily could have gone wrong in so many ways and numerous times, it could have slipped into the realm of ghostly exploitation, but thanks to the controlled direction of Sidney J. Furie (The Jazz Singer) and a wonderful turn from Hershey it walks the line, but there are times I think it goes a bit too sensational, notably during the "thrasher" music cue which starts up during the attack scenes, in hindsight it is a bit cheesy, and sounds like a similar music sting used in Maximum Overdrive (1986), and again when the entity speaks a single line of dialogue at the end, but overall this one is still a frightening, and harrowing tale of supernatural rape.
Audio/Video: The Entity (1982) arrives on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment in 1080p HD framed in the 2.35:1 scope aspect ratio, looking quite nice. Apparently sourced from the same 20th Century HD master used by both Anchor Bay in the US and Eureka in the UK. Overall the image looks good, clarity and detail is quite nice, grain is nicely resolved, and black levels look solid, but there s some murkiness in the darker scenes, but grain is nicely managed and colors look wonderful.
Audio comes by way a a English DTS-HD MA Surround 5.1 track that is quite strong and well-balanced, the dialogue is crisp and clean, and the Charles Bernstein score is both atmospheric and menacing, it really amps up when the "thrasher" attack theme is cranked. Optional English subtitles are provided.
As where both the Anchor Bay and Eureka Blu-ray releases were bare bones Umbrella come through with some exclusive extras, we get a half-hour interview with composer and Charles Bernstein (A Nightmare on Elm Street) who speaks at length bout the process of scoring the film, including building the "thrasher" attack theme. Strangely actor Robert MacNaughton (E.T.) shows up for a three-minute interview speaking about auditioning for a role in the film and not getting it, but how Barbara Hershey was instrumental in him landing the gig on E.T. with Stephen Spielberg.
The single-disc Blu-ray release comes housed in the usual over-sized Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring new artwork, the reverse side features a variant of the same artwork minus the rating label, and the disc features the same key art. While this release is labeled as a region B locked release but I am pleased to say that, if not region-free, it plays on region A players just fine!
Special Features:
- Finding a Voice: A Conversation with composer Charles Bernstein (34 min)
- Robert McNaughton Remembers The Entity (3 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
- Poster and Stills Gallery (2 min)
- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork
I love this spectral-terror thriller, it's a weird one, a rape story by way of The Legend of Hell House (1973) complete with psycho-analysis, parapsychology, and harrowing sexual assault - yet somehow it manages not to be a slice of ghost/rape exploitation. There are a few cheesy moments, but this is still a harrowing supernatural tale, and Barbara Hershey plays it to the hilt without going over-the-top. The Blu-ray from Umbrella has very good A/V and it's great finally have at least some new extras, if you're a fan of the film this is the one to get.
LADY IN WHITE (1988)
Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Rating: PG-13
Duration:117 / 126 / 113 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director:Frank LaLoggia
Cast: Len Cariou, Alex Rocco, Katherine Helmond, Lukas Haas
Frank LaLoggia's supernatural murder mystery Lady In White (1988) is set during the Fall of 1962, specifically the lead-up to Halloween, and the story follows a young boy named Frankie (Lukas Haas) who becomes trapped overnight inside the school cloakroom by a pair of bullies, which is where Frankie witnesses the ghost of a murdered young girl. The girl was murdered in that same cloakroom ten years earlier by an unseen man, a crime which Frankie watches as it replays in front of his very eyes. As if that wasn't frightening enough the murderer shows up this same night looking for something he left behind years earlier which might somehow incriminate him. Frankie senses the danger and tries to hide from the man in the shadows of the room but he is betrayed by a mouse, now spotted by the menacing man Frankie is strangled and left for dead, but he survives the encounter and is later found by his father Angelo (Alex Rocco) who had been searching for the boy when he didn't come home from school that day.
The authorities place the blame on the school's black janitor Willy Williams (Henry Harris) who is found in the basement of the school drunk, but Frankie doesn't believe him to be the culprit. As Frankie recovers from his injuries at home he becomes obsessed by the mystery of the murdered girl after finding out that her murder is only one of several which have occurred in the area over the past decade, there's a serial killer on the loose and the police are only too happy to pin the crimes on the janitor. The young girl is Melissa Ann Montgomery (Joelle Jacobi), the very first victim of the killer, and she begins to haunt young Frankie dreams, forming a supernatural alliance of sorts as Frankie begins to sleuth the mystery of her death.
Frankie finds a dilapidated house on the nearby cliffs overlooking the local lake, a place seemingly haunted by the Lady in White, actually an old woman named Amanda (Katherine Helmond). It turns out that this was Melissa's home and is also the scene of another tragedy, the suicide of her grieving mother who is said to haunt the area eternally searching for her beloved daughter Melissa. As young Frankie gets closer to the truth he puts himself is great danger as the culprit of the child murders is close by and does not want to be revealed.
LaLoggia's story a wonderful combination of Stephen King small town horror combined with Jean shepherd's A Christmas Story by way of Disney's Something wicked This Way Comes. The movie really captures the autumnal feel of Upstate New York where the movie is set, and where myself and the director grew up. The changing color of the leaves, the rural small town that feels like a Norman Rockwell image come to life but with a darks idea, the retro Halloween aesthetic really gave me the nostalgic goosebumps, it feels authentic. The movie is a bit of a slow-burn and grows long in the tooth at times, but there's a lot to love about this movie. However, the sub-plot with the wrongly accused janitor goes on for longer than necessary and is resolved in a way that didn't feel was necessary or earned but there are more positives than missteps.
Young Lukas Haas (Tim Burton's Mars Attacks) does fine work as the wide-eyed boy, just coming off his tun in Witness (1985), making for a nice protagonist as the sweet boy pulled into a supernatural mystery in his small town. Italian actor Alex Rocco also turns in a good performance cast against type as the caring widower dad who will do anything for his family, which also includes Frankie's older brother Geno (Jason Presson) and a pair of Italian grandparents who play comically off each other, with grandpa always trying to sneak off to have a smoke. LaLoggia did fine work bringing this supernatural melodrama to life with a great cast who give the small town yarn some real authenticity about it.
The movie has a series of haunting images that will stay with you, the image of young Frankie with his Dracula mask atop his head in front of the cloakroom window is iconic. For the most part the special effects are top notch though occasionally it does outreach the limits of the budget, but the wonderful autumnal images and striking cinematography make up for the the few minor deviations, this is good stuff, this should rightfully be a kiddie-horror classic in my mind and hopefully this new Blu-ray from Scream Factory will go a ways towards bringing this to the masses.
Audio/Video: Lady In White (1988) arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory presented in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) with three versions of the movie spread across two Blu-ray discs. The image is fairly crisp, colors are strong and shadow detail is very nice, there is a lot of 80s soft-focus cinematography from Russell Carpenter (who would go on to win the Oscar for Titanic years later) which suits the supernatural themes films, but doesn't make for the most crisp looking image at times. A few of the darker scenes can become a bit on the grainy side, but overall the image is very pleasing with a nice layer of fine film grain. Audio options on the discs include both English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround andI ave to say I loved the surround option, the stereo track might be more authentic to the original theatrical experience by the surround is immersive and does a nice job of immersing you into the sound field with the discreet channel effects and the score. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.
The two-disc set is crammed with extras, many of which are ported over from the previous special edition DVD, but with a few new exclusives including the never-before-seen Extended Director's Cut of the movie which runs 126 minutes in length. There's a brief introduction from the director for the director's cut, plus a commentary also for the director's cut version of the film, which is fascinating if you love commentaries. LaLoggia covers a lot of ground and goes into depth about the origins of the Lady in White story, movie production and post-production, his own childhood experiences which informed the story and his love of cinema. Also included are over a half hour of deleted scenes, over an hour of behind-the-scenes footage, the promotional short film which was made to raise money for the independent production, TV spots, radio spots, trailers and a pair image galleries. Scream Factory have also included a sleeve of reversible artwork
Special Features:
- Director's Cut (117 Mins) HD
- Introduction By Frank LaLoggia (1 Mins) HD
- Audio Commentary With Frank LaLoggia
- Behind-The-Scenes Footage With Introduction By Frank LaLoggia (16 Mins) HD - Deleted Scenes With Introduction By Frank LaLoggia (36 Mins) HD
- Extended Behind-The-Scenes Footage – Production And Post-Production (73 Mins) HD
- Promotional Short Film (7 Mins) HD
- Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins)
- Alternate Trailers (7 Mins) HD
- TV Spots (2 Mins) HD
- Radio Spots (2 Mins) HD
- Behind-The-Scenes Photo Montage (2 Mins) HD
- Extended Photo Gallery (2 Mins) HD
- Extended Director's Cut (126 Mins) HD
- Original Theatrical Cut (113 min) HD
I love this movie, maybe owing to my own upbringing in a small town Upstate New York town just a stone throw away from where this movie was filmed, this movie just rings true to the Rockwell-ian images it portrays, the authentic character made it easy for me to buy into the supernatural themes and to endure the slow-burn, a haunting movie that would make for some great family viewing this Halloween with your kids. Scream Factory have done good work bringing this to Blu-ray with three cuts of the movie and a wealth of bonus features, highly recommended to fans of 80s supernatural chillers and kiddie-friendly horror.
