Paranormal Entity DVD
Paranormal Entity DVD (2009, Shane Van Dyke, Anchor BayHome Entertainment)
The latest in a string of what’s known as ‘Mockbusters’ from The Asylum (2012 Doomsday, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Transmorphers… you get the general idea), Paranormal Entity is quite obviously designed to cash in on the success of that other, similarly-sounding movie Paranormal Activity. But how does it measure up against its main rival?
The movie purports to consist of the lost videos that Thomas Finley (director Van Dyke himself) made when strange things started happening in the house he shared with his sister Samantha (Erin Marie Hogan) and mother (Fia Perera). The captions at the start tell us that Thomas was arrested for the rape and murder of his sibling, but this footage does seem to corroborate the theory it was the eponymous paranormal entity that was responsible. Pity the guy killed himself before it was found, then…
We’re introduced to Thomas’ family by him – from behind the camera – then watch as they uncover odd happenings in the night, which include Samantha’s crucifix falling off her wall and their mother sleepwalking, trying to write the word ‘Maron’ (though we never do find out why) on a table. Thomas tells his mother and sister to get away, but they return saying that the spirit is following them.
The movie builds to its climax, in which Thomas’ mom – in a zombie-like state – grabs a knife and tries to hurt herself, a professional is called in to deal with the spirit (with only about five minutes of the movie left!) and Samantha heads towards her ultimate bloody fate.
Told in a diary-like format which tackles events day by day, the film takes a hell of a long time to get going. Actually, it never really does – with the most frantic action being Thomas running around the house with the camera (while this might have had some impact in the more atmospheric Blair Witch… woods, it simply bores the viewer here). At one climactic point the screen just goes totally black and all we can hear are screams. Rather than being effective – in a ‘what you can’t see is scarier’ way – this just frustrates and annoys.
The cast do their best to act as if they’re in a home movie – with Hogan coming off best, especially when she’s found shell-shocked up in the attic after vanishing – but it never fully convinces. Subsequently, we don’t care enough for the Finleys to worry about what’s happening to them, plus any attempt at suspense is well and truly hamstrung by the fact we know the eventual outcome before the film even begins. Paul Kane
