Writer/Director Steve Stone wades into the horror genre with a combination found footage/ghost hunting adventure in the vein of 'Grave Ecounters' and 'Death of a Ghost Hunter'. Much like previous ghost hunter films, the premise of 'Entity' takes a crew of television show paranormal investigators and sets them to the task of getting to the bottom of a grisly unsolved crime with occult undertones.
Here the ghost hunting team is led by actress Dervla Kirwan as 'Ruth Peacock' a psychic sensitive capable of seeing and speaking with the dead. Along with a cameraman, the TV show's host, a generic technician and a local guide, Ruth spearheads an investigation into the discovery of more than thirty human corpses somewhere in the remote reaches of the Siberian forest.
Dervla's 'Ruth Peacock' reveals through her interactions with the deceased flashes of their unjust deaths at the hands of ruthless killers, and the revelation the victims were together in the remote Russian wilderness for a more sinister purpose.
Special effects throughout act one failed to impress or promote scares. The ghosts, rendered here by computer effects seemed too clean, and the psychic character's reaction to their presence and communication attempts was too generic within the genre standard for my tastes.
The initial setting - the Siberian Forest - evinces within the viewer an isolated enough feel as we never see the vehicles our ghost hunters rode in on and thus are left to assume they had been already hiking for miles when the film began. Characterization up to this point is lacking, save for Dervla's 'Ruth' who is from the outset portrayed as extremely sensitive to the slightest paranormal disturbance and I suppose her expressions of uncertainty well enough convey a serious stirring of internal fear as she discovers the site of the mass grave.
In the remaining four characters the film gives the standard overzealous for ratings and somewhat egotistical reality show host, her faithful, fearless cameraman, a filler character in the form of their jumpy tech support guy, and the standard unknown in the form of the Russian guide. None of the aforementioned really stand out nor is much development lent to their characters beyond expected dialog and behavior within the context of most similar films.
Act two finds our ghost hunters on arrival at a truly creepy military industrial facility emanating nasty supernatural vibes psychic Ruth Peacock has followed from the forest like doom laden bread crumbs. She warns the others that the ominous abandoned place is related to the mass grave back in the forest clearing, that the group ought to turn back, but of course zealous reality TV show host presses everyone forward into darkness - she must be calling the shots and signing everyone's paychecks.
As the group enters and explores the cavernous, long disused complex our psychic Ruth repeatedly cautions the others danger is growing yet just as obdurately, TV show host 'Kate Hansen' played by pretty Charlotte Riley, pushes her onward.
I applaud the filmmaker for the indoor setting. The long dark corridors, empty holding cells and confusing staircases of the facility build nice tension and lend us a feeling of being on the verge of something terribly sinister just out frame or over the shoulder. The decaying labyrinthine structure is without doubt one of the more frightening interior locations in recent horror films.
Eventually while exploring the facility a hostile paranormal force reveals itself, and the crew retreat to a control room type area despite the disappearance of one their number. TV host Kate just wants to review the footage they've captured so far, while psychic point girl Ruth has been "overcharged" by her run in with the violent entity and must rest.
Meanwhile ... of course there must be a meanwhile, plot thread number two unfolds with Russian guide and psychic Ruth. While the rest of the plot was competent enough if not terribly original, writer Stone would have better served the overall effort by eliding this development. Of course foreshadowing of a sort revealed more was going on with Russian guide than met the eye, however his purpose in the plot turns out to be less than believable and ultimately serves only to keep everyone left alive from fleeing the bad place.
Overall, 'Entity' is worth five stars out of ten simply for adding to and keeping the genre alive. It is not one of those annoying films filmed alone by one of the actors, although some of this type of film making is worked into a few scenes.
What prevents this reviewer from freely praising 'Entity' however, is the overly complicated last minute grab for high drama made by the plot at the end of the film. Had the script focused on what it set out to be - an expedition into a darkly atmospheric haunted facility - without all the needless side plot and trapped in time trickery, the film it drives may have stood out among its like.
As it stands for consideration, 'Entity' is a solid five out of ten star ghost hunting adventure led by a capable actress in Dervla Kerwin whose character's time on screen is the sole performance out of five with much of a heartbeat. One point subtracted for mostly wooden performances, some lackluster CGI haunts, and a needless side plot tacked on as an excuse for our heroes to be stuck in the bad place. A sudden blizzard would have better served the purpose considering the geographical setting.
'Entity' is worth a watch if you're into one or more of the real life reality ghost hunting shows, or you're fresh out of horror movies on your big list of fright flicks. It won't spellbind you with its horror movie awesomeness, but some horror is better than watching a chick flick with your significant other.
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