Entity, The (2015)
Chris Barnes
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Starring Rodrigo Falla, Daniella Mendoza, Carlos Casella
Directed by Eduardo Schuldt
Benjamin, Joshua and Lucas – film students tasked with submitting a documentary for a school project – turn to the resourceful Carla for help and decide to run with her idea of ‘reaction videos’: filming people watching extreme images and capturing their facial expressions/body language. After the gang watch a supposedly cursed example, Carla recognises someone in the film – Sergio – and suggests they track him down to find out more. Cue as many found footage clichés as you can shake a shaky camera at!
I must admit that I’m not overly knowledgeable when it comes to Peruvian horror history, so to solely use Eduardo Schuldt’s La Entidad as a yardstick to measure a nation’s perception of what makes a creepy flick would be unfair. Their ‘latest’ entry, however – the director’s first foray into the genre – doesn’t deviate from the found footage formula we know and love/loathe in any significant way, so my assumption is The Entity (to give it its English translation) is an attempt to board the gravy train bound for a casual, inexperienced, mainstream horror audience.
Although I’m new to the wonderful world of reviewing for Dread Central, any of you who may have read my ramblings for other sites will know my views on the ‘found footage’ sub-genre. I won’t rehash old rants – they’re not profound or interesting enough to hammer home, and they’re not necessarily negative, in case you think I’ve got some deep-rooted agenda, but there is a criteria which needs to be met for the medium to be effective; conditions which are becoming increasingly vague the more we’re bombarded with films of this type.
On the plus side, a few touches of CGI are a surprisingly nice addition, the actual entity itself aside – my personal highlight being the blood-weeping statues in an atmospheric cemetery (which we unfortunately only get to see at the end of a torch beam) and some nice make-up effects when our fresh-faced crew start to get offed. The cast themselves do a more than adequate job with what they’ve got to work with – amongst the running and screaming there are moments of genuine talent which add interest to a rather bland affair, especially Daniella Mendoza as clued-up Carla. Also, the whole piece never feels too bogged down, and we’re carried briskly along for the full 80-ish minutes.
While the lure of ‘found footage’ as a sub-genre must be an attractive one for a filmmaker with a modest budget, I can’t help but feel the choice to take La Entidad down this route is a misstep. The ‘technique’ requires a certain amount of logic be applied with regards to character choices and, more simply, why the fucking hell anyone would be filming the majority of the things that happen! While it may have been easier to ignore these flaws in the early days, the market is so saturated with this type of film that it’s imperative to try something new in order to stand out.
Other than attempting to snare the elusive cash-cow, I’d like to know what made writer/director/producer Schuldt tackle horror, as it’s not his usual bag. Unfortunately, The Entity doesn’t stand out amongst the masses of other found footage ghost yarns and seems all too comfortable following in the footsteps of equally flawed and frustrating efforts.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
