I Love Horror – A horror blog devoted to the critical, analytical, and cynical assessment of the horror industry and horror films.

Director: Shane Van Dyke
Year: 2009
Country: USA

The only Asylum production I’ve taken the time to watch was Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, and I only reviewed it because it was so hilariously bad I knew I could have some serious fun with it. But since one of my favorite films is Paranormal Activity, I felt I owed it to myself to review the “mockbuster” PA rip-off, Paranormal Entity.

I didn’t hate it.

The plot is pretty much the same as Paranormal Activity, but with a few added twists and turns. In the Finley home, weird things have been happening. Having recently lost her husband, mother Ellen has been writing letters to him, and after receiving a response, they begin to suspect the “hauntings” that are occurring are his doing. Brother Thomas thus begins filming the events, which is where the film starts. These suspicions are cast aside, however, when daughter Samantha begins to be targeted. What could it be?! My guess is a demon. Déjà vu and a couple brief shots of boobs ensue.

I don’t want to call Paranormal Entity a good film. Its very nature as an Asylum production forbids it that distinction as does my integrity as a film critic, nay, a human being. It is, however, when viewed within the hermetically-sealed bubble Asylum has created with their direct-to-DVD ripoffs, a distinctly watchable and dare I say somewhat creepy little number that I didn’t absolutely hate or laugh at. Moreover, I’m genuinely impressed that they actually attempted to think outside the box, utilizing not one but three camera to show the haunting of the Finley family, as well as constructing their own basic back story involving the deceased father and a named incubus named Maron. As an added bonus, they make several references to sleep paralysis, namely something pressing on the chest of daughter Samantha and the aforementioned incubus. It figures the one time I get to see a direct reference to sleep paralysis in a horror movie and it’s a fucking Asylum film.

Asylum made a number of attempts to think outside the box, sometimes succeeding, usually failing, but in the end it’s still an Asylum film. As a result, a number of key scenes from PA were rehashed, either directly or in spirit. These include “Katie goes outside in a trance;” “Ouija board writes something on its own;’ “Parapsychologist tells them the evil entity is after Katie;” “Micah lays a trap to catch entity in the act;” “Micah goes to help Katie off screen then dies.” Unfortunately, none of the comparable scenes managed to capture the fear elicited by Oren Peli, though I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little freaked out to go to sleep that night.

I think the one thing that makes Paranormal Entity work as a stand-alone film and not the bastard child of Paranormal Activity is its cinema verite approach. Even when serving as nothing more than a rehash of another film, the basic elements are there to scare you. TVs turn on, things make noises, etc, all punctuated by the exact same sound queue used in PA. Beyond this, the filmmakers attempt to make a few changes to their story, including three people instead of two, switching scenes around, and actually showing the aftermath of them trying to leave the fucking house instead of just talking about it. In short, if you like Paranormal Activity and it genuinely frightened you, there is no reason Paranormal Entity shouldn’t as well.

Bonus: In an interview with Obscure Horror, Erin Marie Hogan, who played Samantha, had this to say regarding reviews and skewed perceptions: “I want people to know that Paranormal Entity isn’t meant to be Gone with the Wind”….the idea obviously came from movies like The Blair Witch Project, and in that respect, a lot of people put the movie down without even watching it first.”

Really? Is that where the idea came from? It was at this moment Asylum became sentient. We are all screwed.