''Paranormal Entity'' is a 2009 American

supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...

written, directed by and starring

Shane Van Dyke Shane Van Dyke (born August 28, 1979) is an American actor, screenwriter, film director, television writer, and film producer. He is the son of Barry Van Dyke and grandson of Dick Van Dyke. Early life Van Dyke was born in Los Angeles, California ...

(in his feature directorial debut) and produced by

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and s ...

in 2009. It is one of many films dubbed as a "

mockbuster A mockbuster (also known as knockbuster or a drafting opportunity) is a film created to exploit the publicity of another major motion picture with a similar title or subject. Mockbusters are often made with a low budget and quick production to ma ...

", a movie designed to capitalize on the success of a more popular film. ''Paranormal Entity'' is a knockoff of the successful low-budget horror film ''

Paranormal Activity Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

''. The film was followed by indirect sequels '' 8213: Gacy House'' in 2010, '' Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes'' in 2011, and '' 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck'' in 2012. The film's premise is that of a series of allegedly factual surveillance videos documenting the downward spiral and eventual supernatural rape and murder of a woman named Samantha Finley.

Plot

A notice reveals that a young man named Thomas Finley has been convicted of raping and killing his sister, and murdering Dr. Edgar Lauren, a psychic. He claimed a demon had committed the murders. He was sent to

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, where he committed suicide. Samantha Finley ( Erin Marie Hogan), her older brother Thomas (

), and their mother Ellen (Fia Perera) believe that Ellen has been making contact with her deceased husband, David. Soon the family claims that a demon is haunting them. At first, they think it is David, but after a series of horrible attacks on Samantha, they suspect otherwise. One night the camera records Ellen sitting up in bed and leaving her bedroom. She walks into the living room, where she writes something on a piece of paper. She then crumples the paper and walks back down the hallway. Thomas finds the paper under Samantha's pillow and sees that it spells out the word "MARON". Thomas suggests that Ellen and Samantha stay at a hotel while he sets up traps around the house with bells and wire. When the bells ring, Thomas investigates. The wire and bell outside his door are ripped from the wall and thrown at him. Thomas shuts himself in the bedroom and the demon bangs on his door. Thomas receives a phone call from Ellen, who is in hysterics after the demon apparently followed them and attacked Samantha. Upon returning to the house, Samantha hunches over in pain. Thomas awakens at night and finds his sister missing. He finds the attic ladder hanging down and ascends it to find her standing there in her bra and panties, in a trance. Upon awakening, she is unable to remember what happened. Thomas asks the previous owner of the house if anyone named Maron ever lived there, but the previous owner does not recognize the name. Thomas hears Samantha screaming and rushes to the bathroom to find her lying topless in the bathtub, severely traumatized. Ellen wakes after hearing thuds from outside. In the living room camera, she is seen standing in the archway with a knife before returning to her bedroom. Thomas wakes up after hearing a door slam shut, and finds that Ellen has slit her wrists, weapon still in hand. She is taken to the hospital. Thomas and Sam are left at home when

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...

, Dr. Edgar Lauren (

Norman Saleet Norman Saleet (born Norman Sallitt) is an American songwriter, musician, and actor. He is best known for writing Air Supply's 1981 hit "Here I Am". The song was chosen for the band by record producer Clive Davis. Saleet is from Butler, Pennsylv ...

), arrives. He explains that there is a powerful dark entity in the home and that Samantha is the focus of its attention. He says that the entity gained entry into the home when Ellen attempted to contact the spirit of David. Dr. Lauren explains that "maron" is

Old Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bra ...

for "nightmare", a creature similar to the

incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

, a demon that rapes women in their sleep. The psychic agrees to help evict the entity and the video fades to black. After a pause, the camera's POV shows the doctor's bleeding head and blank face, fallen on the floor and "looking" toward the lens. Thomas is heard panicking. He grabs the camera after hearing Samantha's scream and runs to her bedroom. The house is in disarray. Thomas finds his sister naked and levitating in her room, covered in blood, being raped by an invisible demon. He drops the camera and runs out of the room to find help. A gurgling noise is heard off-screen, and an unseen figure (heavy breathing can be heard), picks up the camera and focuses it on Samantha's lifeless face. Thomas is charged with Samantha's rape and death and is sentenced to life. Not long after, he commits suicide. It is revealed, upon hearing of both her children's deaths, Ellen also commits suicide. It is also revealed that the recording made by Thomas was found in the family's attic one year later.

Cast

as Thomas Finley * Erin Marie Hogan as Samantha Finley *Fia Perera as Ellen Finley *

as Dr. Edgar Lauren *Dylan Savige as The Demon

Reception

Criticisms were mostly focused on the script, plot and direction.

Sequels

Three indirect sequels were released, each one year after the other and also to coincide with the ''

'' films, entitled '' 8213: Gacy House'', '' Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes'' and '' 100 Ghost Street: The Return of Richard Speck''. All of these films follow the same elements as the Paranormal Activity films such as the films being a documentary style movie and involves different people experiencing supernatural events from unseen entities.

References

External links