Film, and especially the horror genre, has been irrevocably changed over the past two decades by the advent of the internet. But before that, another piece of modern technology changed horror forever: the video camera. As home video became practical and accessible, the likes of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT put the viewer behind the camera but Blair Witch unleashed a torrent of pale imitators that now give pause to anyone hearing the term “found footage” before watching a film. After a decade and a half, the films keeping this sub-genre fresh are those finding different angles to explore. Quite literally, Peruvian horror film takes a new angle by exploiting the internet phenomena of reaction videos, where people are watching videos and then recording their reactions.
The film opens with a series of videos seemingly taken from a hidden part of the internet called the “Deep Web”, each suggesting some act of violence taking place but in each case the violence is off screen. We’re then introduced to three teenagers who are looking for a topic for their school video project and settle on reaction videos as a way of putting a unique spin on events. However, the subjects of their video appear to be watching something deeply unsettling, but their investigation takes an even darker turn when it seems all three in the reaction video have met an untimely end. After talking to the brother of one of the victims, he leads them to the cemetery seen in the Deep Web videos, where the same entity who hunted down the reaction video watchers may now also be targeting them.
THE ENTITY is a satisfyingly nasty slice of Peruvian horror which has just enough of a kick…
While the plot description – teenagers tormented after watching a video – is reminiscent of RINGU, THE ENTITY (LA ENTIDAD) has more of a serious EVIL DEAD vibe, with the fate of the eventual victims being particularly well realised. It’s often said that what’s left to the imagination can be scarier than anything seen on screen, but director Eduardo Schuldt plays that both ways, ramping up the tension in the earlier sequences by simply offering us the third-hand viewpoint, but when it comes to putting the scares, the creepiness and the gore on screen, Schuldt delivers on all counts. The running time is only eighty minutes but that allows the film to keep a taut, linear narrative as it uncovers what’s terrifying the local teenagers.
If there are a few quibbles, then the acting of some of the teens, especially those in the reaction video, doesn’t always convince completely, but this is the risk in the found footage genre and it’s unlikely acting awards would ever be handed out to other films of this type either. You would also have to ask the question posed of so many horror films as to why, when discovering the trail of death and destruction the video is leaving in its wake, the teenagers don’t simply put the video in a box, bury it in the woods and try to forget anything ever happened. But if you can put these things aside, then THE ENTITY is a satisfyingly nasty slice of Peruvian horror which has just enough of a kick to make you think twice about what you watch next on YouTube.
httpvh://youtu.be/RtfWRS73MyY
THE ENTITY screens on 10 September at 21.15 at the Light Cinema, Cambridge