The Entrance (2006)

More and more horror flicks are hitting the theaters and DVD shelves. They are typically cheap to make requiring a minimal budget and short shooting schedule. So much can be done in post production that much of the required gore and blood can be enhanced by an order of magnitude with computer effects. Because of this a trend for these flicks is taking over the genre. Few seem to care about a plot. All you need are some actresses willing to run around with little more than stage blood on their overly voluptuous bodies. Then get some guy to dress up in ghoulish makeup and give him a fake hatchet dripping with still more stage blood. Film it, process it a bit and you have a horror movie. Thankfully some film makers still take this venerable genre seriously. They feel that a movie should have a plot rather than just a few lines of dialogue to pass the time between slayings. To these writers and directors a story is not just a scaffold to hang special effects on. It should be a foundation to build a film up from. One such film has come across here recently, ‘The Entrance’. While the film is far from perfect it shows a worth while effort was made to create a film instead of a gore-fest. This is a refreshing change from the plethora or teen oriented slash and dash flicks that have consumed the genre of late. There is bloodshed here but it is to advance the story not replace the need for one.

The main reason this film works as well as it does is the efforts of Damon Vignale. In a lot of independent movies one person wears every hat available and winds up doing none of the jobs well. This is not the case here. Vignale served as writer, director, producer and film editor. The thing that most likely helped here is he has a previous film to his name, ‘Little Brother of War’ where he worked in all of the above mentioned aspects of film making. It is also a plus that this previous film was a drama not another horror flick. This obviously gave Vignale experience in working within a story with a truly developed script. This film even garnered three nominations in the British Columbia Leo awards. Sure this is a far cry from the Oscars but there are a lot of films and television based in British Columbia so there was some stiff competition. What is impressive about the story is how it is constructed. There are some clichés used but what film doesn’t have a few? In the vast majority of horror flicks the female lead is dumb as a bag of hammers. When all of her friends have mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night see decides it is the perfect time for a shower or skinny dipping in the haunted lake. The protagonist is not only easy on the eyes she is intelligent and resourceful. This character, police detective Jen Porhowski is well played by Sarah Jane Redmond. The character is given an interesting albeit predictable back story that is integral to the plot. Vignale deos not paint her with a broad brush. He makes her human. She is afraid, angry and years for revenge but is smart enough to know what is at risk if she gives in to the dark emotions she feels. The story does contain elements of the ‘Saw’ flicks with the games of chance and moral imperatives. The results here come across as fresh though not a rip off. There is a supernatural element to the film but it is doesn’t overwhelm the character study at the heart of this thriller. Yes, I used the word thriller here. The more you get into this film the more you will see that it moves out of the horror genre into a psychologically driven thriller.

As a director Mr. Vignale does an extremely good job of letting his story unfold for the audience. There are some interesting uses of camera angles that are removed from the standard shaky camera that so many directors think makes the film realistic. Vignale employs the camera as a voyeur bringing the action to the viewer. His pacing of the movie is unusual and well conceived. The film starts off with the usual prequel exposition and moves right into the present day action. The final act of this kind of movie is typically where a new director looses his concentration. To the contrary Mr. Vignale ramps things up in the last twenty minutes or so. The third act here is amazingly rich and complex instead of giving the feeling the money ran out so let’s end the flick. At the end of the movie you are left wondering about it, not something that many films of this ilk can lay claim to at all.

The film begins with a simple bit of exposition given by means of some title cards. They explain that in 1612 a renowned exorcist, Father Sebastian Michaelis wrote about a demon possessed nun named Sister Madeline who lived in the Aix-en province in France. She revealed herself as a fallen angle of God. In an attempt to get that ‘based on a true story vibe’ the next card notes that the story was based on those writings. We see a hand frantically writing in a book; the film is black and white and scratched to indicate it is very old. Okay, this effect is over used but actual works here. In the modern day a car is shown driving down a narrow street, the hand of the driver has the scars of a strange symbol burnt into it. The scene shifts to two men watching an old movie projected in front of them. It is the movie of the hand writing. It is only a few minutes into the film and I’m interested already. Too many horror flicks seem to loose it after the opening credits; this one just starts to lay out the coming mystery. The scene shifts again. A man, James Ryan (Michael Eklund) finds himself in a parking garage, disoriented and frantic. He has just escaped from some people who kidnapped him. He calls the police for help and Detective Porhowskig comes to investigate. The parking lot is supposedly where it all started for James. As we will soon find out the place has some pretty bad memories for Jen. The movie builds well on the tension created in this opening. Jen is lured into a sadistic game of warped morality. Normally innocent games like Bingo and musical chairs are played with lethal consequences for the losers. Each of the games is designed to uncover some character flaw or moral shortcoming of the players. Jen is lead further down this dark trail forced to face the demons of her own past. She has to confront the man who raped her (Jerry Wasserman) and at one point her father’s (Bernard Cuffling) life is on the line.

There are many similarities to the ‘Saw’ franchise but Vignale makes the themes fresh again with his personal slant. He transfers the antagonist from a sadistic human being to a supernatural realm the film is also a showcase for some talented actors. The best here is Sarah Jane Redmond. She may be familiar to television fans having had recurring roles on both ‘Smallville’ and ‘Kyle XY’. She displays an incredible range in this movie that demonstrates she has talent and is bound to start going places. She makes Jen into a more complex character than usually found in the horror genre and helps to make the film a true thriller.

Once again Lion’s Gate does succeed in bringing a little gem into the homes of film lovers. They are a great source of films that you most likely never heard of but should have. This one is not great but it works and that is what counts. You will not only enjoy it you will look forward to the next projects of this talented cast and crew.

Posted 03/22/08