The Entrance

If you are looking for a no-brainer, slasher, nudity laden horror flick - don't waste your time on this one.

After seeing some of the comments, I didn't expect too much - but was glad I gave it a chance.

Excellent performance by Michael Eklund as the drug dealer (look him up - this guy has no problem finding gigs); fantastic range in his performance.

The cinema-photography was excellent! Good sound track. All around good production values. Good cast and acting.

I loved the mystery of it; don't expect the "expected". Very good script; nicely layered; loved the way elements unfolded. Just when I kind of thought I knew where things were going, delicious little "twisted" twists were added. I liked that I was required to pay attention, to be patient and observant. Yes, the uneasy pacing - kept me off balance; added to the tension. And, I even experienced a couple startlingly scary moments; doesn't happen much for me anymore; such a treat.

I even liked the ending - unsettling as it was.

Well worth a coffee shop chat after viewing this film - so much going on; so much left to the imagination.

Detective Porhowski (Sarah-Jane Redmond) has dinner with her father and he invites her to administrate a clinic that he has just purchased since he is worried with the dangerousness of her profession.

Porhowski returns to the police department and she is informed that a man called Ryan James (Michael Eklund) wants to talk to her. He tells an unbelievable story that he has been abducted and forced to play games against four other men, selected for their sins, in a parking garage. In the end of the game, the sin committed by the loser is projected and he is killed by a supernatural forces.

Ryan has succeeded to flee with the support of the janitor Joe Balberith (Ron Sauvé). Porhowski does not give credit to his story and finds that Ryan is a drug dealer. When she returns to talk to him, she finds that he has escaped from the interrogation room. Detective Porhowski drives back home but she is kidnapped by Ryan that was hidden on the back seat of her car. He tells that made a deal with the supernatural force that agreed to trade him for Detective Porhowski. What is her dark secret from the past?

"The Entrance" is an intriguing low-budget horror movie with an original story. Unfortunately the movie does not have end and wastes a great story. Was it lack of budget to complete the movie? Or does the director and writer Damon Vignale believe that he has made a movie with open end? My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): 'Punidos pelo Demônio" ("Punished by the Devil")

I saw this one today at the premiere and was pleasantly surprised by it. Mr. Ecklund definitely deserved the award he won for his part in this one and the directing was great to take advantage of the actors individual spirits and talents.

If you have the chance to see this one at a theatre near you go for it, there are enough moments to keep you paying attention and wondering what's going to happen next.

I definitely look forward to seeing more from this talented cast and director and would definitely like to see more even about these characters and where the may go from the events in this film as well. Well done.

If you can see it, go see it, plus it's shot local to Vancouver which is a plus for sure. You can see what places you know...

The beginning scenes of "The Entrance" had me optimistic that the film was heading in an unique and frightening direction. Talk about a teasing let down! The flick opens with a terrified man (Michael Eklund, an Ethan Hawk look alike) fleeing from a demon in a deserted parking garage. He escapes and the next thing we know he's yacking with the cops unraveling some ado about being kidnapped and taken to a dark room where he and others sharing his plight are forced to play games. The losers of these games are subjected to 8mm black and white memories of egregious sins they have committed. Then, one by one, each is violently vanquished from the company of the others. The cop conducting the interrogation (Sarah-Jane Redmond) doesn't buy into it. Once she leaves the room to grab him a drink of water he vanishes. She calls it a night and takes off in her car only to get accosted by the guy at knife point who then demands she drive him back to the parking garage claiming, "They took something from me and you are going to help me get it back!" Excited to check this one out? Don't be, 'cuz the film goes absolutely nowhere ending abruptly at 80 minutes in length and useless. Throughout the tale, some attempt at drawing a correlation between the above and the exorcism of a 17th century nun fails to explain itself and what we are left with is a "WTF-There's an hour and twenty minutes of my life I will never get back!" Seriously, the film had tremendous potential and some unnerving visuals. I suspect finances fell short and creativity was sacrificed for a deadline. Disappointing.

Great performances by a remarkably talented cast will tend to make a good script great. Happens every time. Written and directed by Damon Vignale, "The Entrance" showcases the importance a director should place on getting the most from his cast. In this case, Mr. Vignale started with great talent and managed to get, in my mind, award-winning performances from them. They, in turn, took the script and and ran with it very effectively. From beginning to end the pace of this film is consistent in its flow. The audience is drawn into the bizarre set of circumstances which befall a young female detective after interviewing a visibly upset felon. She embarks on a journey which ultlimately challenges her own humanity while forced to revisit a crime she was victim to in her childhood. Unfortunately, much of the subject matter of the film precludes it's being something for your kids to watch. Nevertheless, The Entrance should be on everyone's list of "should see's". A great piece.