El umbral

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")

OK... right off, there is no gore, no explosions, no nudity, very little action/violence... the 'demon' only shows it's ugly face in a couple of quick flashes. So, it's not for the short attention span crowd. Also, it's also not for the crowd who need everything explained in nice clear expositions with a pretty bow tying it all together at the end.

For the rest of us... it's not a bad little thriller. 'Little' both in that the budget is obviously tiny (most of the cash probably went to hire Ms. Redmond) and there's no world-threatening conspiracy. Most of the movie takes place at night and it has the feeling of an intimate little tragedy. Only when the sun comes up does the mood come somewhat undone... I would have preferred the story keep to the cover of darkness.

The only real disparaging thing I'd say about it is that the casting/characters/direction are as bland as a sack of oats. Not that the acting is bad... it isn't... but the folks they chose are so blandly 'thespian'. For a pack of evil sinners and demons they a pretty ordinary looking (for Hollywood) bunch... no one is too pretty or too ugly or too old or too young... none of the performances are noticeably weak or inspiring (though Ms. Redmond has the heaviest sack to carry so props to her). It's a decent/interesting story but it could have used some more imagination in the casting and character dialogue and direction and... well... it generally could have used more imagination... and I'm not equating 'imagination' with FX or action or gore... just some more flavor to the faces, words, performances.

Still, I enjoyed it... and if it really is the first of a trilogy I'll be sure to be there for the next one.

Priests, demon-possessed nuns, rape, pedophilia - these are the makings of a good horror film when you add demons and the devil. Will this live up to the promise? Sometimes the concept is good, and certainly Sarah-Jane Redmond and Michael Eklund were good, but the story just didn't go anywhere.

There was very little action; mostly just running around and talking. Some characters, like the cops in the precinct seemed to be doing work that was just to explain what was happening, as if they had no other way of doing so.

The ending was left up to the viewer and that sucked.

No gore, no blood, some puking from a strung out doper, and no boobage whatsoever. I really must have blinked once because I didn't see the nun either.

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...

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.