• Limited Release
• Director: Damon Vignale
• Written by: Damon Vignale
• Running Time: 81 minutes
• Language: English
• MPAA Rating: R - Restricted
• Cast: Sarah-Jane Redmond, Michael Eklund, Ron Sauvé, Jerry Wasserman, Frank Cassini, Colin Cunningham, Bernard Cuffling, Hiro Kanagawa, C. Ernst Harth, Taja Lee, Zoltan Barabas, Daryl Bennett, Siobhan McCarthy, Joel Wirkkunen, Lauren Littleton, Mihola Terzic, Chris Cope, Kevin Funk, Lucas Bennett, Jon Funk, Colleen Butterly, Artine Brown, Christine Gavin-Bartlett, Juan Riedinger, Daniel Boileau, Deloris Piper, Katie Chapman, Chris Eastman, Keith D. Humphrey, Carmen Lavigne

"That stuff stays with you.”  This is the single most important line in Damon Vignale’s “The Entrance” for many reasons, some of which, for the sake of the plot, I will avoid getting into.

The film suggests that no matter how much we try, we cannot escape our past, however, someday, we will have to atone for it – for better or worse. Based on an ancient (and apparently real) story involving author and priest Father Sebastien Michaelis, who documented performing an exorcism on a nun in Aix-en-Provence in 1612. During the course of the exorcism, a demon named Baalberith, the one who possessed the woman, volunteered that he, a fallen angel and data keeper in Hell, enjoyed tempting men to blaspheme and commit murder; all part of a game to keep the Devil amused. Updating this story to modern times is something that Vignale seems to do quite effortlessly, while creatively acquiescing to a post-“Saw” mindset. The end result varies; on one hand we have a very ambitious and intelligent premise, and on the other, we are subject to one of those ‘let’s play a game’ “Saw” derivatives, one that lessens the entire experience. Sorry, but when you’re substituting a plucky hacksaw to the ankle game with convicted felon musical chairs, yeah, musical fucking chairs, you know that you’re in trouble.

From the outset the film treks an uncertain course, as scenes explode onto the screen lacking context or explanation - take for example, the opening shot of a crazed man running through an underground parking lot, looking for help. You’ll be begging for answers, noting that you’re only four minutes into this thing. He finds it, sort of, in a sinister-looking Janitor, who confides in him a way of escaping his fate. The crazed man is named Ryan James (Michael Eklund), a heroin dealer with ties to a half dozen overdose cases. Needless to say he has no trouble finding his way down to the local police station, where he, between trembles and cigarettes tokes, reveals to a Detective Porhowski (Sarah-Jane Redmond), “people are going to die.” Eklund’s demeanour leaves much to be desired, but she decides to play ball. She finds herself growing bored, as the rambling stranger’s story grows more and more fantastical -- tales of five men being dumped into a room and forced to play supernatural games for their lives. When a player loses, he is shown on an old 8mm projector a moment in his life where he sinned (one fellow, for example, is a child molester and we see snapshots of him acting on his impulses), and then some unseen force drags him off and kills him. Mildly amused at first by the supernatural fairytale, Porhowski’s interest really peaks when she get his fingerprints back, pointing out who drug dealer James is. When she returns to coral him, she discovers that James has checked himself out, and quietly checked himself into the backseat of her car. But she doesn’t realize that until later, though.

With a gun to her head, James has her drive to the underground parking lot where he, as the Janitor promised, will be allowed to leave. Sadly, Porhowski has to stay because, as James puts it, she’s been “chosen.” The underground parking garage, it turns out, is some sort gateway to another dimension – one that exists between Heaven and Hell - one that merges the past and the present into a single interchangeable twine. Porhowski is reluctantly sucked inside, and before long the Devil and his servant, the Janitor, are having their way with her – subjecting her to a nightmarish incident from her past, one that has scarred her immeasurably and may have obfuscated her sense of morality. “That stuff stays with you,” rings loud and clear here and the final moments of the film, although ambiguous, leaves the audience with much to ponder. Redmond’s game doesn’t involve musical chairs, thankfully; rather, hers is a far more personal test. In her case, is the desire for revenge more important than an eternity in the presence of God?

"The Entrance” is a much deeper film than one might initially suspect, however, it falters due to its unbearable pacing. Oh, god this thing is slow. Actually, to say this film is slow is like saying that the sloth is the fastest animal in the world. At first, you expect it to lag as it fills in various blanks allowing the audience to arrive at the third act, however, here, it never picks up – content to tinker along at a leisurely click. Even the arrival of demons (or a demonic looking woman with fangs) barely holds our interest because, well, she arrives too late and for too brief a period. The endless sequence where Porhowski wanders around from room to room, corridor to corridor looking for her dad is an absolute deal breaker. The games played by the men, including cards, bingo and, yes, musical chairs, are laughable, and will have you groaning in your seat. I have to believe that demons from Hell would have a far more interesting way to amuse themselves. And what is with the projector? What, demons can’t afford a DVD player, or do they not sell them in the netherworld? Ug!

Sarah-Jane Redmond (2007’s “BloodRayne II: Deliverance”) as Detective Porhowski, is pretty rigid, but I’m guessing that it has a lot to do with the character she is asked to play. She remains mostly stone-faced throughout, offering up a gruff, cold exterior, one that fails to muster any sympathy, or even likeability from the audience. As well, the film seems to be setting her up as a culprit, someone who herself has sinned, so when we finally arrive at the big moment – the reveal, it’s kind of a let down. Personally I found Michael Eklund (2002’s “Killer Bees!”) as heroin dealer Ryan James, far more interesting. There’s a real depth to his character, one that will have the audience swaying back and forth between liking him and hating him. The sympathy I should have felt for Redmond’s character, instead was directed towards Eklund’s. Ron Sauvé (2000’s “Reindeer Games”) as the Janitor, is one of the creepier actors ever to lumber onto the screen. Just his eyes alone are enough to induce a nightmare or two. Colin Cunningham (2008’s “Stargate: Continuum”), Hiro Kanagawa (2002’s “Extreme Ops”) and Joel Wirkkunen (1995’s “Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder”) play a few of the detectives who attempt to track down Porhowski, while supplying the audience with a back-story to the demons. To include these cops, who factor into the story in no way whatsoever, seems to point toward a director desperate to fill in a too-short running time. Long time character actor Jerry Wasserman (1996’s “Mother Trucker: The Diana Kilmury Story”) has a thankless role playing a child molester. It was nice seeing him even though his choice in character here, leaves much to be desired.

Clearly "The Entrance" deserves some sort of  cautionary praise, The ending is a triumph in the sense that veers away from mainstream sensibilities. Director Damon Vignale (2003's "Little Brother of War") proves that he's willing to make a film that doesn't necessarily comform to what others expect, by ending the film on a jarringly uncertain note. Where most Hollywood films would choose to have a neatly packaged ending where all the pieces fall into place, it's kind of refreshing to see a film that doesn't. Sadly, it's not enough to save the film as a whole. On a technical level, "The Entrance" is very well made. I'm hoping that Vignale can harness his talent and actually produce a daring film that doesn't rely so heavily on padding. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this film, but I can say with all sincerity that I will be looking forward to his next one. To find out more information on this film check out the imdb.com or go to the movie's official website.