Watching this 1981 film for the first time after becoming desensitized to paranormal films after years of watching innumerable episodes of X-Files I feel that the portrayal of the paranormal activity experienced by Barbara Hershey's character Carla Moran (Real person: Doris Bither) lacks sufficient impact for today's audience. As horrific as those rape experiences must have been for Carla I felt somewhat detached. I think the psychological aspects of the repeated rapes should be portrayed a lot better in any remake. Despite this weakness Barbara Hershey's performance still holds up well today.
There is an interview floating around on the internet with one of Doris Bither's sons - Brian Harris. He gives an interesting account of the tension within the family. Doris drank heavily as she tried to cope with raising a family of four as a single parent and many failed relationships. There was also friction amongst the children. All this added up to a very dysfunctional and stressful environment. The paranormal activity made it truly frightening. Although Doris suffered the rapes the children also experienced physical incidents. Brian summed it up by saying, "Living in that home was hell." A remake should capture the reality of family life more with some mental disintegration on the parts of the family members as the events fracture their relationships. In reality, the family were forced to leave the house by the owner they were renting from when the house began getting a reputation as being haunted. After the family left the house the paranormal activity followed them but receded over the years. Eventually, Doris Bither passed away in 1995, from Pulmonary Arrest.
At the end of the film we are told by text that "It is considered by psychic researchers to be one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of parapsychology."
There is an interview floating around on the internet with one of Doris Bither's sons - Brian Harris. He gives an interesting account of the tension within the family. Doris drank heavily as she tried to cope with raising a family of four as a single parent and many failed relationships. There was also friction amongst the children. All this added up to a very dysfunctional and stressful environment. The paranormal activity made it truly frightening. Although Doris suffered the rapes the children also experienced physical incidents. Brian summed it up by saying, "Living in that home was hell." A remake should capture the reality of family life more with some mental disintegration on the parts of the family members as the events fracture their relationships. In reality, the family were forced to leave the house by the owner they were renting from when the house began getting a reputation as being haunted. After the family left the house the paranormal activity followed them but receded over the years. Eventually, Doris Bither passed away in 1995, from Pulmonary Arrest.
At the end of the film we are told by text that "It is considered by psychic researchers to be one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of parapsychology."