Very often horror films rework events, legends or theories that exist in reality for their stories. Of particular interest in this genre are the feature films focusing on paranormal events, including the recent one The Apparition, 2012 film written, directed and produced by Todd Lincoln, here in his film debut. For the occasion, he attempted to create a film that comes to life starting from the famous and disturbing Philip Experiment, in which we tried to determine the possibility of communicating with imaginary ghosts through some elements fictitious on them.
Despite being inspired by this expression, the finished film faced heavy accusations of plagiarism and of taking inspiration from various other horror films, including The Ring (1998), Pulse (2001), The Grudge (2002) e Paranormal Activity (2007), all based on the horrifying manifestation of ghosts. In particular, the numerous similarities with Pulsehave led some to believe that The Apparition it could be an unofficial and undeclared remake of the famous Japanese horror. Beyond these events, the film did not achieve particular success at the time of its release.
Indeed, the initial reception towards it was rather negative. Despite its defects, however, over the years it has become a film particularly sought after by lovers of this genre, who find horror elements of particular charm here. In this article, we will therefore delve into some of the main curiosities relating to The Apparition. By continuing to read here it will be possible to find further details relating to the plotto the cast of actors and to true story that inspires it. Finally, the main ones will also be listed streaming platforms containing the film in their catalogue.
The plot and cast of The Apparition
Protagonists of the film The Apparition they are a group of friends, Patrick, Lydia, Well And Greg, with particularly different interests compared to those of their peers. They are in fact fascinated by experiments relating to communication with ghosts or creatures from the afterlife. One evening, the four decide to revive an experiment during which to evoke the spirit of a deceased person. The group follows the directions carefully, but the result is not what they imagined. Soon, in fact, a frightening series of paranormal phenomena begins to occur and the four friends discover to their horror that they have awakened a dark sleeping entity that begins to persecute them mercilessly.
Playing the protagonists of the film are some actors who were already particularly popular and others who would become so only a few years after this title. In the role of Kelly, Ben’s girlfriend, she therefore finds herself the actress Ashley Greenknown in particular for being the vampire Alice Cullen in the saga of Twilight. Her boyfriend, Ben, instead has the face of Sebastian Stan. The actor, at the time mainly known for playing Carter Baizen in the popular series Gossip Girlis today particularly famous for his role as Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Julianna Guillactress known for having been among the protagonists of the remake of Friday 13th, plays Lydia here. Another well-known actor present in the film is Tom Felton, as Patrick. He is unanimously remembered for his portrayal of Draco Malfoy in all the films of the saga Harry Potter. Lastly, Luke Pasqualino he plays Greg, also part of the group of protagonists. The actor is especially known for series Skins And The Musketeers, playing D’Artagnan in the latter. The cast is then concluded by the actor Rick Gomez as Mike.
The true story behind the film
The Philip Experiment was a parapsychology experiment conducted in 1972 in Toronto, Ontario, to determine whether subjects can communicate with imaginary ghosts through expectations of human will. This was conducted by a Toronto parapsychological research company led by mathematical geneticist Dr. AR George Owen and supervised by psychologist Dr. Joel Whitton. The goal was to create a fictional character through a targeted methodology and then “attempt” to communicate with it through a séance. The created and agreed upon character was named Philip Aylesfordreferred to as Philip during the test.
His fictional story partly coincided with real events and places, but with multiple contradictions and errors. Born in 1624 in England, he had an early military career and was knighted at the age of sixteen. He participated in the English Civil War and became a personal friend of Charles II, working for him as a spy. Phillip married unhappily to a woman named Dorothea and later fell in love with a Roma girl who was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Desperate, Phillip committed suicide in 1654 at the age of thirty.
Initially, the seances produced no contact, no communication and no phenomena. Owen then modified the test conditions by dimming the lights and changing the environment to mimic that of a more “traditional” séance. The participants then began to feel a presence, table vibrations, breezes, inexplicable echoes and sounds that corresponded to the answers to questions about Philip’s life. At one point the table tilted on just one leg and at other times it moved around the room without any human contact.
Although audio, video, and testimonies document the paranormal phenomena, Philip never actually appeared to the participants. The experiment was later criticized for the lack of solid controls and for ambiguous results due to the unreliability of seances. Repeated tests, which created fictitious characters called “Lilith” and “Humphrey”, gave similar results in similar circumstances but were always judged inconclusive, leading to the phenomena felt by the participants being considered to be simple effects of collective hysteria. In any case, the experiment was a source of inspiration for The Apparition.
The trailer of The Apparition and where to see the film in streaming and on TV
It is possible to enjoy the film thanks to its presence on some of the most popular streaming platforms on the internet today. The Apparition it is in fact available in the catalogue Prime Video And Apple TV. To see it, just rent the single film, thus having the opportunity to watch it in total comfort and at the best video quality. It is good to note that in the case of rental you will only have a given time limit within which to look at the title. The film is also present in the television schedule of Friday 5 April at 9.15pm On the canal Italy 2.
