Before The Entity, there was Doris Bither. And for the first time, her story gets its own film.
Heather Graham (Suitable Flesh, They Will Kill You) stars as Doris Bither in What Happened to Doris? The supernatural horror film is based on one of the most documented paranormal cases in American history. Additionally, the first official image has arrived alongside confirmation that the film world-premieres at Fantastic Fest next month.
The True Story
In 1974, Doris Bither, a single mother living in suburban Los Angeles, reported being violently and repeatedly attacked in her home by an unseen entity. Nobody believed her. She eventually turned to a team of paranormal researchers who documented what they witnessed in her house as one of the most compelling and disturbing investigations of the era. Her case later inspired Frank De Felitta’s 1978 book The Entity, which became the controversial 1982 film of the same name starring Barbara Hershey, a film that generated significant backlash for its graphic content.
What Happened to Doris? goes back to the source. Previously titled Entity Within, it tells Doris’s story directly, on its own terms.
The Team
Nick Simon (The Girl in the Photographs) directs from a screenplay by Thomas Fenton (Saw IV). Steven Schneider, the producer behind Insidious and Paranormal Activity, produces alongside German Michael Torres. The supporting cast includes Mimi Rogers (Ginger Snaps), Morgan Peter Brown (Absentia), and Kevin Keppy (Smile). GVN distributes.
GVN’s Head of Production Missy Valdez put it simply: “This film is based on a true story and that truth is chilling. It is an honor and a challenge to bring Doris’s raw and terrifying experiences to the screen with care and dignity.”
What Happened to Doris? world-premieres at Fantastic Fest 2026. No wide release date has been set yet.
