Oh man, every time I watch THE SENTINEL it gives me the creeps. Just imagine you are a beautiful model and you have it made, you get to move into a spacious and very lavish apartment. You make some new friends with neighbors...who don't even exist! They are all souls from the gateway to hell. And a blind priest (reminds me of the mystic Emily in THE BEYOND) is the guardian of this gateway. Cristina Raines portrays her character Alison with such gusto, and Chris Sarandon is pleasant, but then really creepy after he becomes 'sentinel-ized' and torments Alison. There are impressive cameos from Jeff Goldbulm, Christopher Walken, and the late Jerry Orbach. While the movie has aged some and not everyone's acting is 100%, it remains one of the scariest flicks.
THE SENTINEL centers on the aforementioned Alison, who is moving into a new brownstone apartment that is a portal to hell, and with the strange events occuring within (seeing scary people with totally white eyes, creepy nude women), Alison starts to question her sanity, and also the neighbors don't make matters any better, especially the two women who make things a bit TOO comfortable for Alison (Beverly D'Angelo's 'self-lovin' sequence is more disturbing than anything). Sarandon's character, Michael, wants to protect her, but he has no idea, and neither does Alison, that she's been chosen as the new gatekeeper. When she tells the landlady about the people in the building, the furnishings...and the people all vanish. Are those people really alive? You'll have to find out for yourself. The climax of the movie is somewhat satisfying, but you'll have to decide for yourself. There are some very creepy moments in the movie, especially the scene where she's in the bedroom and 'the sentinel'-ized man (could be her dad) walks to the door and she puts on the flashlight and BAM! She screams in sheer terror at the sight of the scary man with totally white eyes. The atmosphere of the movie is chilling; the suspenseful scenes are quite good; and the actors mostly play their parts quite well for a horror movie. Cristina Raines, though, really owns the movie in her role, making us feel her pain, her frustration, her fear, and ultimately, her fate. I wasn't pleased with poor Alison's fate, but it ends the movie on a strong note.
THE SENTINEL still remains one of the scariest and creepiest imaginings to this day. While not the most perfect scare flick of all time, it's definitely worth watching if you're a fan of the creeps. One watch and you might start to wonder if the next apartment you rent is the gateway to hell.
"Most cases start with a lot of 'maybes'"
Allison Parker is a beautiful, fairly successful model, who is in the market for an apartment of her own. SHe has a great boyfriend, who she has every intention of marrying, but would like to prove to herself that she can live on her own, independently, before taking that step. So, after months of searching, she finds what she sees as the perfect apartment. It's furnished, has a great view and is in her price range. SHe takes it!
Things are going great in her new home. She meets a friendly neighbor, an elderly man, whose only companions are his cat and bird. The place is quiet. In fact, she rarely hears a peep out of the other tenants. The priest upstairs is very old and not very responsive to anything. In fact, he simply gazes out his front window everyday and stares at the world, even though he is blind.
The place seems perfect for Allison. Until she decides to stop into one of her neighbors units and introduce herself. They are two women in their mid-thirties(one of them played by Beverly D'Angelo) and they are a little different. In fact, they begin fondling themselves right in front of Allison. This creeps Allison out a little, so she leaves. Nothing too terrible and certainly no reason to leave the apartment.
Later that night, Allison hears heavy footsteps from the apartment above hers. SHe also hears a lound banging noise and this makes for a difficult night sleeping. The next morning she visits the landlord in the city and asks who lives up there. The landlord finds this funny and tells Allison that there is only one other tenant; the preist upstairs!!!
So, now we are taken on a wild ride as Allison tries to figure out who these other tenants are, who the priest is and exactly what is going on with her health, which has been worsening as the film develops. This is "The Sentinel".
This film is fairly tense and has a great plot. The cast does a wonderful job with the acting and make their roles very believable. I did knock off 2 stars for the pace of the film, which is really, really slow. And, for the dialogue. I realize this was made in the 70's, but I stil have a hard time believing that New York strangers interacted so politly with each other at all times, especially when someone just walks into their apartment as Allison did to the odd female couple. All in all, this is a very watchable film, with a good ending. It is more of the religious-type horror(think "The Seventh Sign" or "The Omen" or for you more modern folks, "The Order") and I am not particularly a fan of that genre, but this film is still enjoyable.
SO, grab some treats and enjoy!
2.5 STARS: Peculiar, creepy at times, but lacking something
From a critic's perspective, horror movies are an interesting and difficult lot to evaluate. What elements must be present to create a good horror flick? Why are so many bad and why does it seem that modern horror is so overshadowed by yesteryear's best? Perhaps, beauty is in the eye of the beholder or maybe even the genre has indeed run its course. How else can we appreciate and understand what makes good "horror" theatre unless we do a thorough study of what defines the genre itself and evaluate each and every horror flick for its individual merits and flaws, with a critical eye towards style yet also on substance.
With this in mind, I think of the first time that I watched "The Sentinel" and I think to myself that this movie is very difficult to evaluate and in a way is a classic example of a horror movie with a flash or two of brilliance but plagued by some very serious and indeed fatal flaws. At times, there is a creepy atmosphere present in "The Sentinel", but not throughout the whole movie...parts are scary, and yet the movie is lacking something vital to its effectiveness as horror cinema. The plot of "The Sentinel" is weakly developed and the creepy atmosphere of the movie is rather weak overall and no where near consistent enough to support the movie's lack of plot development whereas, in contrast, Argento's "Suspiria" was quite effectively able to do just that.
"The Sentinel" is about a young model and her fiance who are on the verge of building a life together, but Alison, played by Cristina Raines, wants a place of her own for awhile to evaluate her life and think things through before making a big decision. Alison finds what seems like a perfect apartment in New York...the only thing seemingly strange is an old priest who lives up in the top of the building by himself...Alison is told that the priest never leaves his apartment.
Alison is an interesting character as the audience is introduced to her as a lady who had a strained and odd relationship with her late father. She has very bizarre dreams and visions about encounters with him from the past. It is safe to say that she does not look fondly upon him. I think one of the objectives of this movie is to examine Alison from a psychological perspective and put in her in a supernatural situation. We see this very clearly when Alison is introduced to neighbors who are not supposed to exist. What she discovers is a disconcerting revelation that she is living amongst spirits and they are not the benevolent type, but the movie has a very difficult time selling these ghosts or demons of Hell as such. Alison must face the challenge of discovering what haunts the apartment building where she lives and the psychological issues that she has. All this time, her relationship with her boyfriend/fiance is becoming strained. At this point, the movie makes an interesting twist as we can see that there is something very weird about the priest upstairs. The audience sees through the eyes that the priest is a sentinel and that some kind of predestined reality will come to fruition for Alison. Will Alison and her siginificant other be able to stop this potential fate or does Alison's boyfriend have a dark side to him that she is unaware of? "The Sentinel" climaxes with these themes present and although the plot has a hard time holding together and gelling over the course of the movie, the audience is presented with a degree of suspense, although I would argue that this suspense struggles to keep the interest of the horror movie fan towards the end of the movie.
However, when one considers these supposed apparitions, I think the viewer can see that the movie really fails to present these malevolent spirits in an effective way that would cause the viewer to experience or be able to perceive the element of horror. For instance, I think Burgess Meredith is a great actor and so is Beverly D'angelo, but as they are presented, do they really scare you as ghosts? No, they do not...in fact, the supernatural "neighbors" do not appear scary or even remotely supernatural except for the fact that they come and go as they please and there is no physical evidence of their presence within the building, but this is not enough to establish a creepy or horror like theme.
The scene where Beverly D'angelo masturbates is downright disgusting and simply does not evoke any horror in the audience whatsoever...it just looks like she is a lesbian living with an old hag. Indeed, these spirits look incredibly benign in appearance and demeanor given their supposedly malignant nature...maybe this was the movie's goal? If so, I would argue that it is ineffective as a source of cinematic horror.
So, "The Sentinel" actually fails to present a consistent atmosphere that is conducive to instill the sense of horror in any sophisticated horror movie audience. That said, there are times when we can see one flashes of brilliance in "The Sentinel". For instance, the part where Alison is walking around in the apartment building by herself at night is rather creepy for sure...the audience knows something is about to happen, but what? When Alison encounters what is obviously a very scary spirit which resembles her father, but is blue and evil looking, the audience is able to see the fear through her eyes...an excellent scene of cinematic horror. The problem with "The Sentinel" is that these scenes are few and far between.
The manifestation of all the evil spirits and demons of hell are frightening in a sense but also comical as well...if you really look at these ridiculous looking creatures led by Burgess Meredith, you see a rather "over the top" and far reaching attempt by the writers and directors of this movie to present a credible image of the creatures of hell that are supposed to scare the audience...I thought that "The Sentinel" was creative in this respect but a rather unconvincing attempt overall.
The fact that "The Sentinel" fails to produce a consistent horror-like atmosphere with successful and effective elements of suspense and tension is its ultimate downfall and renders it powerless to sustain the element of fear in the audience long enough to be considered a good horror movie. While the plot is established, it is weakly developed and the lack of a consistently scary/horror like atmosphere clearly shows that "The Sentinel" lacks that special something that could have made it a good horror movie. As it is, I recommend renting the movie to see for yourself as I know that many readers may disagree with my critique of this film. That being said, there is no argument that can be made that will support the supposition that "The Sentinel" is a great horror movie.
"The Legacy" is an interesting and unique horror flick that takes place in England. Sam Elliot and Katherine Ross star in this flick and do a fine job with their respective roles. The plot involves a young lady who has a job possibility in England and she talks her boyfriend into going abroad for the fun of it if nothing else. Well, they don't have a hell of a lot of fun, but Ms. Walsh does inherit a gift of sorts, if you can call it that...I won't say anymore as that would ruin the plot, but there is a hole or two in this plot that you will probably pick up on, but "The Legacy" is still quite effective with its essential purpose as a supernatural evil horror flick.
The couple have a bike accident and a strange man takes them to his house so they can wait to get their bike... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Katharine Ross - Sam Elliott Director(s): Richard Marquand DVD Release Date: Released the 07 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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When a recent widower (the wonderfully overemphatic George C. Scott ) moves into an antique Washington mansion, his realization that he may not be the only resident leads him toward a deadly secret that refuses to remain buried....The best haunted-house film since the legendary Haunting, this potent, classy combination of the mystery and horror genres eschews explicit gore and dumb shocks in exchange for a subtle creepiness that occasionally builds to a terrifying peak (watch out for that seance scene!). The result is a satisfyingly intelligent horror film with an intriguing dash of Watergate-era paranoia. Director Peter Medak went on to direct the considerably more gratuitous and somewhat less effective Romeo Is Bleeding and The Krays. --Andrew WrightMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Peter Medak DVD Release Date: Released the 12 September 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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You may never have heard of this neglected 1974 gem, but you've probably seen one of its many imitators. Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder (also look for Andrea Martin of SCTV fame) star as two residents of a sorority house that is emptying out as Christmas approaches. The atmosphere is jolly and carefree, except for an ongoing series of menacing telephone calls, and, oh yes, we've just seen someone climb into the attic with apparent ill intent. Kidder does some scene-stealing as the bad girl, Hussey illustrates one of the downsides to having beautiful long '70s hair, and Keir Dullea does a nice turn as the creepy boyfriend. Director Robert Clark knows that the unseen is far scarier than what can be seen and he ratchets up the tension beautifully, making good use of ominous shadows,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Olivia Hussey - Keir Dullea Director(s): Bob Clark (III) DVD Release Date: Released the 06 November 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Based on the Robert Marasco novel of the same name, Dan Curtis's eerie movie puts a spin on celluloid haunted-house sagas. The well-adjusted Rolf family (father Oliver Reed, mother Karen Black, aunt Bette Davis, and young son Lee H. Montgomery) rent a huge old summer house only to find that its spirit is in control of the estate. The requisite sinister proceedings appear--including a possessed pool and the vision of a sinister hearse driver following Reed--that disrupt the family's unity. Black also falls under the spell of an elderly woman whom she is required to take care of, but no one ever sees. While it may not be as overtly shocking as other ghost tales, Burnt Offerings has a creepiness that gets under your skin thanks to good performances and the dreamy, soft-focus... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Karen Black - Oliver Reed Director(s): Dan Curtis DVD Release Date: Released the 26 August 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A year before Steven Spielberg wowed the world by producing "Poltergeist" (directed by Tobe Hooper) a similar, albeit much more R-rated, ghost story was released to theaters with little success. Starring Barbara Hershey and directed by veteran filmmaker Sidney Furie ("Dr. Blood's Coffin"), "The Entity" cashed in on the poltergeist craze of the time. Ghost stories had expanded to the point where people believed that spirits of the dead could actually commit carnage and even rape. We had seen rape but "The Entity" focuses on the theme, with Hershey playing a single Mom who becomes the target of a spirit that repeatedly rapes her, in one case in front of her own children.
The one scene that had the whole filmwatching community abuzz from this movie was a scene where Hershey is... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Barbara Hershey - Ron Silver Director(s): Sidney J. Furie DVD Release Date: Released the 03 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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