Customer Reviews

Sentinel, the

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is definetely the epitome of 70's horror. Most of which is very direct and in-your-face. Sure to be a hit at any sleepover, it's a must for any horror fan's collection!

I am going to play out some favoritism here. This is one of the best horror films to come out of the 70's, and onto DVD. Not only is it a great story; full of twisted characters, sick shock scenes, and deviant sexual content (all with a root of pure evil), it has an unbelievably star-studded cast! Ask yourself, "Where else, but in the "The Sentinel" can a great actor, like Christopher Walken, say so little, and chew so much gum, and still make it look pretty damn good?" (Was that Wrigley's, or Juicy-Fruit?) Even more...check out Burgess Meredith as Satan himself! You think Burgess never got more evil than The Penguin? Guess again kiddo! OK. Don't expect DOLBY sound (The sound is good, considering the age of the film). Don't look for digitally enhanced effects, or quality (No one would want to sink that kind of cash into this 'un). And don't expect a lot of extras (There really aren't any). What you do get is the uncut (HALLELUJAH!!!) version of a very decent print of the film (Sorry. No widescreen folks). Get it because, soon, you may never see a chance to get it again. This film is very obscure, and will, in time, be lost forever. Great for dark nights, and popcorn! Turn off the lights, and have a chill.

I have just purchase the DVD from Goodtimes Video of the 70's horror classic. As other customers have noted, it is really worth having, and there is indeed a lot that you will see that is cut out of "TV" versions. However, there is at least one scene missing from the DVD, and I wonder if other viewers have noticed this..that is the scene or scenes that pertain to the group of priests who call themselves "The Brotherhood of the protectors" who had been disbanded from the church for their beliefs. The is at least one scene showing a meeting of the "brothers" that is in my age-old tape of a television broadcast of the film that is not shown in the DVD. However, in the beginning of the DVD, the movie begins in Northern Italy with a group of priests discussing the "danger" as do the "brotherhood" in the "other" version. I also note the another DVD version is set to be released on September 7, 2004 by Umvd. So, I await this release to see if the deleted scene is included. I wonder if anyone would like to comment on this oddity? Aside from this curious detail, I thoroughly enjoyed the DVD from Goodtimes Video.

"The Sentinel" is a grand 1970's horror film staffed with a cast rivaling the pictures made by Robert Altman or Irwin Allen. I can't remember the last time I saw a film with so many recognizable faces--Christopher Walken, Chris Sarandon, Beverly D'Angelo, Burgess Meredith, John Carradine, Jerry Orbach, Jeff Goldblum, Ava Gardner, Martin Balsam, Jose Ferrar, Eli Wallach, Arthur Kennedy, and Tom Berenger all pop up in roles both major and minor throughout the film. "The Sentinel" obviously takes films like "The Omen," "Rosemary's Baby," and "The Exorcist" as its role models, and it holds up surprisingly well in comparison. When I stumbled over this film a few months ago, I was quite astounded I had never heard of it before considering I am such a fan of 1970's horror films dealing with satanic influences. Michael Winner, the director who presented us with such classic cinema as "Scorpio," "Death Wish," and "The Mechanic," gives us his all in this chilling story about a gateway to Hell and the poor souls entrusted to protect the rest of us from the evil spirits dwelling there. The movie is an adaptation of a book written by Jeffrey Konvitz.

A model named Alison Parker and her successful lawyer boyfriend Michael Lerman (Christina Raines and Chris Sarandon respectively) begin their descent into madness when Parker rents a room in a creepy old apartment building from mysterious real estate agent Miss Logan (Ava Gardner). The model soon discovers her new dwellings possess a decidedly sinister atmosphere--a blind priest sits and stares out of the window of the top floor apartment, an elderly creep spouting cryptic comments (Burgess Meredith) keeps dropping by, and a couple of females in an extremely close relationship live in a neighboring apartment. Within a few days of moving in, Parker begins to hear strange noises, starts having vivid memories of a suicide attempt she made as a child, sleepwalks, and discovers a few hideous secrets about the other tenants in the building. By the time Alison starts having fainting fits during fashion shoots, her boyfriend Michael steps in and starts investigating the strange apartment building. Lerman's nosing around brings in a couple of detectives (Wallach and Walken) who remember well how Michael's first wife died under mysterious circumstances. When bodies start turning up, "The Sentinel" becomes a race to discover what evil lurks in the apartment building before the cops pin the weirdness on Lerman.

Winner's film evokes shudders on numerous levels. You'll gasp in surprise several times during the film, from the eventual revelations about the strange residents to what Beverly D'Angelo's character does when Alison Parker pays a visit (I had to replay that scene a couple of times just to convince myself that I did really see that. Purely from an academic aspect, of course. Honest.). I've seen several films where Burgess Meredith works hard at being weird--"Burnt Offerings" is an excellent example--but I don't remember him ever attaining the level of bizarre he does here. He's downright disturbing as the elderly neighbor who drops in on Raines's character from time to time. The conclusion of the film definitely constitutes one of the more disturbing endings I have seen in a horror film, and it does so with a lot less gore than you would expect. I thought the plot of "The Sentinel" was a good one, a plot both frighteningly offbeat and effectively eerie.

I had a lot of fun watching for famous faces. Most of the actors who appeared in the film weren't that well known yet, and they look younger than you could ever imagine. Jeff Goldblum plays a pushy fashion photographer, Beverly D'Angelo turns up as a lesbian with a penchant for showmanship, and Christopher Walken plays a cop. Walken especially is humorous to watch. He only has about two lines in the entire film yet still manages to exude his now famous sense of weirdness. Chris Sarandon has since become a better known actor through such roles as the vampire in "Fright Night," and Jerry Orbach made a name for himself as a character actor in films ("Brewster's Millions") and as one of the cops in the television show "Law and Order." The only real mystery here is Christina Raines as Alison Parker. Here's an actress in the lead role in a film loaded with young and old talent alike, and she barely makes a splash. In fact, she hasn't made a movie or television show since the late 1980s. What happened? Personally, I didn't care for her character in the movie or how she played the part. Even worse, considering she's supposed to be playing a big buck fashion model, she isn't very attractive. You will have a better time watching the interesting mix of actors and actresses instead of focusing on Raines's histrionic performance.

"The Sentinel" doesn't provide much in the way of extras outside of a trailer and some production notes. Even the picture transfer isn't all that good, unfortunately. You would figure a movie loaded with so many once was and would be stars would get a better treatment. Oh well, give the movie a shot if you love horror. Creepy, grotesque, and shocking--"The Sentinel" managed to surprise me, a jaded horror aficionado, more than a few times. Let's hope they rerelease the movie on a DVD with a better picture transfer, more extras, and perhaps a commentary from the likes of Sarandon.

This is a very scary flick, based on the equally creepy book by the same name. In fact, the movie is very faithful to the novel, which was considered fairly shocking for its time frame. This isn't a perfect movie, being choppily made and a bit amateurish in its direction and production, but as far as horror films go, it's very gruesome and creepy.

The cast list features both old and new stars and all of them did a great job. Faded movie queen Ava Gardner is elegant and believable as the realtor who seems clue-free about the horrors contained in her rental property. Jose Ferrer plays the head of a secret brotherhood of priests who select the Sentinel---the poor person who sits at the gates of hell and blocks evil from erupting into the normal world. Eli Wallach is the cynical but willing to be convinced cop who's trying to unravel the bizarre puzzle he's been handed. The great John Carradine---tall, gaunt, with his cavernous voice and arthritis-twisted hands---plays the old priest who is the dying sentinel that must be replaced. Finally, the devil is played to charming and evil perfection by Burgess Meredith.

The newer bunch of faces are good, too. Christina Raines is vulnerable and touching as the girl under spiritual attack from both sides, a pawn in the never-ending battle between good and evil. Chris Sarandon is effective as her caring but ultimately self-centered boyfriend, caught in the grip of unbelief while forced to confront the spiritual reality of the situation he's encountered. There's a group of future stars hidden in the rest of the cast: Jerry Orbach as a jerky TV director; Deborah Raffin, Beverly D'Angelo and Jeff Goldblum as friends of the victimized girl; and Christopher Walken as the junior partner of the veteran cop. Everyone does a great job in pulling off his role and helps carry the story forward.

The special effects are pretty gory for the times and still have the capacity to gross out some viewers. There are some fairly nasty nude scenes, too, especially involving the girl's father and his two ugly whores. The atmosphere of this film is more suspenseful than terrifying, but the psychological drama of a normal person facing unspeakable evil is very well portrayed. The girl is helpless, especially at the end, when confronted by the devil and his minions. Whoever thought to find sideshow freaks to play the fiends around satan was a genius; the effect is very powerful and repulsive. Overall, this is not a modern horror flick with tons of mayhem. It's a more sedate but also more terrifying dip into the realm of evil. Very creepy!

There is one thing to say about this film: They don't make 'em like this anymore. Today's horror "movies" are shlock-filled teenage comedies. This is a "film." It is a slow moving, creepy, dirty trip into the dark. I have the pleasure of remembering this gem from my childhood. It haunted me for years. The only other film that stayed with me this way from childhood was Burnt Offerings. Everything about this film is superb. from the script to the acting, to the star-studded cast (you won't believe it, really) to the direction and the special effects! Ah! the special effects! Never, and I mean NEVER could film makers get away today with what they did then, that is the casting of real "freaks" to play the Hordes of Hell. Yikes! That guy with the big face (I saw him on Sixty Minutes once; "elephant man" disease) to the guy with the testicles hanging off of his chin (what the heck is that!?) they're all skin-crawlingly good.

Make no doubt about it, if you appreciate an eerie film and not another "I know What You Did Last Summer" (...), than this is the film for you.

I must be in that generation now of people who realize they are getting older. I can't believe how many other reviewers stated that they remember this movie from TV or Showtime. This is definitely a movie I also remember as a child from TV and I watched it more than once. Now that I have the DVD I am shocked to see the parts they cut out (and they are shocking). This movie always gave me the creeps. It is so over the top theatrical. And what about those stars! Good heavens there are more stars here than a bad late night variety show. I recognize more now than I did when I was a kid. Now this has got to be the most politically incorrect mess I have witnessed in a long time. Warning to Catholics, lesbians, the elderly, and people with disabilities you will be exploited for horrific purposes in this movie. Still I had to cringe and laugh the whole way through this film. It is even better than I remembered and goes right up there with some of my other favorite conspiring neighbors in a new creepy apartment or school: Rosemary's Baby (satanic senior citizens hoping to witness a demon seed), The Tenant (facist neighbors who drive you to suicide for being too noisy), Suspiria (witches disguised as ballet teachers in an on campus school who decide they are fed up with you). This also ranks up there with other 70s/80s horror favorites of mine: Burnt Offerings, Sisters, Legend of Hell House, Halloween, Black Christmas, He Knows Your Alone, Don't Answer The Phone, The Changeling, The Hearse, Its Alive, and Deadly Blessing. This is a fun movie that won't disappoint you in the area of genuine scares and good laughs.

I remember watching this movie as a kid. It was so eerie and horrifying, and many of the scenes stayed embedded in my head. But I didn't know the title and I had never seen it replayed, or heard people talking about it. It was as if it never even existed. For the last 10 years, I've been going back and rewatching the old horrors I grew up with--like the Omen and Rosemary's Baby--only to be disappointed over and over again (they just aren't scary to me anymore). For years I wanted to watch the Sentinel again, but in a sense I was afraid to ruin the experience I remembered (like seeing the old man stare out the window high up). Finally, after explaining to a friend the five or six things I remembered about the movie, she told me the name of it and I ran to the video store. Surprisingly enough, it was still scary and eerie!

This is a classic '70s style horror film, probably quite shocking at the time, and still very effective today. Atmosphere is everything in this film, but be prepared for a few truly shocking jolts as well.

The story is pretty straight forward. A young woman moves into a new apartment where strange occurrences begin to take place...but the story is in the details, and the wonderful performances of an amazingly chosen cast that consists of a who's who of veteran stars and up & coming talent. Trust me, you'll have a field day spotting such familiar faces such as Chris Sarandon, Burgess Meredith, Eli Wallach, Christopher Walken, Martin Balsam, John Carradine, José Ferrer, Ava Gardner, Arthur Kennedy, Jeff Goldblum, Jerry Orbach, Sylvia Miles, Beverly D'Angelo, William Hickey, Tom Berenger , & Nana Visitor. They don't put together cast like that anymore, even some of the smallest parts have outstanding actors & actresses playing them.

The film features a very effective performance by Cristina Raines that shouldn't be missed.

I remember this movie from back int he 70's it scared me to death and I want to see it again!!