The Sentinel

No, this is not a great movie. But I give the casting director extra stars for the cast, Ava Gardner, Eli Wallach, Chris Sarandon, John Carradine, Burgess Meredith, a very young Christopher Walken (he was quite handsome then), Beverly D'Ángelo, and Jerry Orbach, among others.

The film quality of the 70's adds that special touch, the chrome, shag rugs and gaudy artwork. The apartment Cristina Raines rents for $400.00 per month would probably cost $7000.00 now, so it is fun to see Brooklyn Heights, and days when New York was a little cleaner, filmed during the turbulent 70's when we had Son of Sam, movies like the Exorcist, Amityville Horror, Helter Skelter, and the like.

I am not sure if this is a pro-Catholic film, as one reviewer said. The church is certainly portrayed as Cristina Raines' only salvation; I will have to read the book to see if that is the case.

At any rate, you will enjoy parts of this movie. Beverly D'Angelo is quite strange, Cristina Raines is believable, the scary scenes are a little weird, but if you are up for it, this is an okay movie.

I was an usherette in an old theater in Northern California when this movie came out. As good as it is on DVD, it's even more eerie and terrifying on the big screen. Although it has been about 9 years since I have seen it, it is still one of my all-time favorites. At the risk of sounding trite, "They just don't make 'em like this anymore!" If Sixth Sense freaked you out at all, this movie is definitely for you! Great storyline, incredible cast of characters, ominous setting; even the soundtrack has a haunting quality to it. I highly recommend you not watch it alone. What a brownstone apartment was renting for in 1977 alone, will have you gasping (it would be at least 10-times that price today).

I really liked this movie! One of my favorite undead movies of all time infact.

Don't expect a ton of special effects, but do expect some genuine chills and memorable visuals.

If you like Clive Barker-esque horror, you'll like this movie.

A fashion model (Christina Raines) begins having strange visions, physical problems, and nightmares after moving into a new apartment. Her neighbors are acting even weirder. She keeps having flashbacks about a past suicide attempt and her boyfriend (Chris Sarandon) is in total disbelief.

As far as shock value is concerned this film is a total success. It features some of the strangest, most disturbing images in movie history and that ending is really something. However, it is extremely dull and uneven for most of the films running time. Still, it has a GREAT cast.

Rated R; Nudity, Graphic Violence, Sexual Situations, and Profanity.

Boasting an all-star cast so impressive that it almost seems like the "Mad Mad Mad Mad World" of horror pictures, "The Sentinel" (1977) is nevertheless an effectively creepy film centering on the relatively unknown actress Cristina Raines. In this one, she plays a fashion model, Alison Parker, who moves into a Brooklyn Heights brownstone that is (and I don't think I'm giving away too much at this late date) very close to the gateway of Hell. And as a tenant in this building, she suffers far worse conditions than leaky plumbing and the occasional water bug, to put it mildly! Indeed, the scene in which Alison encounters her noisy upstairs neighbor is truly terrifying, and should certainly send the ice water coursing down the spines of most viewers. Despite many critics' complaints regarding Raines' acting ability, I thought she was just fine, more than ably holding her own in scenes with Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith, Arthur Kennedy, Chris Sarandon and Eli Wallach. The picture builds to an effectively eerie conclusion, and although some plot points go unexplained, I was left feeling more than satisfied. As the book "DVD Delirium" puts it, "any movie with Beverly D'Angelo and Sylvia Miles as topless cannibal lesbians in leotards can't be all bad"! On a side note, yesterday I walked over to 10 Montague Terrace in Brooklyn Heights to take a look at the Sentinel House. Yes, it's still there, and although shorn of its heavy coat of ivy and lacking a blind priest/nun at the top-floor window, looks much the same as it did in this picture. If this house really does sit atop the entrance to Hell, I take it that Hell is...the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. But we New Yorkers have known THAT for some time!