The next one I would like to talk about is The Sentinel ... This is one of my all time favorite horror films and is one of the scariest and most disturbing I have ever seen. Coming fresh on the heels of The Exorcist, The Omen and Rosemary's Baby, The Sentinal is a lost and forgotten classic of Satanic horror. Based on the best selling novel by Jeffrey Konvitz, who also wrote the screenplay, it is the story of young New York fashion model Allison Parker (played by a scene-stealing Christina Raines), who breaks up with her fiance (Chris Sarandon of Fright Night and The Princess Bride fame) and moves into a beautiful and inexplicably affordable brownstone apartment. The fun begins when she meets her rather eccentric new neighbors beginning with a nosey but likable Burgess Meredith who introduces her to other neighbors that range from mildly amusing to rather disturbing... Oh, and there is a blind priest living upstairs who nobody talks to and who never leaves his apartment... Suddenly, Allison's health begins to fail leading to regular fainting spells and much concern from her friends and estranged boyfriend. When Allison asks her real estate agent (Ava Gardner) about all of her eccentric nieghbors she is in for a bit of a shock to learn that, aside from her and the blind priest upstairs, the building is quite deserted! It turns out that the building is the gateway to Hell and the old blind priest (John Carradine) is the guardian who's job it is to keep the Legions Of Hell from invading the Earth! And Allison, it turns out, has been chosen to be his replacement... Some truely horrifying scenes, especially at the end, and just enough splattery gore to keep most gorehounds satisfied make this a standout picture that never quite got the attention it deserved. Also look for Jeff Goldblum, Crisopher Walken, Beverly D'Angelo and others in "before they were stars" roles. As with many of these old classics, I was a huge fan of the novel before the movie ever came out and I was not dissapointed in the movie in the least... this is a truely terriffying experience that you won't soon forget. It is also interesting to note that director Michael Winner visited hospitals and circus sideshows to hand pick the "freaks" and human "oddities" that were used in the movies finale... when the legions of Hell begin to spill forth...
< GOR >