A nervous fashion model moves into a surprisingly cheaply-priced hotel in New York. She meets her neighbors, an eccentric bunch to say the least, and around the same time, she starts experiencing strange problems, including fainting spells, insomnia, and bizarre flashbacks. She and her boyfriend decide to do some digging around, and may uncover a shocking truth about the blind and deaf priest who lives upstairs, secluded from society...
Well, that was a strange one. I'm not sure you could call The Sentinel a pure horror film, or just a satanic mystery/thriller. Wait, that can qualify as a horror film, can't it? Oh well, let's carry on with it.
This film certainly isn't shy about wearing its' influences on its sleeves, and it has a very decidedly un-American feel to it. The makeup and religious tones/backstory feel lifted out of assorted European flicks (mainly the Italians), and they choose to build tension rather than immediately jump right into the realm of insanity. I counted quite a few times where the film seemed to make you feel like you could be hallucinating or possibly even dreaming, made all the more peculiar by the twists towards the film's third act. I was quite shocked to see how large the cast list for this as well, spouting Chris Sarandon, Beverly D'Angelo, Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith (awesome job here), Jerry Orbach, and Jeff Goldblum, just to name a few. The plot can be a bit of a handful for those who have short attention spans (raising my own hand now), but piecing it all together can be quite fun.
I did have a minor grip with the acting, which delved into the realm of overacting once in a while. Christina Raines is okay as our poor, crazy (or is she?) heroine, but it seemed like she was playing the part of a model who's trying to act rather than just act like a model. If that sounds confusing, then I'm sorry. What I'm trying to say is that she was just incredibly mediocre. There's also a subplot involving some detectives (with one played by a very young Christopher Walken) that seemed to go absolutely nowhere and didn't serve much of a point. But, my biggest gripe lies with the score, which was more pulverizing and distracting than chilling. Originally John Williams was set to compose the film's music, but backed out to do a little flick called Star Wars instead. It's a shame, since I feel he would have been able to add a much more fitting tone than what we got.
The Sentinel isn't what I'd call a great film, but I'd still recommend it. A concept that gets progressively more interesting over time, coupled with a pretty haunting ending and some disturbing (by 1977 standards) imagery makes this worth a watch. Fans of religious-based horror films will be able to find a great deal to enjoy, but others may find it to be a bit of a chore.
Tomorrow, we jump forward by ten years and take a gander at THE GATE.
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