(1977) ***1/2
The Sentinel is a slow-building atmospheric 70's (somewhat lost) classic centering around a model named Alison who is having a difficult time adjusting to her new residence in the posh Brooklyn Heights. Her neighbors are a tad on the eccentric side. Eccentric or downright weird? Weird or positively diabolical? It's a pleasure watching everything unfold, especially when a young Christopher Walken is involved.
Although I am generally opposed to the process of mining every good idea and churning out Hollywood remakes void of what made the original special to begin with, a Sentinel remake reeks of potential.
3 comments:
Octo's review from last year:
The Sentinel (1977) ***1/2
Alison Parker is a model who moves into a new apartment in Brooklyn Heights. She maintains a polite but bewildered relationship with her host of weirdo neighbors (including familiar faces like Burgess Meredith and Beverly D'Angelo), and just when they start to really get on her nerves she finds out nobody actually lives there. Soon, other mysterious details start to accumulate...could it be Alison lives over one of those pesky gates to Hell?
This movie has a nice high-end feel to it, and delivers a good story with at least one really impressive scare. The good scare is down to a subtle move, too -- the ghost simply emerges from the shadows and walks across the room into some other shadows. The result is perfectly chilling, all the more so because there's no ponderous music cue to go with it. There's also a scene with a big cast of genuine freaks, which was a stark contrast after the goofy Basket Case 2.
I liked Christina Raines, who plays Alison; she has a vibe about her that I see in the likes of Susan Saint James or Kate Jackson. She's the sort of down-to-earth, very pretty yet approachable, dark brunette 70's kind of actress. You picture her best at a party with a glass of red wine in her hand.
About this whole gate to Hell thing: putting aside the obvious "well, how many 'THE gate to Hell's can there be?" I thought it was fun that this time the Satanic forces opted for such a nice neighborhood. The most upsetting part of the movie was hearing her offered a rent of only 500 bucks for that colossal Brooklyn Heights apartment. For that rent, I'd work a shift at Hell's Gift Shop every Tuesday.
I love that part when the creepy old man walks out from behind the door!
Publishing the last year's reviews of the same flick in Comments is a good idea. I'm going to go back and copy you.
I consider The Sentinal one of last year's good surprises. Recommended to me by some guy in the video store. Thanks, some guy!
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