The Sentinel (1977)

Not ready for marriage, a fashion model moves into an unbelievably nice Brooklyn Heights apartment, where scary occurrences turn into a much more frightening turn of events.

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Jeffrey Konvitz (novel), Jeffrey Konvitz (screenplay),

Stars:

Chris Sarandon, Cristina Raines, Martin Balsam

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Sarandon	...	Michael Lerman
Cristina Raines	...	Alison Parker
Martin Balsam	...	Prof. Ruzinsky
John Carradine	...	Father Halliran
José Ferrer	...	Priest of the Brotherhood
Ava Gardner	...	Miss Logan
Arthur Kennedy	...	Monsignor Franchino
Burgess Meredith	...	Charles Chazen
Sylvia Miles	...	Gerde Engstrom
Deborah Raffin	...	Jennifer
Eli Wallach	...	Detective Gatz
Christopher Walken	...	Detective Rizzo
Jerry Orbach	...	Michael Dayton
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Sandra
Hank Garrett	...	James Brenner

Storyline

A fashion model moves into a house inhabited (on the top floor) by a blind priest. She begins having strange physical problems, has trouble sleeping at night, and has some nasty flashbacks of her attempted suicide. She complains to the real estate agent of the noise caused by her strange neighbors, but finds out that the house is only occupied by the priest and herself, and ultimately discovers that she has been put in the house for a reason.

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Plot Keywords:

priest | model | neighbor | fashion model | church | 

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Taglines:

She's living in the gateway to hell.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Latin

Release Date:

12 May 1977 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Centinela de los malditos

Filming Locations:

10 Montague Terrace, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Jeffrey Konvitz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Michael Winner' says in his memoirs he wanted Martin Sheen to play the male lead but the studio vetoed this saying he was a TV name.

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Goofs

While Allison and the landlady are having coffee, the coffee cup is in the landlady's hand, then when the camera changes angles it's on the table, then back in her hand when the camera angle goes back.

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Quotes

Michael Lerman: Look at this. William O'Rourke. Father Halliran? William O'Rourke, disappeared July 12, 1952 after attempted suicide.
Perry: They're the same man. William O'Rourke became a priest named Halliran.
Michael Lerman: Yes, but why?
Perry: I just open doors.

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Connections

Referenced in Ghostbusters (1984)

User Reviews

Incredible Film and Somewhat Obscure

Not ready for marriage, a fashion model (Cristine Raines) moves into an unbelievably nice Brooklyn Heights apartment, where scary occurrences turn into a much more frightening turn of events.

I have to first call out the cast: Chris Sarandon (so young he is unrecognizable), Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Walken (in a far too small role), Eli Wallach, Jerry Orbach (also quite young), Burgess Meredith, John Carradine... and more (including a very, very small cameo by Richard Dreyfuss). If you think a film with both Walken and Goldblum is a bad idea, you may as well just walk away now.

The biggest thing for me is how I did not know what this film was or had even heard of it. How has it escaped my attention? With that cast, the great plot and solid storytelling? This is really a must-see for horror fans. It has been ranked in the top 100 of the scariest horror films. I have seen 1000s of horror films, and I would debate putting it in the top 100, but it is not a stretch by any means.

Before Dana Barrett opened her refrigerator and found Zuul, this story was out there of another apartment complex with another kind of doorway...