Ah, The Sentinel, a film that somehow manages to be both a real estate nightmare and a spiritual apocalypse, all wrapped up in the kind of 70s supernatural horror only a director like Michael Winner could deliver. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a demonic portal is opened in a Brooklyn brownstone and the building’s tenants are all a few fries short of a Happy Meal, then The Sentinel is the film for you. It’s like The Exorcist got a budget cut, had an existential crisis, and found itself lost in a labyrinth of The Twilight Zone episodes.
Plot: Hell is Just a Sublet Away
The Sentinel opens with Alison Parker (Cristina Raines), a model who has more issues than Vogue’s fall collection, moving into a fancy Brooklyn Heights brownstone. Of course, this place is a bargain—mainly because the entire buildingis inhabited by some very odd characters, ranging from a blind priest (Father Halliran, played by John Carradine) who just likes to sit by the window, to an old man who throws bizarre birthday parties for his cat. Let’s just say, if the brownstone was an Airbnb, you’d be sleeping with one eye open and considering getting travel insurance.
Alison’s life quickly spirals from slightly inconvenient to utterly bonkers as she suffers from insomnia, fainting spells, and what we can only assume are the beginnings of a full-on mental breakdown. She begins seeing things—like her father’s animated corpse, who’s apparently come back from the dead to remind her of some unresolved daddy issues. It’s a whirlwind of weirdness, and we haven’t even started with the cult-like tenants.
*Characters: Shady Neighbors and Shadier Plot Twists
Let’s talk about the neighbors first. There’s Charles Chazen (Burgess Meredith), who clearly got the memo that playing a weirdo in a horror film is a career-defining move. And then there’s the lesbian couple, one of whom masturbates in front of Alison in what is surely the most accidentally creepy scene in the movie. No, really, it’s as awkward as it sounds. Chazen also hosts a birthday party for his cat, which I have to assume is some form of performance art, because nothing in the film makes much sense unless you choose to see it through the lens of the most deranged avant-garde theater performance imaginable.
Then there’s the blind priest, Father Halliran, who’s so helpful in guiding our protagonist through her existential crisis that he’s basically holding the door open for Hell to walk in. The fact that a blind priest is the sentinel between this world and the next is a nice touch—because, clearly, he could’ve been the one to stop this whole mess in the first place if only he hadn’t been busy enjoying a cup of tea and staring into nothingness.
Also in the mix is Michael (Chris Sarandon), Alison’s lawyer boyfriend, who is about as trustworthy as a weasel in a suit. His motives shift like a chameleon on a rainbow, and eventually, he reveals himself to be as spiritually bankrupt as the rest of the characters. Seriously, when you’re sharing space with the likes of a blind priest and an animated cat, it doesn’t bode well for your chances of making it out alive.
Hell in the Hallways: The Real Estate is Just the Beginning
As the movie takes its sweet time unraveling the mystery of why Alison can’t seem to stop fainting and why the building is giving her an otherworldly sense of home, we’re treated to increasingly bizarre set pieces. The old building is a perfect setting for a horror film—full of shadows, creaky floors, and rooms that look like they’ve been haunted by forgotten relatives with questionable hygiene habits.
But wait—there’s more! The plot thickens when we learn that the building is not just any brownstone—no, it’s a portal to Hell. Surprise! The Catholic church, of course, is in charge of keeping the gates to Hell mostly shut, with Father Halliran fulfilling his lifelong role as “the Sentinel,” a job description that makes “watching paint dry” sound positively thrilling. Turns out Alison is the chosen one to take over the Sentinel’s post. How do they know? Because she’s already experienced several near-death experiences and traumatic events. Clearly, this makes her the perfect candidate. Who else could stop Hell from overrunning the city—someone with a calming presence and a decent skincare routine?
But the thing that really seals the deal is that the building is just one big metaphor for Alison’s personal hell. What better place to torment a character emotionally than by placing her in a building that could double as a metaphysical carnival ride to the afterlife? It’s like the Shining, but instead of being a hotel with a haunted past, it’s just a building with an excessive amount of weirdos and a dash of diabolical energy.
The Horror: Spooky Stuff or Just Bad Neighborhoods?
Let’s address the elephant in the room: the horror. The Sentinel is less a supernatural experience and more an existential slog through a middle-aged woman’s worst nightmare of being stuck in a creepy building full of creepy people, all while slowly realizing that the world might be trying to send her to Hell—mostly because the universe seems to be running out of patience with her feeble attempts at personal growth.
There are some creepy moments that hit their mark: Alison’s interactions with her father’s animated corpse are unsettling, and her gradual unraveling as she becomes more enmeshed with the building’s dark secrets is actually well done—if a bit slow. But most of the film’s attempts at “jump scares” or creepy imagery feel like they were crafted by someone who’s only heard of horror, rather than someone who knows how to execute it properly. When Father Halliran struggles against demons in the final act, it feels more like an old man trying to get out of a too-tight sweater than an epic battle for the soul of the city.
Conclusion: The Real Hell? Watching This Movie
If you like your horror films a little slow, existential, and filled with awkwardly placed sexual tension, then The Sentinel is the movie for you. The film tries desperately to mix gothic horror with religious overtones, but instead of being the terror it aspires to be, it feels more like a drawn-out therapy session in a brownstone that could use some major renovations.
At the end of the day, The Sentinel delivers exactly what it promises—a dark, brooding tale about a woman stuck in a haunted house… but for way too long. If you’ve got a strong constitution and love obscure 70s horror with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, you’ll find something to enjoy here. Just don’t expect anything resembling a coherent plot, and definitely don’t expect any genuine scares. Because, honestly, the only thing truly haunting here is the slow realization that this movie is never going to end.
