Hexensabbat

I was an usherette in an old theater in Northern California when this movie came out. As good as it is on DVD, it's even more eerie and terrifying on the big screen. Although it has been about 9 years since I have seen it, it is still one of my all-time favorites. At the risk of sounding trite, "They just don't make 'em like this anymore!" If Sixth Sense freaked you out at all, this movie is definitely for you! Great storyline, incredible cast of characters, ominous setting; even the soundtrack has a haunting quality to it. I highly recommend you not watch it alone. What a brownstone apartment was renting for in 1977 alone, will have you gasping (it would be at least 10-times that price today).

I really liked this movie! One of my favorite undead movies of all time infact.

Don't expect a ton of special effects, but do expect some genuine chills and memorable visuals.

If you like Clive Barker-esque horror, you'll like this movie.

Christina Raines plays a lovely model in New York who seeks out a new apartment and begins to meet strange neighbors and reveal a secret about the building and herself slowly building up to quite a climax by film's end. This film has all kinds of neat plot elements from the Roman Catholic Church vs. the Devil, to the gateway to Hell, to bizarre rituals, to a growing conspiracy, and finally to a host of talented famous actors and actresses flooding the film. We get Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith, Chris Sarandon, Jerry Orbach, Deborah Raffin, Arthur Kennedy, Jose Ferrer, Slyvia Miles, Beverly DeAngelo, Eli Wallach, Martin Balsam, Christopher Walkin, William Hickey, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, and who can forget John Carradine as the old priest. Many of these actors ham it up - particularly Burgess Meredith giving a fine comic/demented performance as one of the neighbors with a little bird and a cat. Meredith is memorable as is Balsam and Chris Sarandon. Some of the performers have virtually nothing to do like Jose Ferrer in a thankless role even if it is nothing more than a cameo. The Sentinel is a fine horror film with plenty of psychological elements and some truly terrifying scenes. The end scene is repulsive and yet chilling. I do find fault with some of the gratuitous sex and violence in the film, particularly that whole scene with DeAngelo and Miles. Was that really necessary? I think not. Also, the father/daughter stuff was a bit much as well, but overall the film works and has a winning pace. Director Michael Winner does a workmanlike job and is effective creating tension and scary movie moments. The scenes with Carradine are particularly effective.

A fashion model (Christina Raines) begins having strange visions, physical problems, and nightmares after moving into a new apartment. Her neighbors are acting even weirder. She keeps having flashbacks about a past suicide attempt and her boyfriend (Chris Sarandon) is in total disbelief.

As far as shock value is concerned this film is a total success. It features some of the strangest, most disturbing images in movie history and that ending is really something. However, it is extremely dull and uneven for most of the films running time. Still, it has a GREAT cast.

Rated R; Nudity, Graphic Violence, Sexual Situations, and Profanity.

At the end of the movie you will see a very disfigured man, seems like great makeup job, with warts all over his face, similar to the elephant man but not as severe. This was no makeup. Louie was from my neighborhood and was severely disfigured from birth. He was picked for the movie while on the train coming from work where he used to mop floors in a hospital. Everyone in my neighborhood loved Louie and his disfigurement never bothered us. He actually was married to a normal looking woman and had a child, a son. He had his 15 minutes of fame and we were all happy for him, great guy that made a deficit into an asset.