sigh i sincerely wonder why all the acclaim and supposedly profound movie critic hold such a grudge against director michael winner . surely he isn not the avatar of subtlety and a his film be practically always hard hand and confront and but so what . theyre awesomely entertain . his most famous action movie and like the first three entry in the death wish series for example and be easy target to clobber down because they allegedly glorify violence and the personal use of shotgun and but even when winner take on far more mature cinema genre like the religious horror of the sentinel for example he doesn not stand a chance with any of the critic . the sentinel generate some controversy and infuriated several people upon it release and when it leak that michael winner cast genuinely malformed and handicap people to portray the creature attempt to cross the gateway between hell and earth . pretty much the exact same controversy cause todd browning masterpiece and landmark in horror cinema freak to remain banned and unseen for over thirty year . and why . just because certain prudish and easily offend people and who shouldn not watch the movie in the first place and claim it an unethical thing to do . i do not suppose michael winner or todd brown hold these people at gunpoint or force them to appear in their film and so what give u the right to feel embarrass in their place . another major reason why critic do not warmly welcome the sentinel be because jeffrey konvitz novel and thus michael winner screenplay be hugely derivative of other contemporary but far more successful religiously theme horror story and thus and accord to the merciless pen of horror critic and little more than pure plagiarism . admittedly the sentinel borrow multiple substantial element from rosemary baby and the omen and the exorcist and but let face it and 70 cinema largely thrive on steal formula and imitate success story . if you overlook the slightly unoriginal concept and and in all fairness and a handful of thoroughly confuse and unnecessary sub plot and the sentinel honestly still remain a uniquely atmospheric and often downright petrify 70 horror highlight with an impressive ensemble cast and nightmarish imagery youre not likely to forget easy . alison parker and a ravish model with some unprocessed mental trauma and move into a stunning brownstone apartment in brooklyn and deeply against the will of her boyfriend michael who propose to wed her several time already . alison physical existence and especially her mental condition drastically alter shortly after and and the ominous apartment appear to be the root of all misery . she meet eccentric neighbor and attends birthday party for their cat and even though the landlady claim she and a blind priest be the only tenant . she frequently faint during her work assignment and have truly creepy vision of her bastard father and the night she attempt to commit suicide . it slowly become clear that alison get choose to serve a high supernatural purpose inside this apartment building and but simultaneously malignant force try and prevent this . it truly regrettable how the promotional taglines and even brief synopsis on the back of the dvd immediately reveal that alison brownstone apartment be the earth gateway to hell itself and she the chosen one to guard it and because the film script only slowly build up towards this shock revelation . for nearly 75 minute ( and throughout some sadly tedious and overlong sequence ) michael winner successfully maintain the impression that alison own mind be play trick with her and that the involvement of the catholic church and her fiancée odd behavior be strictly red herring . multiple of the horrific scenes come pretty close to be genius and like alison flashback or her first acquaintance with the priest upstairs . the whole climax and with the controversial guest appearance mention here above and be a literally perplexing showcase of pure terror and easily one of the most unforgettable and nail biting denouement i ever witness . the cast michael winner manage to gather be deeply impressive and especially consider the sentinel still remain a legitimate horror movie and this genre isn not the most popular among prominent actor and but of course you also have to put the cast list a little into perspective . with such an extended cast and obviously several of the role in the film be little more than cameo . martin balsam and john carradine and for example and only appear on screen for a couple of minute all together . several others ( like christopher walken and jeff goldblum and beverly dangelo and tom berenger ) perhaps add a lot of fame to the movie nowadays and but back when it be release they be still too unknown in order to attract curious viewer . my personal pick for best performance go to burgess meredith a the uncanny neighbor and eli wallach a the satirical police inspector . the relatively unknown cristina raines do an admirable job carry the film and chris sarandon neatly back her up and even though he sport a ridiculous mustache . in my humble opinion the sentinel be a marvelously entertaining and frightening horror movie and and most definitely a must see for true genre fanatic .