The Sentinel (1977) - 6/10
A woman moves into an brownstone apartment building with strange neighbors and begins experiencing unexplainable phenomena.
Christina Raines stars as Allison, a New York fashion model with a history of mental health issues. Her lawyer boyfriend Michael (Chris Sarandon) asks her to marry him, but Allison wants to maintain her independence and get past her challenges first. Allison moves into a brownstone apartment with a surprisingly affordable price, but the building houses a few unusual neighbors, including a reclusive blind priest. Allison soon begins hearing noises coming from the empty apartment above her, and while investigating makes a horrible discovery...
The Sentinel was directed by Michael Winner, and written by Jeffrey Konvitz and Winner. The film is based on Konvitz's book of the same name, and was released on the heels of religious horror smash hits like the Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976). How does The Sentinel hold up against those movies?
Like stated in
@KallioWeHardlyKnewYe's
review, this movie feels like a watered down version of Rosemary's Baby (1968), while also reminding me a little of Eyes of Laura Mars (1978). There's some interesting genre blending going on here, with the movie feeling like a drama for the first act. When the horror does eventually kick in, the movie shifts again to feel more like a straight up mystery until returning to horror for the climax. This never felt too jarring though, and I thought some of the revelations made during the mystery portion were interesting. As far as horror goes, the movie does a decent job with a mild dose of creepiness.
However, there were some clunky plot elements that held the film back for me. Allison is too flaky at times, and in one moment quickly accepts that she must've "imagined"
a significant event and several weeks worth of other incidents. Later, when other characters realize Allison is in danger and must stay away from her apartment building at a very specific time, they all miraculously manage to lose track of her at a party, at which point she stupidly goes to the one place she shouldn't be...but hey, the climax has to start somehow, right?
Overall, The Sentinel is a pretty decent movie. While it pales in comparison to other films in the same sub genre, it's still worth checking out. Unfortunately, the movie was a huge bomb at the box office, earning only $4M against a $3.5M budget.
The Hills Have Eyes (1977) - 6/10
A vacationing family is attacked by a group of cannibals.
This ensemble cast includes Russ Grieve, Martin Speer, and Dee Wallace as part of a large family on a roadtrip to California. Their car breaks down in the Nevada desert, and one of their dogs runs off. As they split up to hitchhike for help and locate their missing dog, the group is attacked by a group of savage cannibals (including Michael Berryman and James Whitworth)...
The Hills Have Eyes was written and directed by Wes Craven. Coming out five years after Craven's first directorial effort (1972's The Last House of the Left), the horror maestro was looking to break away from the genre, but was unable to secure funding for non-horror projects. Craven then began to develop this movie, an exploitation film inspired by a 16th Century cannibal legend he had read about. How does the movie fare?
It's a cult classic, but a flawed one. The Hills Have Eyes has a simple premise that is executed well, with a healthy amount of shocking violence. The film is also somewhat unique within the genre as the majority of the events happen in broad daylight, which is a pro considering the movie maintains tension without relying on darkness or the unknown. The film is extremely low budget however, which comes across in some of the performances and effects, but it doesn't hurt the film too much though (I might even say it helps it in some areas).
However, the plot has a major flaw in my opinion. Early in the film, one character makes a disturbing discovery, but neglects to tell the rest of the family. This is the linchpin of the story; the family is unaware of the danger, which allows the cannibals to be successful in their attack. If the character does the obvious thing and tell someone about what's happened, the movie's over. I couldn't help but thinking about that over and over while watching The Hills Have Eyes, as the film drags in the middle as the aforementioned character stupidly agonizes over not telling their family of the impending danger.
Overall, The Hills Have Eyes is an early marquee effort in Wes Craven's filmography. I laughably had never seen this movie before (despite seeing the remake in theaters), and it was an interesting watch to see how Craven's style has changed over time. The Hills Have Eyes was a box office success, earning $25M against its popsicle stick budget of $230K.