Podcast - The Sentinel
Garbage person, Michael Winner, and the most Catholic horror movie of all time
The Sentinel is probably my favorite haunted house movie of all time but I’ve never really taken a good look at it and the production behind before now. My opinion remains unchanged but my feelings about Michael Winner are way different. He’s just another case of being one of those guys who who can make a solid horror or action movie while also being a gigantic piece of shit.
The 1970’s was a wild time for American horror movies. Low budget indies were having the time of their lives. Some of them managed to break through and redefine the entire genre for decades to come. It was the decade where horror movies shed the schlocky trappings of the 50’s and 60’s and became something new. The indies and the big studio production had one major thing in common, still: exploitation. Satan was still a big deal in Hollywood and everyone, including Disney, was trying to nail down their own Satanic Panic feature. You copied one of three movies, or you mixed them all up into one movie that fans were supposed to love: The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Omen. This one, The Sentinel, is a pastiche of Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen, even though it has nary a baby to speak of, and it still manages to be awesome.
Dive in and check it out!
I could've sworn Burgess Meredith was in Rosemary's Baby, but that's Ruth Gordon. I love both of those diminutive giants to death, but they never worked together. Which to me, is proof that they were the same person.
If you like Catholic conspiracy/thriller stuff, you gotta read Blood of the Lamb by Thomas Monteleone. Right up your alley!