Retro Scary Movie: The Sentinel

Did you know the doorway to Hell was located in New York City? No, we're not talking about the plot of Ghostbusters (1984). Let's take a look at the 1977 thriller The Sentinel. Released toward the end of the occult movie cycle which began with films like Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973), the movie tells the story of fashion model Alison Parker, who moves into an apartment in a converted brownstone. She's a distraught young woman who has survived a suicide attempt. The other occupants of the building all act strangely, including an eccentric old man named Charles, who keeps trying to ingratiate himself with her, and insert himself into her life. Weird and disturbing events begin to swirl around Alison; she sleepwalks, has intense nightmares and flashbacks to her suicide attempt. When she complains about the constant noise her neighbors are making, she discovers there really aren't any other people in the building except herself and a blind priest named Father Halliran, who lives on the top floor. But what is causing these odd disturbances?

Alison's boyfriend Michael does some research on the building, and makes a startling discovery. The house is owned by the Catholic Church, and has an odd history. But who is Father Halliran? Is he trying to help Alison or harm her? And what about Michael? A cop keeps visiting Alison and telling her Michael may have been involved in the death of his wife. As the secrets of the building come to light, and the evil forces that are haunting her reveal themselves, Alison's true role in these events becomes clear. One thing is for certain; she has a very important part to play, and her life will never be the same. The Sentinel is perhaps not the best of the 1970s wave of satanic-themed horror tales, but it has some frightening and eerie moments. Directed by Michael Winner (best known for his work on several Charles Bronson films) the movie has what they used to call an "all-star" cast, including Burgess Meredith, John Carradine, Ava Gardner, Eli Wallach, Beverly D'Angelo, Chris Sarandon and Cristina Raines as Alison. You can also spot Jerry Ohrbach, Christopher Walken & Jeff Goldblum in minor roles.

The movie is based on a novel by Jeffrey Konvitz, who also co-wrote the screenplay. He did pen a sequel to The Sentinel, entitled The Guardian, which has not been adapted for the screen. If you're a fan of these types of movies, The Sentinel is worth a look. The location filming in New York City truly adds to the film's overall effectiveness. I remember seeing it on late night TV back in the early 80s, and it definitely creeped me out. It's sort of a combination of the haunted house and demonic sub-genres of horror. The Sentinel would make perfect October/Halloween themed viewing. It is available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory with some fine extras: three different commentary tracks, including one by author Konvitz as well as one by star Raines, and another by director Winner. There's also a video interview with the film's assistant director, and some trailers and ad art galleries. Here's a link to the original trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMIssiMkt04.

The Adventures of Steed and Mrs. Peel

Speak the words “Mrs. Peel, We’re Needed” in the company of a classic TV fan and you’ll likely bring back memories of The Avengers, which starred Patrick Macnee as government agent John Steed. Although Macnee had several co-stars over the course of the show’s six season run (including Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale) his best remembered partner is probably the lovely and dangerous Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg. Their sparkling chemistry, as well as the show’s offbeat stories and very British sense of humor, were an instant hit with viewers when ABC began showing the Macnee-Rigg episodes in 1966. That was the first time The Avengers aired in the States, though it was actually the show’s fourth season. If you’re looking for a few episodes to watch to get the flavor of the series, I’d like to recommend these five episodes as a starting point:

Steed & Mrs. Peel go shopping in Death At Bargain Prices

“Death At Bargain Prices” – Season 4

An agent is mysteriously killed at a department store while searching for a missing scientist. Steed and Mrs. Peel are called upon to investigate. Emma goes undercover as a store employee, and Steed snoops around as a customer. As our heroes try to solve the agent’s murder and locate the scientist, they discover a nefarious plot to destroy London. This episode features some of the best scenes of the Macnee-Rigg era, with the usual excellent byplay between the two stars. It’s written by longtime Avengers scribe Brian Clemens, and directed by British cinema veteran Charles Crichton, who later went on to helm A Fish Called Wanda.

“Castle De’ath” – Season 4

It’s an eerie story about dead agents, ghosts, submarines, and the price of fish. At a Scottish castle, Steed is posing as a historian named “McSteed” and Emma as a consultant who wants to turn the place into a tourist attraction. The two brothers who live at the castle are at odds about what to do to honor their family legacy, but there’s more going on at this stately home than meets the eye. The episode gives viewers the opportunity to see Macnee in a kilt instead of his usual tailored suit and bowler, and Rigg wandering the castle in her nightgown. And just where does that iron maiden in the basement fit in? This entry features nice guest turns from British film and television stalwarts Gordon Jackson and Robert Urquhart as the sparring brothers of Clan De’ath.

“What The Butler Saw” – Season 4

Among a group of high-ranking officials, someone is leaking government secrets. In order to discover the culprit, Steed joins a butler training school (yes, you read that correctly) and Mrs. Peel has to cozy up to a womanizing member of the group. Macnee gets to wear a number of disguises in the episode (each a bit more outlandish than the last) and Emma tries something called “Operation Fascination” to land her target among the group. There’s a lot of sharp dialogue, and not so subtle nods to Get Smart’s famous “Cone of Silence,” and perhaps, 007 himself. This Brian Clemens penned outing is a great deal of fun.

“Who’s Who???” – Season 5

Most classic genre shows found themselves doing a body or mind switch tale at some point during their runs, and The Avengers was no exception. Enemy agents named Basil and Lola use an experimental machine to swap minds with our dynamic duo, leaving Steed and Mrs. Peel trapped in their bodies. It’s a delightfully daffy romp as the evil duo make the most of their time in our heroes’ bodies, and Steed and Mrs. Peel have to find a way to get back to where they belong. Kudos to the excellent performances by Macnee and Rigg, who have to act very unlike their normal selves, as well as Freddie Jones as Basil and Patricia Haines as Lola, who do a nice job playing Steed and Mrs. Peel in their bodies. Written by Philip Levene, and directed by John Llewellyn Moxey.

Mrs. Peel tries to solve the mystery of Murdersville

“Murdersville” – Season 5

Emma escorts an old friend to his new home in a small town. Soon after they arrive, mysterious things begin to happen. Her friend turns up dead, the body disappears, and no one will admit to ever having seen him. The townspeople have devised a very unique way of turning a profit by treating certain visitors to a one-way trip. As Emma tries to escape, she reaches out to Steed. Will he get to her in time? Or will she end up the latest casualty in “Murdersville?” This is one of the best episodes of Season 5, and features some wonderfully odd characters among the townspeople. If you're a credits watcher, pay close attention to Mrs. Peel’s phone call to Steed when she names their “children."

Rigg left the show at the end of its fifth season, and was replaced by Linda Thorson as Tara King for the series’ final year. The show was revived in the mid 1970s as The New Avengers, and during its two season run, Steed had a pair of partners, Gareth Hunt as Mike Gambit and a pre-Absolutely Fabulous Joanna Lumley as Purdey. Ironically, three of the show’s leads went on to be prominently featured in the James Bond film series: Blackman in Goldfinger, Rigg in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (in which Lumley also appeared, pre-New Avengers) and Macnee in A View To A Kill. The series has lived on in syndication, home video releases and online streaming ever since. All of the incarnations of The Avengers have their fans, except perhaps, the disastrous 1998 film version featuring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman. So sit back, relax, and enjoy some wonderful action-adventure tales featuring witty dialogue, colorful characters and of course, the sophisticated and extraordinary John Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel.

All Aboard...Hammer's Train of Terror

Christopher Fowler knows his horror film history. His excellent novel Hell Train is set during the mid 60s, when Hammer studios was turning out a cycle of popular horror films starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and a stable of reliable character actors. As our story opens, Screenwriter Shane Carter arrives in England to meet with Michael Carreras, the head of the studio. Carreras wants him to write a film for Hammer. Carter has just worked with Roger Corman on his Poe films, and is looking for a new project. The catch is that Carreras needs the screenplay in a week, so production can begin quickly. What follows is Carter’s vision of the screenplay as the novel’s main story, with some brief interludes set while he’s writing the movie.

Aboard a mysterious train called the Arkangel, we’re introduced to a variety of characters whose fates are intertwined. Once you board the train, you can’t leave until you’re “tested.” A creepy Conductor leads the passengers on a trip whose destination may be…hell itself. Along the way, terrifying creatures and strange phenomena plague the passengers, some of whom are not what they seem. As they struggle with demonic forces, it becomes apparent that not everyone will leave this journey alive…and perhaps some people aboard are already….not among the living. And why does one of the passengers, a young woman named Isabella, seem to find the train so familiar?

Fowler pokes gentle fun at many classic Hammer films (and those of their contemporary competitors Amicus and Tigon; you may find echoes of old favorites like Dr. Terror's House of Horrors) and throws in a freight car full of references and in-jokes for horror film fans. The main story set on the train is chilling; there are some neat set pieces, and some truly frightening moments. The novel is an expansion and re-imagining of Fowler's 2008 short story entitled "Arkangel." I would have liked to have seen more of the framing story, featuring Carter inter-acting with many of the Hammer films family, including a truly memorable scene with stars Lee and Cushing. Fowler could have written an entire novel set within the horror film industry of the 60s, and that really would have been something. Still, this book is head and shoulders above most of what passes for horror fiction these days. If you’re a fan of 60s and 70s horror, and you're looking for some old fashioned, Creature Features style fun, Hell Train is a ride you’ll want to take.

"One, Two, Freddy's Coming For You......"

The Nightmare on Elm Street films have been very profitable for New Line Cinema. Robert Englund’s portrayal of Freddy Kruger has made the character one of the most iconic in modern horror. Now, a documentary recently released on Blu-ray covers the entire history of the franchise. Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) is a comprehensive look at the movies, from the original entry in 1984 thru 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason. The film runs four hours, and is an exhaustive look at the making of the series. There are in-depth interviews with almost everyone involved with the Elm Street films, including stars Englund & Heather Langenkamp, writer-director Wes Craven, as well as a host of other actors, writers, directors, producers, and make-up and special effects artists.

Executive produced and narrated by Langenkamp, the film begins with a brief history of New Line Cinema’s origins as a company, and then moves on to the conception and production of the first film, 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Each movie is given it’s own “making of” segment and there are behind the scenes videos from the sets of the films, as well as photos, clips and production drawings. There’s even some coverage of the short lived TV series, Freddy’s Nightmares. The stories told by the cast and crew members are fascinating, and if you’re a fan, you’ll really enjoy this documentary. There’s a refreshing amount of candor about the quality of some of the entries in the series, and a frank discussion regarding the tension between creator Craven (who never wanted to do a sequel, much less start a franchise) and New Line executive Bob Shaye.




The better films in the series stood out from the other “slasher” movies because Freddy was a character that got at you through your dreams, a place where you couldn’t truly escape his power. His original motive for killing the children of Elm Street was getting revenge for his own death. Freddy had been a child murderer (softened from his original portrayal as a child molester), who was killed by the parents in an act of vigilante justice. Craven discusses what inspired him to write the original story, and there’s a lot of information regarding how the character and concept was changed, updated and refined over the course of the sequels. Various cast and crew members also discuss the thematic subtexts (some intentional, some unintentional) of the various films in the Elm Street saga.




One of the best films in the series, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994), took the story in an entirely different direction. It featured the actors playing themselves as filming begins on a new Elm Street movie; they are threatened by Freddy, who is portrayed as an evil force that seeks to invade the real world and cause mayhem and death. Englund cites this entry as his favorite. The cast and crew also talk about Johnny Depp’s and Patricia Arquette’s pre-stardom appearances in the series. Also included is an interview with the heavy metal band Dokken, who provided the theme for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987); the MTV-era music video for the song included a cameo by Englund. All in all, this is probably everything you ever wanted to know about the Elm Street series, and more.




While this informative film may not appeal to casual viewers due to its length, it is a thorough look at how genre projects are produced, released and marketed to the public. It even makes reference to the fact that Peter Jackson, the man behind the Lord of the Rings films, made an unused story pitch for one of the sequels. It's also noted that without the financial success of the Elm Street franchise, New Line may not have been able to produce the Lord of the Rings movies! Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010) was originally released on DVD, and is now available on Blu-ray. Both versions include extensive additional interviews and featurettes as extras. Here’s a link to the trailer for the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js_hu0iPyM8 and Dokken's music video for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDveKxl7Ohs.

Robert Culp Rocks "The Outer Limits"

The 1950s and 1960s television landscape featured many anthology series, and a number of those shows planted their feet firmly in the genre of the fantastic: The Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, Thriller, and Science-Fiction Theatre, to name a few. There was one short-lived show that proved to be as groundbreaking and influential as its better-known counterparts: the original version of The Outer Limits. The series was the brainchild of writer-producer Leslie (Stoney Burke) Stevens. Along with Joseph (writer of the screenplay for Psycho) Stefano, and a talented crew of actors, writers and an amazing array behind the scenes talent, they produced some of the most creative, chilling and thoughtful hours of science-fiction (often laced with horror and fantasy) on television. There are a number of episodes I could write about, but for this week, I’d like to focus on a different kind of alien invasion tale, entitled Corpus Earthling, starring Robert Culp.

Culp plays Dr. Paul Cameron, a surgeon who has a steel plate in his head as a result of a previous injury. His wife Laurie (portrayed by Salome Jens) works with geologist and researcher Jonas Temple. While visiting them in their lab, Cameron thinks he hears voices coming from a couple of rock samples they’re studying. The voices are talking about a takeover of the planet Earth. When the aliens realize Cameron can hear them due to the metal plate in his head, they try to induce him to jump from a window, but the attempt fails. Cameron thinks he’s going crazy; and neither Jonas nor Laurie can hear the voices. But does that mean they aren't there?

Laurie (Salome Jens) and the alien invaders

After Laurie and Paul leave, one of the interstellar rocks takes over Dr. Temple’s body. Now possessed by the aliens, he is driven to search out Laurie and Paul, who’ve left town for a few days so Paul can rest. Temple (played by Barry Atwater, who later went on to portray vampire Janos Skorzeny in the classic telefilm The Night Stalker) follows the couple, and Laurie is taken over as well. The now transformed Temple and Laurie both cause Cameron to doubt himself, and his life becomes a living nightmare. Cameron must make some difficult choices, as he’s the only one standing between the aliens and their plan to conquer Earth. Alien rocks taking over the Earth may sound like a silly premise, but the straight-forward treatment of the idea and stark look of the episode bring the idea home. It's a nicely-crafted tale, written by Orin Bortsen, based on a story by Louis Charbonneau.

The Outer Limits was always noir-inspired, baroque and Gothic in its look and feel, due in no small part to the inspired work of cinematographer Conrad Hall (who later went on to win several Oscars) and director Gerd Oswald, who both contributed to a significant number of episodes. The dark atmosphere gives life to the hellish experience of Paul Cameron, who’s well played by Culp, especially in the creepy scene when he discovers the now-transformed Laurie, who both tempts and repels him in equal measure. Culp appeared in two other excellent episodes of the show, The Architects of Fear, and the Hugo award-winning Demon with a Glass Hand, which was penned by the late Harlan Ellison.

If you’re looking for something a little different in your classic science-fiction television diet, give The Outer Limits a try. There was no on-camera host for the show, just an eerie control voice proclaiming “There is nothing wrong with your television set…” The series lasted a season and a half, and boasts an unusually high number of quality episodes for such a short-lived run. Other stars that appeared on memorable episodes of the series include Martin Landau, Sally Kellerman, David McCallum and Robert Duvall. There’s an excellent website devoted to the series called We Are Controlling Transmission, which can be found here: http://wearecontrollingtransmission.blogspot.com. Episodes of the show can be found on Hulu, and the first season of the series was recently released on Blu-Ray by Kino Lorber.

Leaves of Grass: Ed Norton Times Two

What if your past came back to haunt you in the present? The 2009 drama Leaves of Grass offers one answer to that question. Bill Kincaid (Ed Norton) is a philosophy professor at Brown University; he’s been successful in the world of academia, and is being courted by Harvard to create a philosophy curriculum within their law school. A phone call from home changes everything. Bill is told his twin brother Brady has been killed. Bill hasn’t been home in years and left his old world behind to re-invent himself in a new place, with a new life.

Ed Norton and...Ed Norton in Leaves of Grass

Bill heads home to Tulsa, but discovers Brady (also played by Norton) isn’t dead after all. He’s hatching a plan to break free of his allegiance to a local drug distributor, and start over with his pregnant girlfriend. Brady’s a pot grower, who makes some of the most potent weed in the state. He needs Bill to pose as him in order to enact a plot to outwit the drug dealer. Bill refuses at first, but is drawn into his sibling's plan. He also has to deal with his own demons, and reconcile his memories of the family he left behind.

Norton is excellent in the dual role, as the strait-laced Bill, and the free-spirited Brady. He expertly conveys Bill’s reluctance to deal with the ghosts of his past; the mixed emotions he feels for his brother, and his buried feelings of resentment towards his mother (a nice supporting turn by Susan Sarandon).  As Brady, he portrays how the brother who stayed behind feels about his sibling, who deserted the family, and never looked back. 

The story goes in directions you don’t expect, with moments of drama and pathos mixed with some unexpected black comedy. The fine supporting cast includes Keri Russell, Richard Dreyfuss and Tim Blake Nelson, who also wrote and directed the film. A soundtrack of Southern style rock and folk is a nice touch that adds flavor to the movie. This is a unique film, a little different from the usual Hollywood product. The closest comparison would be the films of The Coen Brothers (Blood Simple, Fargo, Miller’s Crossing). If you’re a fan of intelligent dramas that are a little off center, then I recommend you give Leaves of Grass a try.  Here's a link to the film's trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83AbvPYqIko.

Milius: Portrait of a Zen Anarchist

The ‘film school” generation of the 60s and 70s gave us such writer-directors as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and John Milius. Who's John Milius, you ask? You may not know his name, but you’re certainly familiar with some of the films he’s worked on as a writer, director or both: Apocalypse Now (1979), Conan The Barbarian (1982), Red Dawn (1984) and later, the HBO series, Rome (2005). Now a new documentary entitled Milius (2013) covers the life and career of this talented, sometimes controversial filmmaker. Milius came to prominence as a screenwriter in the early to mid 1970s. He worked on movies such as 1971’s Dirty Harry (Milius did an uncredited rewrite of the script, and came up with the famous “Do you feel lucky, punk?” speech) and writing the screenplays for the 1972 Robert Redford film, Jeremiah Johnson, (for which he received a record payday at the time) and the Dirty Harry sequel, Magnum Force (1973).

Milius quickly became one of the most in demand writers in Hollywood. Interestingly enough, at a time when the movie business (and the country as a whole) was in the midst of a more liberal stance politically, he was very conservative, but was still able to be a success in the industry. He wrote and directed the old-fashioned adventure film, The Wind & The Lion (1975) starring Sean Connery, Candice Bergen and Brian Keith as Teddy Roosevelt, one of Milius' personal heroes. He also penned the famous monologue about the USS Indianapolis that Robert Shaw performs in Jaws (1975), as a favor to his friend Spielberg. Then he co-wrote the screenplay for Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, a project that he, Lucas and Coppola had talked about endlessly since film school. The documentary covers the genesis and production of the celebrated Vietnam war epic (and Milius' contributions to it) in great detail.

During the 80s, Milius worked on bringing Robert E. Howard’s legendary Conan character to the screen in Conan The Barbarian, and wrote and directed the original Red Dawn, about a Russian military takeover of the US, and a group of teenagers who rebel against the invaders. The film covers a lot of ground talking about these two movies, and the political controversy that was sparked by Red Dawn during its original release. During this period, Milius (and the entertainment business in general) were being heavily criticized for the overly violent content of films. And while Milius had famous friends and colleagues like Lucas, Coppola & Spielberg, his over the top personality often rubbed studio executives the wrong way, causing some of his projects to be derailed or cancelled. The self-proclaimed "zen anarchist" could sometimes be his own worst enemy.

The documentary is a well-rounded portrait of Milius, and features fascinting interviews with Lucas, Spielberg and Coppola. There are also comments from Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Milius’ children, as well as current filmmakers like Bryan (X-Men) Singer and Kurt (Sons of Anarchy) Sutter, who've been inspired by him. The Lucas and Spielberg sequences are some of the most engrossing parts of the film. While they often give interviews about their current projects, it’s fascinating to see them really open up about their friendship and collaborations with Milius, and tell stories about their early days working together in the 70s. Milius really is the kind of larger than life persona that you don’t see in today’s Hollywood, and even the studio executives he knocked heads & battled with admit they admire his talent.

The latter part of the film goes into some health struggles Milius has suffered after having a stroke a few years ago, which is why he’s largely seen in archival footage. He’s working to get better, and is hoping to get a long in development project about Genghis Khan produced. This is an absorbing portrait of a man who’s given us a host of iconic movie moments. It’s a must see for fans of 70s & 80s cinema, and if you've read Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, you'll see that a lot of the information from that book resonates in this documentary. Milius, which was directed by Joey Figueroa and Zak Knutson, is often shown on the EPIX cable channel and is available for digital viewing at various sites. Here’s a link to the film’s trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLuPXfsCkWg.