Universal Pictures released The Sentinel in the US market on 11 February 1977.

The film is part of what I call “Catholic horror.” And it’s one of my favorite subgenres. I was raised Catholic and that probably explains this.

As a child, I found church to mostly be simply boring. That was true for Baptist churches as well as Catholic churches. But Catholic churches had something special: They were terrifying. Today, I find them lovely. I love old buildings. I love stained glass. And I really love quiet! But as a child? It freaked me out!

But it’s more than the buildings! The dress of priests and nuns are oppressive. And I get it! I was born right at the time of Vatican II. And while I was a teen, our local church introduced the Folk Mass. And everyone associated with the church took on a friendlier feel. But it was too late! I remembered the nun who ran my First Communion!

It’s not just Catholicism, though. The Orthodox churches are the same. So are some forms of Judeism. I’d probably think the same of Islamic faiths, too. But I don’t have much experience. The only Islamic horror I remember is Tobe Hooper’s last film, Djinn. It is excellent but none of it directly deals with the religion or takes place in a mosque.

But I don’t mean to give protestant faiths a pass. Most protestant churches make me think of The Stepford Wives. Pagan faiths make me think of The Wicker Man. Whereas I find horror in a Unitarian Universalist Church absurd on its face, even though I could come up with some things.

The point isn’t that religions of all kinds aren’t creepy in their way. It is that the Catholic Church is a great backdrop for the kind of supernatural horror I most love.

And with that in mind, let’s watch The Sentinel.

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The Sentinel (1977) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.