When a cat birthday party and an appearance from Jeff Goldblum are the most interesting things in a horror movie, you can't really say it's a successful chiller, can you? For some reason both the randomness and bizarreness work better in the book, and the plot doesn't drag quite as much as in the jarringly slow movie. Sure, Allison is pretty much made out of thin air as a character, and her boyfriend is such a punchable sleazeball that it's almost otherworldly, but the hilariously strange and creepy neighbors, the mystery and eeriness surrounding the brownstone, and the enigma of the blind priest all add to the cheesy world of 70s satanic craze.

I don't find religious horror scary or even that interesting (The Exorcist nearly put me to sleep), but The Sentinel is kooky and a bit of a mess in a good way, and I'm partial to that sort of thing. It's the kind of entertaining oddball novel that I'll gladly champion instead of a much too serious and sedate one that is touted as a masterpiece.

Oh, and I love the surprise cover this edition has!