The Pit and the Pendulum

Ian West4.5

The Pit and the Pendulum features lavish colors, matte paintings, superior art direction, and psychedelic visuals used to accent dreamy flashbacks... it’s hard not to deny that this is yet another cobwebbed Corman delight.Opening like a mystery/haunted house movie that oozes with gothic atmos for two acts before plunging into the most recognizable moments of Poe’s short story for the dynamite finale... Pit does a remarkable job at building dread slowly along the way... weaving those first two almost sleepy acts together nicely by filling a seaside castle with plush decor, secret passageways, a full on torture chamber, a ghostly Barbara Steele, and a madness descending Vincent Price... all the necessary things for supreme gothic atmos of the highest order.I can’t help but feel like Corman was influenced by Bava’s Black Sunday, the obvious Steele connection aside, there’s plenty of moments where I felt Corman putting his own stamp on ideas seen in the great Bava film. Most of you know that One of my favorite genres is the Italian gothic films from the 60’s, and despite this movie being influenced by those early bangers I also feel like this movie had some sort of influence on The Long Hair of Death and Bava’s The Whip and the Body... with the latter’s creaky castle wondering, ghostly mystery element, and heavy blue hues feeling like they almost could have came right out of the dream sequences in this movie.Hell, even Deep Red comes to mind. I love Corman’s direction, the coffin reveal is wonderful and kickstarts the final act with waves pounding against the rocks, lightning crashing, and Vincent Price plunging further into madness as only he can. Goth Queen Barbara Steele is also great as usual—no one walks around a castle quite like her and I don’t think anyone ever will.No matter how many times it’s references in movies/books/tv (lol the flintstones), a pendulum will never not freak me out.

Branson Reese

The come from behind victory of the year, goddamn. This started out so unbelievably boring but eventually it just gets its beautifully designed hooks into you and won't let go. You will believe a man can be tied down under a slowly descending pendulum which cuts some of his tummy.Vincent Price seems to be in a completely different movie than everybody else. I have my differences from my siblings but we at least seem like we're from the same nation, something Price and his sister in this movie cannot claim. Wisely, the movie sides with him and we get a two hundred minute scene of him exploring the catacombs of his castle shouting "Elizabeth" like Corman had to pay for the rights to that name and wanted to get his money's worth.Got a big laugh from me when Price first hears Elizabeth calling him and drops his huge golden candle staff. Also got a big laugh when they were trying to find where the screaming was coming from and Catherine says "the torture room!" Yeah, probably one of the first rooms you're gonna wanna check!

SilentDawn3.0

60A few elements keep The Pit and the Pendulum from the top-tier of Price/Corman/Poe collaborations. First, the annoying presence of the protagonist. John Kerr was an admirable actor but he has nothing to work with script-wise. Vincent Price can make so much out of nothing, which he does here, but that was Vincent Price. Roger Corman's 1961 film also barely offers an atmospheric primer before throwing the audience into the story, and complicating matters with plodding narrative developments that inevitably lead to the truly scrumptious climax. In addition, The Pit and the Pendulum is a castle-gothic film in theory, and there is some lovely design-work and matte paintings, but it isn't nearly as well-explored as other Corman/Poe adaptations of the same period. What makes this ultimately succeed is Price and Steele, and the ocean-side horror of unceasing doom on display.