The Pit and the Pendulum

Full Moon Entertainment

Big Sky/Beyond Home Entertainment

R4 DVD

The Pit and the Pendulum is a schlock horror spectacular from Stuart Gordon, the creator of Re-Animator. It is based on a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1842 and which has had various film adaptations including the Roger Corman cult classic made in 1961 starring Vincent Price. The version of the tale also brings in elements of Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado.

It has a surprising number of significant actors including Lance Henriksen, Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and even a small role by Oliver Reed ! Sure, it is only five minutes, but his cameo is significant and makes a nice nod to the greatest Inquisition film of all time The Devils which starred Oliver Reed. Peter O'Toole was originally slated to play Torquemada but due to problems with schedules Lance Henriksen took the role.

The film itself has a lot going for it; it is filled with gore, violence and torture and actually does a pretty good job depicting the madness of the Spanish Inquisition. Henriksen is quite believable as the insane Torquemada who not only hates the sinners he must torture but himself as well. He sees evil everywhere and is more than happy to stand against other priests and even Rome if they refuse to acknowledge his unique role in defending the faith. When he falls “in lust” with Maria his torment knows no bounds.

The sets are surprisingly impressive and look a lot better than one would expect from a film made on a limited budget and it has an excellent soundtrack and memorable cinematography.

A young couple living during the Spanish inquisition are shocked by the violence they see during the Auto De Fe, a public display of penance of condemned heretics which includes witch burning.

When the guards take to whipping a child Maria screams in horror and tries to stop the violence only to be accused of witchcraft herself. She is taken into custody while her husband, presumed dead after being knocked out by the guards, has to work out how to help her escape.

In prison she is stripped, abused and tortured but still refuses to confess. The more she refuses, the more Torquemada is seduced by her naiveté and beauty. You know this will not end well. Hubbie now has himself smuggled into the prison to try and rescue her and, as expected, is caught and locked up. As Torquemada intervenes to take Maria’s confession, he tries to rape her but cannot complete his task. To hide his shame at his lack of manhood he cuts out her tongue !

The story continues with torture, violence, sex and finally, the climactic scene where Torquemada decides to test his ultimate torture device, The Pit and the Pendulum. This is a startling interpretation of Poe’s tale which revels in its sensationalist content and certainly offers some great cult entertainment. 

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