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Pit and the Pendulum

Pit and the Pendulum

1961
Horror
1h 20m
Francis Barnard goes to Spain, when he hears his sister Elizabeth has died. Her husband Nicholas Medina, the son of the brutest torturer of the Spanish Inquisition, tells him she has died of a blood disease, but Francis finds this hard to believe. After some investigating he finds out that it was extreme fear that was fatal to his sister and that she may have been buried alive! Strange things then start to happen in the Medina castle. (imdb)
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Pit and the Pendulum

1961
Horror
1h 20m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 54.46% from 450 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(450)
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Rated 27 Nov 2019
85
63rd
The plot ends up borrowing more from Diabolique than from Poe's story - not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes the actual "pit and pendulum" scene feel like an afterthought. John Kerr makes for a stiff and unnatural lead, but thankfully the legendary Vincent Price steps up and saves the day. Could have used more Barbara Steele (but when is there ever enough?).
Rated 23 Sep 2015
78
79th
I've no idea how faithful this is to the Poe story. This is pretty good, nicely shot and atmospheric. Of course ol' Vincent turns up and largely dominates proceedings with a performance that strays just the right side of camp; the rest of the cast seem rather bland by comparison, perhaps with the exception of the underused Steele. It is actually fairly creepy, and becomes more effective as it moves towards its well-handled ending. Enjoyable, efficient film-making.
Rated 16 May 2012
69
54th
'Harlot, you will die in agony!' I've yet to see a film starring Vincent Price where he turns in a bad performance or have something/someone on screen more demanding of attention than he. As with everything else, that is the case here. There's a nice atmospheric mood and the sets are nice but Price completely steals the show, especially towards the end. The scenes of him wandering through the secret corridors were creepy as shit. Loved the actual pendulum.
Rated 14 Oct 2013
84
77th
If it weren't for Kerr's mediocre performance this would be a great film. Those first couple of scenes in particular are pretty bad, but once Price gets in on the action everything really gets rolling. It's the right mix of hammy, creepy and shocking and tells a frightening story very well. The atmosphere is where it really succeeds, with great compositions and the right air of mystery. It also manages to carry the energy and horror all the way to the very well done ending.
Rated 17 Feb 2009
73
66th
Should have been a lot better and included more screen time for the beautiful Barbara Steele. Loved the actual Pit & Pendulum set-piece though!
Rated 22 Sep 2009
75
50th
Pretty good, but I felt like I was rewatching Corman's "House of Usher" throughout much of the runtime. Same director, same writer, same lead actor, same themes, and the same old, dark castle corridors. Nothing wrong with any of that, but it also retains "Usher's" slow pace. The movie picks up during its last block, though, and the Pit and the Pendulum setpiece is a blast. Just don't watch it and "Usher" as a double-bill, or in close proximity to one another, and it should be an enjoyable time.
Rated 29 Jul 2021
60
34th
I really liked the sets. I'm being very polite in not announcing how boring this is when there isn't Vincent Price on screen devouring his puny costars. They are the pit and he is the pendulum.
Rated 28 Jun 2007
75
32nd
Excellent camera angles and a delightfully insane Vincent Price add to the overall atmosphere, but generally subpar acting and laughably fake costumes hinder the film.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
76
50th
Steele is woefully underutilized with the exception of her sole scene at which she excels. Price is excellent up until a point, at which he become more of a cliche than a compelling. Still the script does an excellent job with its build and layers its horrors upon horrors; Matheson doing what he does best.
Rated 19 Aug 2007
85
91st
Doesn't keep the story of Poe's tale, but still very good.
Rated 24 Oct 2009
70
6th
Vincent Price is great as always, but I wasn't that into it otherwise.
Rated 26 Dec 2009
63
21st
As usual, this Corman production has precious little connection with Poe, beyond the admittedly vital presence of the titular torture devices. It's fun enough in its own right, though, and represents Price and Steele's only screen pairing.
Rated 29 Jun 2019
50
45th
Vincent Price MVP. The rest of the characters were so-so. Creepy castle interior with good exterior establishing shots. Never gloat and reveal your secret betrayal lest you drive your victim to lunacy. Fav scene: the ending starting with Price's turn to mad torturer.
Rated 26 Oct 2020
74
42nd
Vincent Price does an excellent job with his role in this movie. The script is a little bit slow moving at times but overall it works. I would recommend this horror film.
Rated 09 Sep 2021
83
68th
They clearly didn't have enough money to choreograph good fight scenes & Price investigating where his dead wife's whisper is coming from goes on too long, but the rest of this holds up well. Considering what must've been a small budget there's good to great production design, esp the pit itself (painting the walls w/ cloaked "demons" was a great idea). What kept me intrigued was the chain of mysteries, the 3rd act twist & so I wasn't surprised to see Richard Matheson as screenwriter at the end.
Rated 01 Apr 2007
60
47th
A film starring Vincent Price and Barbara Steele is supposed to be better
Rated 03 Nov 2007
7
38th
It may not be perfect, but there's enough twisted stuff going on here to satisfy.
Rated 25 Jan 2008
20
6th
Not as interesting as it sounds
Rated 10 Dec 2009
57
26th
This thriller has all the stock ingredients inherent to horror yarns including the castle on the hill, a fantastic torture chamber, walled-up coffins and screams in the night.
Rated 14 Mar 2012
73
74th
Disappointing at the end, but still an unnerving experience.
Rated 28 Jun 2012
40
22nd
Poe goes Scooby-Doo. '...the agony of my soul found vent in one loud, long and final scream of despair' should be shown at the beginning of the film to advertise the effects on the spectator.
Rated 04 Jul 2013
41
56th
Long time since I've seen this; rating might be off.
Rated 03 Mar 2014
60
54th
watched: 2014, 2022
Rated 20 Apr 2014
77
55th
77.000
Rated 04 Nov 2014
59
39th
This was...weird. I don't know how to process this type of film. Only my third Price performance, and already I can't figure out whether he's the worst actor or a great one. The twist is quite good, but there isn't really much here to talk about.
Rated 02 Jan 2015
50
0th
Roger Corman #7
Rated 21 Sep 2015
85
59th
revisto em 28 de outubro de 2023
Rated 22 Dec 2015
100
0th
"Just because Corman is incapable, which he is, of making a Bergman film, it's unfortunate that that didn't happen." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2015/12/episode-84-edgar-allan-poe-adaptations.html
Rated 01 Jun 2016
83
82nd
Love those close ups on the eyes and the cool colours. Real tense ending.
Rated 02 Jun 2016
5
81st
Love that ending
Rated 24 Oct 2017
92
65th
A horror classic based on Poe's story. Captures the attention. Couldn't have been better done. Themes of guilt, madness, a vengeful spirit, and mystery.
Rated 22 Dec 2018
80
68th
Okay, so this isn't really an adaptation of "The Pit and the Pendulum" so much as a remake of Corman's own "The Fall of the House of Usher". It's a remake that takes everything that film did right and improves on it. Corman regulars Luana Anders and Antony Carbone are good, Barbara Steele is not given a lot to do, but is a great presence nonetheless, but the film really belongs to Vincent Price. He adds gravitas to the proceedings and elevates the films above the cheap Gothic horror trappings
Rated 05 Oct 2020
70
43rd
More generally creepy than HoU and the final with the pendulum is suspenseful. But while the lead in HoU was inoffensively bland the lead in this is annoying, dragging the whole movie down a notch. Barbara Steele is underused. Price is the main draw of this of couse.
Rated 13 Nov 2020
71
57th
71.1.
Rated 26 Oct 2021
66
41st
Starring an American as an Englishman, and several Englishmen as Spaniards. Starts out as a pretty slow-paced Scooby-doo mystery, but it picks way up near the end when Vincent Price goes over the top.
Rated 05 Jul 2023
20
12th
So sloooow. And the titular pit and pendulum only arrive in the last 10 minutes.
Rated 10 Aug 2023
60
35th
Even though Poe's original story doesn't really enter until the third act, I think he'd be pretty impressed with what Corman did on a tight budget. It has two unforgettable scenes that are pretty horrific, while the rest borders on mirthful when the plot is moving along (and is slightly tedious when it isn't).
Rated 16 Sep 2023
73
49th
Solid gothic pulp horror in this second of Corman's Poe cycle.
Rated 15 Oct 2023
46
41st
Decent enough with a strong ending, but along with Corman's Fall of the House of Usher this suffers in comparison to Masque of the Red Death which is in a different league.

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