La fosa y el péndulo

After the mysterious death of Elizabeth Barnard Medina (Barbara Steele), her brother Francis Barnard (John Kerr) travels from London to Spain and without previous notice he arrives at the castle of her husband Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price). He is received by Nicholas' sister Catherine Medina (Luana Anders) that invites Francis to have dinner with her brother and her.

Francis learns that their father Sebastian Medina was a cruel torturer of the Spanish Inquisition and Nicholas is a traumatized man that has witnessed the murder of his uncle Bartolome (Charles Victor) and his adulterer mother Isabella (Mary Menzies) being tortured and killed by his father when he was a kid. During the dinner, the family's friend Doctor Charles Leon (Antony Carbone) unexpectedly arrives and Francis discovers that his sister died of heart attack after visiting the torture chamber in the dungeons. Soon the place is haunted by strange events and Nicholas suspects of his servants Maximillian (Patrick Westwood) and Maria (Lynette Bernay) but Francis is convinced that Nicholas is the responsible for the death of his sister.

"Pit and the Pendulum" is one of the best Roger Corman's movies despite the poor scenario that shakes in many scenes. The last time that I saw this movie was on 16 November 1999 on cable television and today I have just watched it again on DVD. The creepy story of Edgar Allan Poe is still engaging even when the viewer watches more than two times. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Mansão do Terror" ("The Manor of Horror")

Even though it's not strictly faithful to Poe's original short story, The Pit and the Pendulum is still an effective and eerie adaptation. Vincent Price plays his part well, and the supporting cast is strong, too. This movie is able to create a suspenseful sense of fear and dread that you don't get from many horror films today. Well done, Roger Corman.

In the mid-16th century, Englishman Francis Barnard (John Kerr) travels to the Spanish castle of Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price) to try and uncover the details surrounding the sudden death of his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele), Nicholas's wife. Soon after arriving at the castle, Francis begins to suspect that Nicholas is hiding the truth, but what he eventually discovers is far more terrible than he could have imagined.

I'm not the greatest fan of the Roger Corman/Edgar Allen Poe cycle of films, finding their combination of creaky Gothic trappings, trite atmospherics and overwrought melodrama just a little too cheesy to be wholly effective; for much of the time, Pit and the Pendulum is just the same, with Price hamming it up and Corman laying on the eeriness with a trowel.

Thankfully, the film is short enough to prevent boredom kicking in and is saved somewhat by a great final act that provides one or two neat twists, some well handled excitement (the razor-sharp pendulum of the title finally making an appearance, swinging to and fro above a shackled Francis) and a befitting closing shot (I won't say what it is, but it's a corker).

Boy, If I hadn't read another review beforehand which suggested hanging around for the end of this film, even if one gets bored early on, I might have given up on it. I'm glad I stayed with it. It's true; the last part is terrific.

Once again, Vincent Price, as billed, has the lead and deserves the recognition as he emotes as only he could. The surprise is that Price plays such a wimp in this movie, which is out of character for him in his horror films but then - bang! - his REAL personality comes out. Ole Vinny fooled us all. It's shocking and it's pure Price. You'll love it! Price plays, "Nicholas," a guy with a bad family tree. His father tortured people during the Spanish Inquisition and poor "Nicholas" saw his uncle and mother die, too, in the torture chambers of his father's castle (which is a pretty cool place, by the way)..

John Kerr, a horrible actor in this movie, plays a guy ("Francis") to comes to the castle to find out what happened to his sister who had recently died. Oh yeah, she was married to Nicholas. That guy just has no luck with relatives.

I won't say what happens but involves some neat twists and helps make up for the corny and somewhat-boring dialog of the first hour. Talk about torture, though. The first hour, especially the first 20 minutes, is torture to get through. Then a couple of cool all-blue flashback scenes spiced up things for a few minutes, and then it was snooze time until the last 20 minutes which were great!

That last quarter hour is really a hoot for horror fans, especially the last shot!

'Pit And The Pendulum' sees b-grade legend Roger Corman ('Little Shop Of Horrors'), talented suspense writer Richard Matheson ('The Incredible Shrinking Man'), and horror master Vincent Price ('The Tingler') try and recreate the success of their first Poe adaptation 'House Of Usher'. And they do so admirably, '... Pendulum' being even better than the excellent '... Usher'. Matheson cleverly expands upon Poe's original tale by also mixing in elements from the earlier movie, 'The Premature Burial' and other Poe classics. John Kerr is the one weak link in this first rate thriller. An actor I'm not familiar with, he is dull and not all that good. Much better is Antony Carbone (who Corman fans will recognize from 'A Bucket Of Blood') as Price's doctor pal, and the underrated Luana Anders ('Dementia 13', 'Easy Rider') as Price's sister. Price himself is wonderful as usual as the tormented Don Medina, and an added bonus is the appearance of enduring cult figure, and one of the most beautiful actresses in movie history, Barbara Steele ('Black Sunday', 'Shivers'). Steele doesn't get as much screen time as one would wish but it's a joy to see her work alongside Price, sadly their only movie together. 'Pit And The Pendulum' is one of Corman's best horror movies, and one that will surprise many viewers today with just how atmospheric and creepy it still is. An extremely underrated film (as are Corman's other 60s Poe adaptations), and one that is a must see for all horror buffs. Highly recommended.