Il pozzo e il pendolo

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.

The movie adapted from Edgar Allan Poe is par excellence a movie made up of sketches:for instance ,"tre passi nel delirio"(Fellini,Malle,Vadim,1968) encompassed three short stories.

The problem with Edgar Poe's short stories lies in the fact that they are...short!Here Richard Matheson double-jumped his contemporaries by combining elements from several Poe stories in a single classy film. Some kind of" the writer's greatest hits " so to speak.

The beloved late wife subject directly comes from "Morella" which will be filmed by Corman in "tales of terror" the following year.The doomed house which is slowly sinking down recalls "the fall of the House of Usher"."Burried alive" or "premature burial" plays a prominent part in the plot too.The walled up character was present in "the black cat" and "the cask of Amontillado".As for "the pit and the pendulum",it provides the movie with its final,but it's only a small segment of the whole.

The actors are excellent ,the sets wonderfully Gothic,but there's something hollow in these Corman movies.Fellini was able to transcend Poe (eg segment "Tobby Dammit" in "tre passi nel delirio") ,Corman remains a respectful director,and one sees little of the madness which emanates from Poe's best works.The same goes for such works as "premature burial" or "tales of terror".Outside technically,it does not show any improvement on,for instance Jean Epstein's (helped by Luis Bunuel)"chute de la maison Usher" a silent movie from 1928.

'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.

Right after the success of "House of Usher", director Roger Corman wanted to make another adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Masque of the Red Death", however, he felt that it was not the time for that project and decided to make the short story "Pit and the Pendulum". Reunited with Vincent Price and most of the crew of his previous film, Corman crafted another brilliant entry in the Gothic horror sub genre and a film that proved that the praise for "House of Usher" was well-deserved and not a mere lucky strike.

The plot follows Englishman Francis Barnard (John Kerr) on his trip to Spain as he has received news of the death of his beloved sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele). At his arrival, he is informed by Elizabeth's widower, Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price), that she died of a strange blood disease, but strange events begin to happen and both men will discover the strange mystery hidden behind the walls of Medina's castle.

Written by frequent collaborator Richard Matheson, the film is not really a faithful adaptation, it is a cleverly written story that fuses many different Poe's short stories in one. The story unfolds nicely and as in the previous film, the characters are the film's soul. Matheson perfectly forms the bonds and relationships between them and none is left without a time to shine. The mystery of Elizabeth's death and Medina's castle is very well-handled and the unexpected climax is a classic horror moment. Once again Matheson delivers a terrific script that captures Poe's obsession with ancient buildings and Gothic settings.

Despite the low-budget, Roger Corman manage to surpass what he achieved in "House of Usher" taking care in every little detail, with the lavish sets and gorgeous cinematography making the film look as beautiful as a canvas. The films of the so-called "Poe cycle" are almost always labeled as his best and not without a reason, as they prove that Corman was not a mere director of low-grade cheap films. He was truly a daring and inventive artist and this film remains as one of his most powerful masterpieces.

The cast this time is superb, with Vincent Price taking the lead role with great talent and powerful presence. With ease he can go from melodrama to utter horror and his melancholic over-the-top melodrama was right at home in Poe's adaptations. John Kerr makes a terrific counterpart and his performance is very believable. As a stranger in a strange-land, his character brings balance to the film and Kerr makes the most of it. The beautiful ladies Barbara Steel and Luana Anders show off not only their beauty, but also their talent. Steel's aura of mystery suits perfectly the atmospheric horror of the film and Anders displays her talent for melodrama.

The film is near perfect and a great joy to watch. Never dull nor boring, the film captures the Gothic horror of Poe's stories and gives them homage in a grandiose way. A big improvement over the first of Corman's "Poe films", it's hard to find a flaw in it as nearly everything is its right place. From Price's on-screen presence to the wonderful sets, "Pit and the Pendulum" is a masterpiece of low-budget film-making, a movie that looks even better than most of the big studios productions.

"Pit and the Pendulum" proved to be up to its reputation and it quickly became a favorite of mine. Personally, the discovery of this gems has drastically changed my idea of Roger Corman's work, as this group of films prove that this man is a serious artist who knew how to make a movie that was an economic and a artistic success. This film is another great Gothic horror treasure. 8/10

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!