Incubo in corsia

The Dead Pit 1989 (*VHS "R") – Directed by Brett Leonard An evil doctor that experiments on his mentally ill patients is entombed in the basement of an abandoned wing. 20 years later, an amnesia patient known only as Jane Doe (Cheryl Lawson), arrives. An earthquake breaks the seal releasing the doctor to continue his dirty work. The dead patients also rise to wreck havoc.

The biggest complaint I heard from other reviewers was about Lawson's acting ability, which I do not think is that bad considering this is her first feature. She is not Scream Queen material though and would be better suited for a Lifetime movie. (She won acting awards for this role and has since had a long career as a stunt woman). And why is she running around in her underwear? Not only would this be considered unethical treatment for patients, but since when are bikini panties standard issue? She would be wearing granny undies. One size fits all… This movie suspiciously looks a lot like Nightmare on Elm Street, which was released 5 years prior to this. Our Jane Doe looks identical to Elm Street's heroine Nancy Thompson. And the scenes where she is running in a dreamlike state evading the evil man in her dreams… But what really made me take notice was the scene where she is following her recently deceased friend only to be lead to Freddy, uhhh….I mean the evil doctor.

This venture was a bit disappointing for director Leonard (Lawnmower Man, Feed) especially considering he co-wrote the script. There are a few script problems that should have been tweaked during script rewrites. Why do the doctors and nurses speak to patients like best friends? If there is limited funding for this mental institute, then why do they admit someone with amnesia and other minor illnesses? How likely is it that not one, but two patients are snooping around and solving mysteries? The biggest problem is that I guessed the surprise ending early on in the film.

And while the film touches on controversial subjects like performing illegal lobotomies on patients, but never digs deep enough to leave a lasting impression on the viewer. There were a few scenes cut from the R rated version I watched such as an open brain surgery. Hopefully these scenes will be added in the upcoming DVD release.

What stands out in the film are the top notch special effects provided by Ed Martinez. The zombies were the most exciting part of the movie although they come late at the 67 minute mark. You know the fun starts once the zombies emerge from the dead pit bald, rotting, and slimy. The patients later learn that a little bit of holy water goes a long way and we are treated to many melting faces.

My favorite scene was toward the end when the "good" doctor (played by the late Jeremy Slate) walks down a hall hearing this disgusting gurgling, choking noise. When he enters the bathroom, it is covered with blood and the nurse walks towards him looking not so hot at the moment.

Overall, I think they didn't try hard enough in the first part of the movie. With 2 writers on board, they should have been able to make a clever script with cool dialogue. They have a mental institution, a nun, amnesia, zombies, etc and they still struggled to make it interesting. Maybe they could have shown the orderlies and nurses being abusive towards the patients to make the first half of the film more dramatic and the zombies killing them in the second half bittersweet. Or why not add more religious themes since they had the nun patient blessing holy water? And if they insist on making Jane run around in panties, then why not sleaze it up to make it more fun? There were several different directions this film could have gone, but seemed to just tiptoe around the subjects instead of tackling them head on.

Favorite Quote: None. The dialogue was lackluster. And shamefully, it wasn't even goofy enough to make me laugh.

Extras: *This was the VHS version with no extras other than a few trailers at the beginning. (It won "The Best Video Box of the Year" by Entertainment magazine when it was first released). A special DVD release is in the process now with SFX artist Ed Martinez providing commentary and SFX extras. Commentary has already been recorded with director Brett Leonard, producer Gimel Everett, and the late actor Jeremy Slate. See the Ed Martinez Interview with HorrorYearbook for details.

To hear about the upcoming The Dead Pit DVD release and the unfortunate passing of actor Jeremy Slate, read distributor Code Red's Blog here: http://www.codereddvd.com/nublog/.

Bottom Line: A must see for Leonard fans interested in his filmography. Has some noteworthy scenes, but fails to be controversial or very scary.

Rating: 7/10 Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com

If anyone ‘s checked my list of write-ups, you'll see that mostly I tend to review slashers. The Dead Pitt isn't exactly one of those flicks, but for a fair part of the runtime it incorporates some of the genre's defining elements. There's a psychopathic, surgical masked serial killer that has the trademark heavy breath and only the heroine can see him (Halloween). And some similar themed stalking set pieces and fairly gruesome murders (Just about every slasher that's ever been released!). It's like an insane mix of Exquisite Tenderness, Dawn of the Mummy and strangely enough, The Exorcist! But overall it's a zombie movie; alas it's an original one, with an exquisite surrounding for the plot to unravel in! I suppose the question that you really want answered if you're reading this is, - is it any good?

In the beginning, Jane Doe is admitted to the State Mental asylum (sorry but they don't give us the name) with amnesia. She protests that she hasn't lost her memory, but it was in fact stolen from her! Her arrival spells bad news for the other inmates however, when an earthquake rocks the institution. Soon after, everyone starts freaking out and people begin to disappear although Jane knows that they have been brutally murdered. She begins seeing a deranged looking surgeon with a bullet hole in his head hanging around the complex, but no-one else spots him and the nurses assume that it's just her insanity creating illusions. Dr. Swann tries her under hypnotherapy, which provides some shocking, if a little unexpected results! The only person that does listen to her is Christian, a patient that becomes close friends with the distraught female. The two set out to solve the mystery of the bizarre disappearances, unaware of the evil that's growing in the clock tower opposite them!

This was Cheryl Lawson's first movie and impressively she managed to land herself the lead part. I can't understand why though, she's one of the worst actresses that I've ever seen! She spends most of the runtime in a tight T-shirt (obviously without a bra, I mean come on!) and small knickers. That's great for us because she's lick-lippingly gorgeous and exceptionally well endowed, but it's pretty unflattering for any female to have to dress like that more than once in her movie debut. Tight clothes and good looks are still no substitute for talent and sadly watching her unconvingly wine and warble her way through the script can become almost nauseating at times! The rest of the cast is equally unimpressive and the only real ‘stars' are the extras that play the deluded inmates of the asylum. Some of the portrayals of dementia are fairly conclusive and add a welcome feeling of uneasiness to the proceedings.

Director Brett Leonard didn't disappear after this like the myriad of other horror helmers from the eighties. Instead he managed to climb on to better things; most noticeably Lawnmower Man. It's obvious from his experimental photography that he could indeed handle his place in ‘the hot seat', although at times he struggles to create suspense when it felt like it was most needed. He also co-wrote the screenplay, which somewhat lowers his credibility, because it has more holes than a keep-net! For example: How did a doctor that was locked in a basement with a bullet in his head manage to find the time to erase Jane's memory? How can he be dead for twenty-one years and only rot slightly? How did the zombies manage to take the distributor caps from the car engines to prevent escape, aren't they supposed to be the walking DEAD? And most importantly, were they deliberately aiming for paroxysms of laughter with their method for stopping the hordes of zombies? It has to be seen to be believed! Answers on a postcard please…

The Dead Pitt is essentially a patchwork of a movie, and not just because it attempts to be a successful crossbreed of horror sub-genres. The excellent lighting that is evident in the opening scenes seems to inexplicably evade the rest of the movie. The plot seems to crumble from imaginative to downright inept and it flies back and fourth from sluggish to energetic throughout. Surprisingly enough, the BBFC – who were at their strictest in the eighties - were implausibly lenient when they gave this an 18 certificate, they left an astonishing amount of gore unedited and the story benefits from it's presence.

A claustrophobic and affectively eerie atmosphere is created at times. But there are far too many ideas fighting for attention, which leaves the best of them struggling to be realised. Huge potential that should have been further developed is sadly wasted by the film's attempt to be a Jack of all trades. There are a few redeeming features that prevent it from complete failure, but ultimately far too much has been crammed into far too little. It is indeed a shame, but what could have been a benchmark in horror history is unforgivably flawed.

Amusingly bad 80's zombie flick in which its main star spends the majority of her time wandering the halls of a mental institution in her underwear.

There is plenty of cheesy gore, nutty dialogue and cartoonish imagery to please fans of the genre.

Best moment: Two cops discussing their favourite donuts, oblivious to an approaching horde of zombies.

This can't be really taken TOO seriously, mostly because of the cliches in, but the atmosfear (in a way, similar to Re-animator) is deadly and creepy. This is quite nice zombie movie. If you are a horror fan, this is definately recommended.

I saw "The Dead Pit" first time some 15 years ago and since late at night on television. I couldn't remember the title until few years ago, and recently I manage to find it on DVD.

Surprisingly magic is still there. Without getting too much into plot, movie is about doctor who performs illegal brain surgeries until his college kills him for moral reasons, sealing him into his "Dead Pit". Twenty years after, Jane Doe (girl who lost her memories) comes into the very same hospital. Soon after, earthquake crack the wall of "Dead Pit" and good old doctor comes back to life, unleashing his horde of undead.

I don't know why many people complain about this movie, seems they are forgetting that this is '80 low budget movie (times when literally everything you thought of could be put on screen). It's a descent '80 zombie flick, bit unusual because of it's narrative style and nightmarish atmosphere it has. It was a first feature of now well known director Brett Leonard, who manage to capture otherworldly atmosphere in what is now considered cult classic. His obvious influences are Wes Craven and his Elm Street (director acknowledged this in audio commentary for Dead Pit DVD). Story gets bit spread here and there, but it never gets too confusing nor it tries to be more then it actually is - a low budget horror flick.

Altho movie starts bit slow (but it has some nice scenes to keep you interested for the first half of the movie), it really comes to life in second half when all hell breaks lose and zombies start to rampage through asylum. Characters aren't deeply developed, but they are interesting enough to keep you watching at screen (good looking Cheryl Lawson helps in that department. Did I mention she walks around in her underwear most of the time?)

SF goes from terrific to silly, but most of the time, they are looking quite good, especially when it comes to gore scenes. It's bloody and will satisfy every zombie fan, because FX here have all the necessary requirement for good zombie gorefest.

Highlight of this little flick are cinematography, which was really well done and music score, which goes from moody to creepy. (Cheryl Lawson looks are also big highlight of this movie.)

Bad: Some scenes are bit longer then they should be, some plot elements that aren't really needed and bit corny ending, and "innovative" way of killing zombies that might cause laugh for hardcore zombie fans.

Overall, it's a descent flick, worth checking out if you are fan of horror movies and for some reason you haven't seen it already.