The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
Directed By: Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator)
Where to get it: 88 Films
Under the direction of Torquemada (Lance Henriksen) the Grand Inquisitor of Spain, a young baker’s wife, Maria (Rona De Ricci), is falsely accused of witchcraft and dragged before the Inquisition. Torquemada is enchanted by Maria’s beauty and subjects her and her husband Antonio to heinous torture hoping to prove that his own desires are a result of her bewitching powers. With the help of Esmerelda, Maria’s cellmate and a confessed witch, Maria must save her husband Antonio from Torquemada’s ultimate machine of torture—the razor sharp pendulum poised over the inescapable pit of hell.
The Pit and the Pendulum is anything but a super serious film, but if you’ve seen other films from Stuart Gordon heading into this, you probably could already guess that. It’s waaay back in the day for the setting and people are tossing around curse words that you’d see today in movies. It’s kinda over the top, but it’s overwhelmingly entertaining all at the same time. There is nudity, there is gore, there are laughs, and above all else is two grand performances from Lance Henriksen and Rona De Ricci that are outstanding and hold this thing together perfectly from start to finish. From what I’ve see, De Ricci, who plays the extremely pretty Maria that is able to make a man like Torquemada fall for her with one touch, was only in two films. And going by her here that was a shame, because she could have had a very long and grand career based off of this.
While this story isn’t original (based off work by Edgar Allan Poe and there was a movie before this one), this film can’t be topped in overall enjoyment. Each character has their own little things about them that make them entertaining. To Maria’s husband, Antonio the bread maker who is stopping at nothing to prove his wife innocent, to Maria’s prison mate and friend, Esmerelda who is probably the only legit witch that The Inquisitor have being held captive. Everyone in this film brings something to the fold and it’s just outright fun to watch. Now of course being a Full Moon film there are things that can at times come across a little cheap, but it’s hard to be perfect right? Especially when you are under the Full Moon banner.
When it comes time for this film to “take it home”, I think it’s a really dramatic ending that packs action, excitement, and some nasty looking rats as well. That with the acting and the plot all come together in a nice little package that makes for a lot of fun when viewing. It’s a perfect film for anyone who thought the best way to check a pretty girl out for being a witch requires stripping her down naked and checking by hand! A method I fully support and volunteer to do if witch trials ever come back in style here in the year 2011. Until then however, we have this very fun film I think you guys should check out.
The Rating (7/10)
