The Pit and the Pendulum
It was 1961, and I was eight years old when my older brother took me to a Saturday matinee of The Pit and the Pendulum. It was the first horror movie I’d ever seen, and it made a seismic impression on me.
Until that time, the movies I’d seen were usually sweet, heartwarming, funny diversions. The Pit and the Pendulum changed all that. Its wide screen, gothic terrors slammed into my precious childhood like a deep impact asteroid. I was so frightened during the movie that several times I cried out loud and my brother covered my eyes to protect me. But it was too late. The damage was done. For the first time I’d glimpsed the frights and the fears that could exist outside the safe, protected little-boy-bubble in which I lived. And I was terrified. But I think I was also thrilled because when the Panavision nightmare was over and the lights in the theatre came back on, I realized that I was okay and that the movie’s creeping, claustrophobic dread had given me a giddy, visceral joy ride unlike any other. And so, my lifelong love of horror movies was born.
Loosely based on the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, The Pit and The Pendulum is about a man who travels to a remote castle in 16th century Spain to investigate his sister’s mysterious death. His search leads him to believe that her strange husband Nicholas is to blame.
The legendary Vincent Price stars as Nicholas, a man traumatized and haunted by memories of growing up in the castle where his father tortured victims for the Spanish Inquisition. His father’s torture devices are still in the dungeon, including one where he strapped victims to their backs as they watched in agony as a giant pendulum with a deadly blade on its tip slowly descended toward them, swinging back and forth, moving closer, closer all the time.
Vincent Price played many cracked crazies, but here his insanity boils with scalding beauty.
As if the sins of his torturer-father were not bad enough, Nicholas teeters on the edge of madness because he also believes that he’s being haunted by the ghost of his dead wife. In his illustrious career, Vincent Price played many cracked crazies, but here his insanity boils with scalding beauty, especially in the climax when the bloody pendulum swings for another victim.
The Pit and the Pendulum was directed by Roger Corman, with a screenplay by Richard Matheson. Despite its budget limitations, the movie is a feast of B-movie charms.
I give The Pit and the Pendulum three out of four stars. It’s no longer scary by modern standards, but for those willing to appreciate how masters like Vincent Price and Roger Corman practiced their art, it’s still a fun joy ride, for sure—whether you’re eight years old or not.
