The Pit and The Pendulum (1961) | 31 Days of Horror: Oct 1

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An unnerving tale of loss and insanity.

Welcome back to the seventh annual 31 Days of Horror marathon, where for 31 consecutive days a new horror film will be reviewed. First up in 2024 is the second adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story by director Roger Corman, The Pit and The Pendulum.

Before Viewing

The trailer tells audiences what they already know, that this film is based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Vincent Price plays a madman in a haunted looking castle on a cliff by the sea. Thunder and lightning seem perpetual as does his ravings. Eventually he takes one of the other characters to his dungeon and straps them underneath a giant pendulum with an axe blade. A literal translation of the title, The Pit and the Pendulum.

Presented below is the trailer for the film.

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After Viewing

A carriage approaches a castle on a Spanish cliff overlooking the seaside. The driver will go no further, so Francis Barnard (John Kerr) walks to the castle and demands to see Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price). He explains to Nicholas’s sister Catherine (Luana Anders) that he is here to see his dead sister, Elizabeth (Barbara Steele). Nicholas reveals himself from his basement doorway, and apologizes to Francis, claiming Elizabeth died of an illness and they interred her below. Nicholas is tortured by the death of his wife, but Francis still needs answers.

Dr. Charles Leon (Antony Carbone), Nicholas’s physician arrives, and accidentally reveals that Elizabeth died of fright. Francis is shown where it happened, in a dungeon torture chamber constructed by Nicholas’s father, Sebastian (Vincent Price). Nicholas explains via a flashback that Elizabeth stopped eating and sleeping. He had made plans to leave with her, but she died on the eve of their departure. Later, Catherine tells Francis a story about a young Nicholas who saw his father kill both his Uncle and Mother when Sebastian discovered they were sleeping together.

The sound of a harpsichord startles everyone, especially Nicholas since it sounds like the music Elizabeth used to play. When they arrive in the study, there’s no one there, but Elizabeth’s ring is on the bloody keys of the instrument. Nicholas faints. Dr. Leon admits that Nicholas has been concerned that Elizabeth might have been interred prematurely; a fear that he has had since he was a child and saw his father do the same thing to his mother. Francis discovers a secret passage between Elizabeth’s and Nicholas’s room, and believes that Nicholas is perpetuating the ruse of a ghostly Elizabeth.

Steeling his nerves, Nicholas leads everyone to the crypt below and they break the wall down to exhume Elizabeth’s body. The body is indeed dead, but was obviously in agony. Nicholas’s worst fears are confirmed, and the doctor apologizes, never having seen anything that mimics death so acutely. A heavy storm arrives that night. Francis apologizes to Catherine, understanding that Nicholas was not responsible for his sister’s death. Nicholas wanders the castle as he hears his dead wife’s voice calling him.

In the catacombs, Nicolas sees the casket open and a bloody Elizabeth comes for him. He runs in terror from this apparition. He stumbles down the steps into the torture room and becomes catatonic. Dr. Leon arrives and sees Elizabeth, admonishing her for not waiting. The woman has been faking her death the entire time. She approaches her husband, teasing him that he could not see that she and the doctor were adulterers, just like his mother and uncle. Nicholas snaps.

He now believes himself to be Sebastian, with Elizabeth being his mother and Dr. Leon being his uncle. He throws Elizabeth into an iron maiden and drags Dr. Leon through a door where his father’s greatest instrument of torture is located: a giant bladed pendulum. The doctor falls into a pit and dies. Francis arrives and is mistaken by Nicholas for his uncle as well, who trusses him up under the swinging blade. Catherine arrives with the butler Maximillian (Patrick Westwood) who pushes Nicholas into the pit and helps Catherine free Francis. As they leave, Catherine vows no one will ever set foot in this room again. The camera zooms in on Eliabeth’s shocked eyes, still alive and gagged within the iron maiden.

“I can never leave. I must accept whatever vengeance Elizabeth chooses to inflict upon me.” – Nicolas Medina

The Pit and The Pendulum was the second film by Roger Corman that was adapted from the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. In total, Corman directed eight films starting the previous year with House of Usher, and concluding in 1964 with The Masque of the Red Death and The Tomb of Ligeia. Unlike the other Poe stories, The Pit and The Pendulum does not have any supernatural elements in it, even though to audiences it appears that the spirit of Elizabeth haunts Nicholas. The original short story, published in 1842, is a first person account of a man being tortured by the Spanish Inquisition where he is trapped beneath a bladed pendulum. That original story did not provide enough plot to support a feature-length film, so screenwriter Richard Matheson created a wholly new story to front the torturous pendulum device, reserved for the end of Act Three.

Matheson was a novelist who had been working for over a decade, creating stories like his acclaimed 1954 novel I Am Legend. His first screenplay adapted his own story, The Incredible Shrinking Man, in 1957. He also worked with Roger Corman the previous year on House of Usher. With The Pit and The Pendulum, Matheson had to invent 80% of the story, all of which feels very much like something that might have been dreamed up by Edgar Allan Poe. Elements of the tale seem similar to a previous Vincent Price film, House on Haunted Hill. In that William Castle film, the protagonist (Price) stages a series of supernatural events in order to reveal the adulterous nature of two of the guests. In this film, the Price protagonist is innocent of any premeditation, and is the one duped by the adulterers. The Pit and The Pendulum also borrows a popular theme from Poe’s work–premature burial. Stories such as The Cask of  Amontillado, The Black Cat, or the plainly titled Premature Burial (adapted by Corman the following year) all deal with characters being buried or entombed alive. In this version, it’s not Nicholas’s fear that he will be “interred alive,” but that of one he loves.

Seven of the eight Poe/Corman films star Vincent Price, and for good reason. With 111 film credits to his name, at least half of those prior to 1961, Price was slowly getting typecast as a horror actor. Besides House of Usher from the previous year, he had a recent string of horror films placing him as the mad doctor, which included The Bat, The Tingler, The Fly, and The Return of the Fly. These titles, plus his 1953 appearance in House of Wax, were the preamble to his horror career. It was from this point forward, probably based on his work with Corman, that he became known primarily for his horror work, which included The Abominable Dr. Phibes, The Oblong Box, and Edward Scissorhands. Price’s evocativeness in this film totally sells the pain and anguish that Nicholas feels over the loss of Elizabeth. Francis is unsure if this is an act, but soon learns that the morose bemoaning of the Lord of the castle is real. That early portrayal of Nicholas’s loss is probably why his break with reality is such a good twist. Switching from the depressed Nicholas to the jealous and wicked Sebastian-persona allows for Price to play both sides, demonstrating an amazing range that’s fun to watch. Well, fun to watch if you’re not the person that caused his break.

The Pit and The Pendulum was one of a number of gothic influenced films from the early 1960s. Admittedly some of these were the Corman/Poe cycle of films, but many were not. Whether it’s films such as The Haunting or The Devil Rides Out that take place in modern times or films like The Innocents and Black Sunday (both films that will be reviewed later this month) that take place in previous centuries, gothic horror is more about a feeling of fear and terror, with the past looming large on the present. That said, certain elements of gothic horror work best when set outside of the modern day. The Pit and The Pendulum utilizes a number of common tropes of gothic horror which are prevalent not only due to their effectiveness, but due to the low-budget nature of these types of films. Set elements, such as the old castle walls, the hidden passageways, and the dank corridors underneath the manor–all gothic inspired visuals–were set pieces used on previous films that were able to be reassembled to create the world of Nicholas Medina’s castle–saving time and money for the production. The lone castle on the bluffs overlooking a turbulent sea with ominous lightning-filled skies would be another gothic element that this film included, updating the look from 1940s black and white films. Nicholas being haunted by the sins of his family’s past is perhaps the biggest gothic element of the film, and the one that provides the most horror.

The majority of The Pit and The Pendulum is a mystery. One that the audience knows is going to be shocking–given the setting and tone of the film. The question being asked is what happened to Elizabeth, and was Nicholas responsible? While Francis comes on a little strong, his concerns about his sister’s death are well-founded. Was Don Medina responsible in some way? When the revelation of a secret passageway appears to convict Nicholas, he too begins to question his own sanity. He is no longer certain if his subconscious is somehow perverting his actions without his knowledge. It seems odd that he is unaware of the secret tunnel, but aside from that Elizabeth and Dr. Leon’s plan is working perfectly. They intend to drive him mad so that he potentially kills himself. The film ends by creating a shocking scene with the reveal of Elizabeth’s “corpse” but not as shocking as the flashback depicting Sebastian attacking his brother and wife. These dreamlike flashbacks used tinted scenes with soft edges on the frame and skewed distortion. The normal color for the scenes was a blue, but upon Sebastian’s turn, the image becomes a fiery red. That may be topped in terms of terror by the sudden appearance of a bloody hand coming from Elizabeth’s casket. Both Nicholas and the audience are taken for a ride, having previously seen the dead body.

It’s unclear what the final act of Elizabeth’s plan was to be, as her ruse upon her husband worked all too well. She probably hoped he would kill himself, but then couldn’t hold back gloating about her plan to his catatonic face. The terror on her face in the final shot, knowing that she will be interred prematurely just as the story they had created for Nicholas unfolded, is beautiful poetic justice. The Pit and The Pendulum feels much like a stage play, and is something that could easily be adapted as such. Its small troupe and limited setting make it a perfect claustrophobic story that works to heighten the anxiety of the characters in the film. Is Vincent Price a tad melodramatic? Certainly. But his portrayal of the tortured Nicholas is what provides the contrast between the weak and simpering man at the outset, and sadistic villain at the end. The only major detraction of the film is that Barbara Steele gets so little screen time, being dead and all. As the Queen of all Scream Queens, her presence is sorely missed, and much appreciated when she finally arrives in the final act.

Assorted Musings

• The film was shot by Floyd Crosby, father to musician David Crosby, who had shot High Noon as well as several other Corman films, including X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes.
• A prologue was hurriedly shot so that this film could be shown on television. Luana Anders (Catherine) was the only actor available, so a scene with her in an asylum was filmed, which doesn’t tie into the rest of the story at all.