Pit and the Pendulum

Name: Pit and the Pendulum
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Horror
Released: August 23, 1961
Duration: 80 min
Rating: 78
Cast: Antony Carbone, Barbara Steele, Charles Victor, John Kerr, Larry Turner

1961

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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The Pit And The Pendulum

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Movie Details & Credits

American International Pictures (AIP) | Release Date: August 23, 1961 | TV-PG

Starring: Antony Carbone, Barbara Steele, Charles Victor, John Kerr, Larry Turner, Luana Anders, Lynette Bernay, Mary Menzies, Patrick Westwood, Vincent Price

Summary: In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.

Director: Roger Corman

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Horror

Rating: TV-PG

Runtime: 80 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Staff (Not Credited)

Corman at his intoxicating best, drawing a seductive mesh of sexual motifs from Poe's story through a fine Richard Matheson script. Read full review

Empire Kim Newman

A highly effective merging of star power (both in front and behind the camera) and finely honed horror sensibilities. Read full review

The Telegraph Catherine Gee

Watching this film as a child, the piercing image of Medina's wife Elizabeth's (Barbara Steele) wide eyes in the iron maiden stayed with me for years. Read full review

Keith Phipps

The film plays like a companion piece to Usher, but one eager to push beyond its limits, particularly in its tinted flashback sequences. It also lets Price begin the film as a delicate gentleman and end it as a madman. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

Screenwriter Richard Matheson did a fine job of adapting Poe's rather limited (for films) short story by saving the dungeon sequences for the climax and then creating a rather interesting plot line to lead up to it. One of Corman's and AIP's best. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

A physically stylish, imaginatively photographed horror film which, though needlessly corny in many spots, adds up to good exploitation. Read full review

The Guardian Philip French

Corman enhances the narrative with assorted shocks and tinted flashbacks reminiscent of the silent cinema. Read full review

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codyz

Aug 27, 2023

Solid, intense old school horror craftsmanship by B movie king, Roger Corman. The creepy atmosphere, spooky music, eerie matte paintings of sea cliff castle, and torture chamber cavern, the huge interior sets, and nice haunted house production design, all add to the sense of dread.Solid, intense old school horror craftsmanship by B movie king, Roger Corman. The creepy atmosphere, spooky music, eerie matte paintings of sea cliff castle, and torture chamber cavern, the huge interior sets, and nice haunted house production design, all add to the sense of dread. Movie is anchored by Vincent Price's performance, and how he reacts to the plot's twists and turns. All capped by one of flimdom's most memorable, haunting final images.… Expand

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