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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM
The Pit and the Pendulum

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The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)

43%
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75%
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43 %
Reviews Counted: 7 Fresh: 3  Rotten:4 Average Rating: 5.3/10
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Synopsis:
Lance Henriksen plays Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the infamous Spanish Inquisition, which is in full swing when THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM begins. The heretic-burning fires of the Auto da fé are raging all across Spain, the people live in fear, and no one dares speak a word against... [More]
Lance Henriksen plays Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the infamous Spanish Inquisition, which is in full swing when THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM begins. The heretic-burning fires of the Auto da fé are raging all across Spain, the people live in fear, and no one dares speak a word against Torquemada and the Inquisition. But when a baker's wife tries to stop a woman from being burned alive, she is arrested and brought before the evil Torquemada. The mad dictator accuses her of being a witch and commands that she be put on trial, tortured into a confession, and then burned at the stake. The beautiful woman can only hope that her husband will rescue her before she is killed. Director Stuart Gordon offers up another smart, ambitious horror film in THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, which is loosely based on the classic Edgar Allan Poe story. Resisting obvious horror film tropes, Gordon laces his film with a more internal brand of horror, focusing on the tortures of the soul and the evil that men do to themselves as well as others. Henriksen is chilling as the half-crazed Torquemada, creating a character who has been twisted by the conflicting forces of devotion to God, earthly lust, and ambitions of power. Excellent acting, a well-crafted script, and good production design make THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM a unique horror film, typical of Gordon's work. [Less]

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Rona De Ricci, Jonathan Fuller, Jeffrey Combs, Tom Towles

Director: Stuart Gordon
Story: Edgar Allan Poe

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 14, 2000

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Letterboxed

Additional Release Material:

  • Behind-the-Scenes Featurette

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Full Review | Comment
02/09/06 03:17 AM
Time Out
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No review available.

| Comment
10/15/05 10:11 AM
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com
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No review available.

| Comment
08/08/05 09:04 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

Boring adaptation with no scares, no mood and no sex appeal (considering it's a form of sexual persecution)

| Comment
07/18/03 01:23 PM
Fred Topel
About.com
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Not bad, but I expected a lot more from Stuart Gordon.

| Comment
06/25/03 03:46 PM
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum
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Really underrated horror film from Stuart Gordon.

| Comment
12/29/02 05:08 PM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
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Schlock of a very fine vintage.

| Comment
08/08/02 04:47 AM
Victor Olliver
Teletext
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Full Review | Comment
05/30/01 01:02 PM
Filmcritic.com
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