The Pit and the Pendulum is a
1961 horror film directed by
Roger Corman, starring
Vincent Price,
Barbara Steele,
John Kerr, and
Luana Anders. The
screenplay by
Richard Matheson was based on
Edgar Allan Poe's
short story of the
same name. Set in 16th century Spain, the story is about a young
Englishman who visits a forbidding castle to investigate his sister's mysterious death. After a series of horrific revelations, apparently
ghostly appearances and violent deaths, the young man becomes strapped to the titular
torture device by his lunatic brother-in-law during the film's
climactic sequence. The film was the second title in the popular
series of Poe-based movies released by
American International Pictures, the first having been Corman's
House of Usher released the previous year. A critical and box office hit,
Pit's commercial success convinced AIP and Corman to continue
adapting Poe stories for another six films, five of them starring Price.
Film critic Tim Lucas and writer
Ernesto Gastaldi have both noted the film's strong influence on numerous subsequent
Italian thrillers.
Stephen King has described one of
Pit's major shock sequences as being among the most important moments in the post-1960 horror film. (
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