Blu-Ray Review: The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

Review by Karolina Gruschka

Edgar Allan Poe – a “brilliant and disturbed man” (R. Corman)

The first time Roger Corman read E.A. Poe was aged thirteen for a school assignment. He was so fascinated by The Fall of the House of Usher that, the following Christmas, he wished for the complete works of Poe. About twenty years later and several B-movies down the line, Corman adapted this story for the movie production House of Usher (1960). After his “passion project” proved to be a great success, it made sense to follow it up with another Poe adaptation (and later a few more to make it a whole cycle). At first, Corman was considering Masque of the Red Death, but Ingmar Bergman had just released The Seventh Seal (1957), which had a similar subject matter. In the end, he decided on a short story set around the Spanish Inquisition – The Pit and the Pendulum.

In the original tale the protagonist gives an account of his inner terror whilst tied down to a board underneath the pendulum, an instrument of torture. This device consists of a massive metal pendulum with a sharp scythe-like blade affixed to its end. As it swings above the victim’s abdominal area, the pendulum is gradually lowered. It is claimed to have been used as an implement to extract confession by means of psychological torture; the intense combination of anticipation and fear would lead the prisoner into madness.

What a Twist!

It might have been interesting to work with this scene by means of cinematic exploration, but Corman would not be Corman if he did not marry an alternative and experimental element with commerce. A whole narrative was constructed around this short story, leading up to the climax in the torture chamber. While Poe’s story is set during the Spanish Inquisition, Richard Matheson’s script seems to take place slightly after. The location is a castle where an infamous inquisitor, Sebastian Medina, used to practice his cruel deeds. It is now inhabited by his sensitive son Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price),who only recently lost his beautiful wife Elizabeth (Barbara Steele) due to mysterious circumstances. With his sister Catherine (Luana Anders) there to support him in his times of grief and the help of the family doctor Charles Leon (Antony Carbone), Nicholas tries to take each day in his stride.

The Pit and the Pendulum starts with the arrival of Elizabeth’s brother Francis Barnard (John Kerr). He has journeyed all the way from England to receive a concrete explanation for his sister’s untimely death. Yet the castle is shrouded in an enigmatic atmosphere; therefore, instead of finding answers, he encounters lies, secrets and more mysteries. First, Nicholas tells him that Elizabeth died of an illness (“something in her blood”); next Dr Leon explains that she suffered from heart failure after having been frightened to death (the castle’s “odious atmosphere”); then the suspicion is being circulated that she might have been buried prematurely. To add more puzzlement to the charade, Elizabeth seems to have risen from the dead to haunt her loved ones. It starts with harmless spirit activities, such as the playing of Elizabeth’s harpsichord at night, culminating in poltergeist tendencies, like the vandalisation of her locked bed-chamber. However, Francis’ discovery of a secret passageway between Elizabeth’s and her husband’s room reins in otherworldly explanations and incriminates Nicholas Medina. On top of that, Nicholas comes up with the unbelievable explanation that he might have been pretending to be his late wife, without being conscious of it, in order to punish himself (?!).

Now, hold your horses! What about charming Dr. Leon? It turns out that Elizabeth was indeed buried alive. I am aware that back in the days doctors did not have all the apparatus and medical knowledge to their availability that we have now, but Dr. Leon did approve the burial of somebody he pronounced “quite dead”. It surprised me that nobody displays anger or suspicion towards the fairly calm and remorse-free doctor; instead, Dr Leon comforts a guilt ridden Nicholas.

Each discovery in the plot, proves to be yet another lie; Matheson’s script is so full of twists that I feel like the whole storyline almost loses its plausibility. In a way, this is pretty clever: I started mirroring Francis’ emotions of suspicion and dissatisfaction, not knowing who and what to believe anymore. The final revelation (only exposed to Nicholas and the viewer) is pretty shocking, but suddenly the whole travesty finally makes sense. The tragic ending is absolutely brilliant and a memorable image.

Not so safe and sound

The Pit and the Pendulum was entirely filmed on a sound stage. Despite made to look like a huge castle (big set, wide angles), the ‘stone walls’ and the artificial light give the movie a suffocating and claustrophobic feel. It seems like there is no world beyond the castle and the characters are trapped in this dark alternate dimension (i.e. the night before Nicholas plans to escape with Elizabeth, she dies). The dream sequences, too, add a further uncanny element to the overall heavy atmosphere.

Nia E.-B. mentions in her review of The Masque of Red Death (another of the Corman-does-Poe cycle) that Corman and Price collaborations are sensuous films. The Pit and the Pendulum, too, is wrapped in opulent colours and there is a lot of play with sound. Offscreen sounds and noises (whispers, music) are employed to either indicate a presence of something yet unseen or to create foreboding for future occurrences. The pendulum, for instance, not visible until the end, is already introduced in the beginning of the film, in the shape of a strange noise.

Although some might have criticised Vincent Price’s performance in The Pit and the Pendulum as over the top, I think it is a brilliant effort to depict pure madness. It works perfectly with the eccentric tone of the film.

The Pit and Pendulum was released in the UK by Arrow Films on Blu-ray 19th May 2014. The special features include a commentary with Roger Corman, a commentary with film critic Tim Lucas, ‘The Story behind the Swinging Blade’ (making of), an added Television sequence from 1968 (to fit the longer TV slot) and the original theatrical trailer. The disc also features ‘An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe’ (1970) which is Vincent Price reciting four E.A. Poe stories (The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Pit and the Pendulum) – this is already worth the purchase.

The Pit and the Pendulum is available now on Blu-Ray from Arrow Video.