The Pit and the Pendulum *** (1991, Lance Henriksen, Stephen Lee, William J Norris, Oliver Reed) – Classic Movie Review 2846

Lance Henriksen is suitably haunted as the particularly sadistic Spanish Inquisition torturer Torquemada in director Stuart Gordon’s gruesome, nasty-toned 1991 made-for-cinema remake of Roger Corman’s 1961 chiller.

Rona De Ricci plays Maria, who speaks out against the Inquisition, is arrested and accused of being a witch. Torquemada orders her tortured and her tongue to be cut out…

Advertised as ‘A bizarre descent into hell from the creator of Re-Animator’, it might claim to complement Corman’s movie but it certainly does not replace it.

Also in the cast are Stephen Lee (Gomez), William J Norris (Dr Huesos, Oliver Reed (Cardinal), Frances Bay (Esmeralda), Mark Margolis (Mendoza), Carolyn Purdy-Gordon (Contessa D’Alba Molina), Benito Stefanelli (Executioner), Jeffrey Combs (Francisco), Tom Towles (Don Carlos) and Jonathan Fuller (Antonio).

Dennis Paoli adapts the public domain story by Edgar Allan Poe. It is produced for Full Moon Entertainment by Albert Band, with Charles Band as executive producer, and music by Richard Band.

It is rated R for scenes of torture and sex-related nudity, and for strong language.

After a couple of festival screenings, it got a limited US release on 31 May 1991 and a full release on 27 June.

Stuart Gordon is best known for Re-Animator and From Beyond. It was filmed in Umbria, Italy, in three and a half weeks. Gordon had intended to film it with Peter O’Toole as Torquemada, but the original production was cancelled when the company later went bankrupt. Sherilyn Fenn and Billy Dee Williams were also originally slated to star. The project was picked up by Full Moon Entertainment.

It was remade again in 2009 by director David DeCoteau with Lorielle New, Stephen Hansen and Bart Voitila.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2846

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