Review of The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) by Dan B — 04 Jan 2009
Yes, it's schlocky and exploitative, but in its own way Stuart Gordon's take on the Spanish Inquisition is a strangely sincere attempt to examine religious hypocrisy. Lance Henriksen plays Torquemada with total conviction and the brief appearance of Oliver Reed seems to be a nod in the direction of Ken Russell's arthouse naked nun fest, 'The Devils'.
Despite the borrowings from Poe (in addition to the eponymous instrument of death, there is a quick grab from the Cask of Amontillado), the end result is quite close in delirious tone to the gothic horror novel, 'The Monk'.
It's definitely got something, though I must own that the star rating above has been somewhat generously re-calibrated to make allowances for the notoriously low standards of the genre.
This review of The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) was written by Dan B on 04 Jan 2009.
The Pit and the Pendulum has generally received mixed reviews.
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