I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Awesome Movie

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

How valuable was Vincent Price as an actor; I don't mean simply as a star, that should be obvious even to casual horror fans much less people who watch a lot of movies. But it might be too easily assumed - I'm not sure exactly by who but I'm guessing it's by some who only watch these and other horror movies for the (cheap?) thrills - that Price could only do the creepy-spooky voiced character, the man who speaks that inimitable narration in Jackson's 'Thriller', or The House on Haunted Hill or House of Wax or House of Usher or any of the Houses. Watching Pit and the Pendulum and you can get another take on him, that, as hammy as he might appear, it's not something that he's doing inauthentically. I'm not sure he had it in him to do anything that wasn't deeply felt - Corman, in his book about his life and work, said that Price was trained in the method, of some sort at least - and you can see that 10-fold as Nicholas Medina, the (ex?) husband of Catherine (Luana Anders), as he comes apart over the course of this story. It's a tour-de-force really and it sneaks up on you.The rest of the production is actually pretty good; some of that reaction may be that one may not immediately think of Corman as someone who could make classy, atmospheric horror movies, the kind that could actually feature a character (like Price as Nicholas does at one point in the film) walking down a hallway/stairwell littered with spiders and rats and cobwebs with terrifying music and that it would make one's skin crawl. I think it also helps knowing that it's doubly impressive considering, if one knows their history, how little Corman and AIP usually put into their films - this looks like the real deal, as far as a low budget production could go, and (like 'Usher'), the giant house and the dark cavern and hallways of Medina are exquisite and do the job. I think if there's a weak spot here it's not totally in the script but in John Kerr; I think it may be due to being up against Price and even other decent players like Steele, Anders and Carbone (Anders, though her screen time is limited and some of the time only seen in blue or red tinted flashbacks, well photographed by the way), but he seems a little stiff and wooden. I don't think it's being misdirected or even miscast, he's just the... straight man, in an odd way one could say, where Price gets to have all of the BIG emotional scenes, or can even walk away with a scene when it seems like he's doing very little. At the heart of Pit and the Pendulum is one of Poe's great stories, one that has been if not ripped-off then certainly done the homage- route - I could see heavy traces in something as recent as A Cure for Wellness to a degree, or really any movie that has to do with an outsider going to a dark, bad place to discover what happened to 'A' character and if 'B' is responsible or not. What also helps is that it's not long at all - 77 minutes before credits (though those are given a wonderful, psychedelic tinge) - so it's compact and doesn't waste time. Yet at the same time it uses every minute it's got in spellbinding intensity and intrigue, and when Price has to breakdown or, later on, turn (or even when he plays Nicholas's father - the one who "punishes" the "adulterers"), he's gangbusters. If this isn't Corman's masterpiece then it may be Price's.

Receiving notice of her death, a man travels to the castle of her husband to see his sister only to learn that his belief in her being corrupted by it's torturous past makes him believe that he has prematurely buried her and begins tormenting them to ensure his secret is kept hidden.This here was a pretty pleasant surprise. Like the majority of the film's in this series, what really makes for a great time here is the overwhelming and truly glorious Gothic splendor featured here, which is the generally prerequisite grand Gothic castle and it's usually elaborate surroundings. The castle itself isn't that bad, but the catacombs are it's best locations, with the cobwebbed walls, hidden rooms astutely located, and also features some great places within that manage to go for the usually grand spectacle of the overly large mansion. The second half here, though is what really makes it watchable with a spectacular series of actions. This all starts when the revelation is made about it being possible she's still alive and the torment undergone and it only gets better from there as this starts with the ploys about it being in the imagination from the childhood trauma and the evidence presented against it. Carrying on from the discovery of the personal items left behind, the ghostly voices and noises heard in the night and the trashed room, this is all quite fun and sets the stage for the group wandering into the crypt. The shocking discovery of the dead body is quite enjoyable as the one found is quite grotesque, looking realistic and freaky at the same time while the other really big scene, the resurrection, is completely eerie and creepy, with the bright spot of not revealing everything about the figure until the end. Only the body is shown, with the face kept in the shadows even during the ensuing chase through the catacombs, which is the bright spot about the scene. There's also an elaborate stalking chase right after it and a mystery as well where the complete identity of the figure is kept in the shadows and only a small portion seen throughout for a wonderfully brilliant scene. The final ten minutes, where the title comes into play, is simply fantastic done within a pretty creepy location and actually generates some really suspenseful moments where the closer it comes, the more suspenseful it is, and it really drives the scene. The location used for this scene is actually almost as good, comprising of an elaborate crystal design of weird structures along the outer edges and being a similarly beautiful and creepy place. This is all quite enjoyable since it doesn't have a whole lot of negatives. One of the most apparent is the slow build-up in the beginning of the film. This starts out incredibly slow, as the beginning is full of nonsensical dialog about what he's there for. It sets up a nice mystery, but there's nothing interesting in the characters wandering around spouting dialog about a character's battle with a disease. It tries to set-up a mystery, but it's not that interesting and never really means as much as it should due to the incredibly boring introduction and really doesn't do much for the film. It's also apparent that it's a low-rent version of the film film in the series and plays through many of the same features without doing much else differently. Otherwise, this here was pretty entertaining.Today's Rating/PG: Mild Violence.

Uber-cheap filmmaker Roger Corman found an affinity with Edgar Allen Poe in the early 60s and drummed out this pleasingly Gothic horror, which has actually turned out to be one of this best efforts. Shot in anamorphic Panavision with some lovely matte paintings and composites the film looks more technically sophisticated than his usual fare.Vincent Price plays the sorrowful Spanish nobility mourning the loss of this beautiful wife with gloomy melodrama while the co-actors add to the morbidity with equally glum performances. The castle sets are a bit stiff but have enough atmosphere to make them seem authentic. The nature of the story has a "Saw" feel to it and is most certainly an inspiration in some regards.At a brisk 81 minutes (and, knowing Corman, probably shot in 81 minutes also) there's no chance of it being boring or overwrought. I even found some of it to be quite innovative, including a clever moment I can see was reused in William Malone's 1999 version of House on Haunted Hill.Not exactly a breathtaking classic horror but it will entertain you if you are stuck for something appropriate on a dark and stormy night.

After the mysterious death of Elizabeth Barnard Medina (Barbara Steele), her brother Francis Barnard (John Kerr) travels from London to Spain and without previous notice he arrives at the castle of her husband Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price). He is received by Nicholas' sister Catherine Medina (Luana Anders) that invites Francis to have dinner with her brother and her.Francis learns that their father Sebastian Medina was a cruel torturer of the Spanish Inquisition and Nicholas is a traumatized man that has witnessed the murder of his uncle Bartolome (Charles Victor) and his adulterer mother Isabella (Mary Menzies) being tortured and killed by his father when he was a kid. During the dinner, the family's friend Doctor Charles Leon (Antony Carbone) unexpectedly arrives and Francis discovers that his sister died of heart attack after visiting the torture chamber in the dungeons. Soon the place is haunted by strange events and Nicholas suspects of his servants Maximillian (Patrick Westwood) and Maria (Lynette Bernay) but Francis is convinced that Nicholas is the responsible for the death of his sister. "Pit and the Pendulum" is one of the best Roger Corman's movies despite the poor scenario that shakes in many scenes. The last time that I saw this movie was on 16 November 1999 on cable television and today I have just watched it again on DVD. The creepy story of Edgar Allan Poe is still engaging even when the viewer watches more than two times. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "A Mansão do Terror" ("The Manor of Horror")