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Pit And The Pendulum
1990
Lance Henriksen plays Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the infamous Spanish Inquisition, which is in full swing when THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM begins. The heretic-burning fires of the Auto da fe are raging all across Spain, the people live in fear, and no one dares speak a word against Torquemada and the Inquisition. But when .. Read more
| Starring | Oliver Reed, Jeffrey Combs, Lance Henriksen, Rona De Ricci |
|---|---|
| Director | Stuart Gordon |
| Genres | Horror |
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Pit And The Pendulum
Lance Henriksen plays Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the infamous Spanish Inquisition, which is in full swing when THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM begins. The heretic-burning fires of the Auto da fe are raging all across Spain, the people live in fear, and no one dares speak a word against Torquemada and the Inquisition. But when a baker's wife tries to stop a woman from being burned alive, she is arrested and brought before the evil Torquemada. The mad dictator accuses her of being a witch and commands that she be put on trial, tortured into a confession, and then burned at the stake. The beautiful woman can only hope that her husband will rescue her before she is killed. Director Stuart Gordon offers up another smart, ambitious horror film in THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, which is loosely based on the classic Edgar Allan Poe story. Resisting obvious horror film tropes, Gordon laces his film with a more internal brand of horror, focusing on the tortures of the soul and the evil that men do to themselves as well as others. Henriksen is chilling as the half-crazed Torquemada, creating a character who has been twisted by the conflicting forces of devotion to God, earthly lust, and ambitions of power. Excellent acting, a well-crafted script, and good production design make THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM a unique horror film, typical of Gordon's work.
| Starring | Oliver Reed, Jeffrey Combs, Lance Henriksen, Rona De Ricci, Jonathan Fuller, Tom Towles |
|---|---|
| Director | Stuart Gordon |
| Studio | PRISM LEISURE |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 33 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Horror |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 01 Sep 2003 Production year: 1990 |
| Format | DVD |
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Most helpful member's review
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4 out of 5 people found this review helpful
The Spanish Inquisition and all that!!
A bit of hokum. Poor old Torquemada portrayed as a sex mad deviant monk and not credited with any intelligence. Oliver Reed as a booze stupified cardinal probably sobered up for the part and allowing himself to be walled up in the crypt was too farcical. Cardinals would have had an enormous retinue to accompany them on a pastoral visitation. Couldn't have bricked all them up! The last part of the film with a resurrected corpse and the dead popping out of the woodwork was an insult to the intelligence. Edgar Allan Poe must be turning in his grave. The costumes and decor were the only redeeming feature. This could have been a really good account of an awful religious institution which is a blot on Church history but it was made ridiculous by a cheap theme and poor acting.
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Most recent members' review
View all -
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful
The Spanish Inquisition and all that!!
A bit of hokum. Poor old Torquemada portrayed as a sex mad deviant monk and not credited with any intelligence. Oliver Reed as a booze stupified cardinal probably sobered up for the part and allowing himself to be walled up in the crypt was too farcical. Cardinals would have had an enormous retinue to accompany them on a pastoral visitation. Couldn't have bricked all them up! The last part of the film with a resurrected corpse and the dead popping out of the woodwork was an insult to the intelligence. Edgar Allan Poe must be turning in his grave. The costumes and decor were the only redeeming feature. This could have been a really good account of an awful religious institution which is a blot on Church history but it was made ridiculous by a cheap theme and poor acting.
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Pit And The Pendulum
Lance Henriksen plays Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor of the infamous Spanish Inquisition, which is in full swing when THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM begins. The heretic-burning fires of the Auto da fe are raging all across Spain, the people live in fear, and no one dares speak a word against Torquemada ...
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