13 Nights of Shocktober: The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some horror movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 12: Vincent Price Night

“The razor edge of destiny.” The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

I may seem like I’m repeating myself but I cannot emphasize enough how with a Roger Corman movie, more so than with any other filmmaker, you never know what you’re going to get: B-movie dreck, campy fun, or something genuinely good, even great. The Pit and the Pendulum is definitely in the top tier of Roger Corman/Vincent Price movies. Like all of Roger Corman’s Edgar Allen Poe adaptations, you’ll find period costumes and sets, a spooky castle, occasionally stiff acting, low budget charm, and a great performance from Vincent Price. 

Unsurprisingly, the screenplay by Richard Matheson adds quite a bit to Poe’s very short story, which is mainly an elaborate description of the titular torture devices and light on plot. Set in Spain during the 1500’s, Francis Barnard (John Kerr) arrives at the castle of Don Nicolas Medina (Price) to investigate the sudden death of his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele), the Don’s beloved wife. Don Medina is still in mourning and heartbroken over Elizabeth’s death, but the lack of details about her death raises Barnard’s suspicions. As Don Medina, his sister Catherine (Luana Anders), and the doctor who treated Elizabeth each fill in the details, the cause of Elizabeth’s death only becomes more mysterious. We also learn that Don Medina’s father was involved with the Spanish Inquisition and the dungeon of the castle still has the torture devices. In a blue tinted flashback, the young Nicolas witnesses his father torture and kill his mother and uncle for their adultery. 

If your plan involves driving Vincent Price insane, it’s not going to work out for anyone. Usually, though not always, Price played the villain or ended up becoming the villain through spirit possession or madness. Don Medina begins as a seemingly sympathetic character, but there is also an air of suspicion around him. As the plot unfolds it becomes clear that Don Medina was not involved in Elizabeth’s death but his paranoia and misplaced guilt threaten to drive him to a nervous breakdown. This gives Price some great scenes to show off. He gets to play a heartbroken widower, a doting husband in flashbacks, a man losing his sanity, and, finally, an all-out mad villain. 

The opening titles play over a swirl of psychedelic colors and ominous music. The costumes and sets create the atmosphere but the performances and story provide the tension and excitement. The titular pendulum, the swinging blade slowly lowering itself closer and closer to a bound victim, is genuinely intimidating. The clank of the gears that lower the blade and the whoosh as it swings through the air make the whole scene very tense. 

The Roger Corman/Vincent Price films are great to watch anytime, but they are especially fun to watch around Halloween. The additions to the original story are in keeping with Poe’s themes like a lost love, fear of premature burial, and madness. So, the connection back to Poe feels merited (unlike like Roger Corman’s The Raven). This may not be exactly scary, but it is a great old fashioned gothic horror story, thoroughly entertaining and thrilling.