THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM [1991]

 1991-1993 WAS SMACK-DAB AT THE HEIGHT OF MY PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHARLES BAND!  Or Full Moon Entertainment, to be more precise and less click-baity. 

And my friend Cheeks and I were big-time fans!  Right across Route 73 was the Blockbuster Video we now frequented since it swallowed up Erol's Video Store.  I can't remember if Cheeks or I saw our first Full Moon Video sitting there on the shelf; maybe we both discovered them at the same time and told each other about it.  Not the best movies, maybe, but boy did they have a sense of fun and spirit.  Long before apres-credits scenes were a thing, I can remember the joy and wonder of first discovering that, if you sat through (or rather fast forwarded through) the end credits of a Full Moon VHS, a secret treasure awaited you that was at the time unknown except for the real fans:  Full Moon Video Zone.  A little bonus from ole Charlie Band to the fans that was a sort of video magazine/making of/coming attractions treat!  And that's a long way to go to get to the movie at hand here:  1991's THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Lance Henriksen as Torquemada.  This is one of those videos I rented back at this time and I remember not liking it.  I don't know why.  Maybe it was because it wasn't very "Full Moon" like?  I was already a big fan of Stuart Gordon's movies so what gives?!?!  I don't know but I guess I wasn't in the right mood to watch it when I did?  Well, after a few decades I gave it another try on blu-ray instead of VHS and this time I thought it was good.  Not fantastic, but quite good.  

Apparently another studio was going to make this Stuart Gordon film starring Peter O'Toole as Torquemada but the deal fell through.  All credit to Charles Band for picking up the film and allowing Gordon (albeit with a much smaller budget) to make the movie.  There's a lot of really good stuff here but somehow for me the film doesn't equal the sum of its parts entirely.  Let's list the great stuff.  Lance Henriksen as Torquemade gives a terrific performance; he's believably conflicted and unhinged by his religious zealotry and conveys his multitude of issues brilliantly.  Also deserving of acting props is Rona De Ricci as female lead Maria. 

This is only one of two films De Ricci made which is astonishing because her performance here is excellent.  The always excellent Jeffrey Combs is a sheer delight giving inquisitor Francisco a jaded sly wit which lightens the often grim proceedings.  Another absolutely stellar performance is by veteran character actor Frances Bay as Esmeralda; who must be the only ACTUAL witch the Spanish Inquisition ever imprisoned!  Frances Bay has always been a helluvan actor and has a credit list as long as Reed Richards' arm and here she's just as delightfully funny and sympathetic as ever.  The little exchange between Jeffrey Combs and Frances Bay as she's on her way to be burned at the stake is priceless! 

And then there's the cameo by Oliver Reed as the Pope's legate who has come to tell Torquemade to knock it off with all the torture stuff.  Contrary to popular believe, Reed wasn't drunk when on screen.  According to Stuart Gordon himself, Reed got roaring drunk beforehand but Monday morning he was on set early, sober and prepared.  Reed is also fantastic in his small but pivotal role as the Cardinal who falls afoul of Torquemade a la "A CASK OF AMONTILLADO".  The movie looks fantastic as well with production design by Full Moon vet Giovanni Natalucci (FROM BEYOND, TERROR VISION, DOLLS) and set decoration by Dario Argento-collaborator Maurizio Garrone (TENEBRE, INFERNO) also getting high marks.  Richard Band, as usual, lifts Carl Orff's CARMINA BURANA for his musical score this time.  All in all, Full Moon's/Stuart Gordon's adaptation of the classic Poe tale is very good but somehow for me is lacking something I can't put my (tortured) finger on.