Recently watched The Pit (1962) a short ( just less than half an hour) experimental film, funded by the BFI, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s short story. Filmed in black and white with a very discordant score, it’s extremely creepy and a very good take on that particular tale.
As a result I reread EAP’s story and was very disappointed to find that although replete with horror and menace, Edgar’s version had a happy ending! Sellout!
‘Twas but a short step to the Roger Corman outing. Although Richard Matheson more or less jettisoned the story, it’s an amazingly atmospheric piece of work. There’s a castle, full of torture instruments, cobwebs (although this may be the only Corman Poe film that doesn’t feature the obligatory tarantula), secret passages. It’s by the sea (apparently representing the unconscious) so there are lots of wonderful waves-crashing-against-the-rocks shots. And there’s Vincent Price (who, like the tarantula, only missed one of the series). People have criticised his madness as being, well, a bit hammy, but, goodness gracious, we all go a little mad sometimes, and I’m all for my madmen and women being totally MAD.
There’s a storm at the end too.
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