17.10.17

"The Pit and the Pendulum" by Roger Corman (1961)


Sometimes old movies are just old and there is nothing redeeming about them.
Its really interesting why today we can watch 1922. "Nosferatu" with fascination, but the moment we arrive in bright-coloured 1960s, something is off and paradoxically, latest movies are much more dated than their distant ancestors. The whole era of German expressionism is still perfectly capable to give me nightmares, while what is now accepted as golden and classic horrors of 1960s just don't do it for me, no matter how influential and celebrated they might be. Its not just the bright colours, sets or overacting, everything appears artificial and even this is something often done intentionally, I start to feel fidgety and wonder how much longer do I have to suffer trough this.

"The Pit and the Pendulum" has been praised to the skies as one of the most influential horror movies of the early 1960s - be it as it may, it creaks and squeaks all over the place, showing its age and how much we progressed since than. I could imagine that it might perhaps be very effective if watched on a stormy night somewhere, but I gave it proper chance - tried initially, just to continue next evening with resignation - with results that were only mildly interesting. With exception of scene or two, it was all terribly dated, including unconvincing script, wooden acting and overload of thick cobwebs covering what it appears as labyrinth of leftover scenery from other movies. John Kerr is a young aristocrat who arrives in a gloomy castle to find out about the mysterious death of his sister, whose grieving husband (over the top Vincent Price) roams around, supported by his sister (unconvincing Luana Anders) and a doctor (Antony Carbone) - there is a lot of dialogue, screams in the night and stairways that go to the bottomless abyss but the final results were just too silly to analyse in depth. It reminds me on so many movies from my childhood that once used to scare me to death, but now just appear silly. 

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