The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)

Director
Stuart Gordon

Main cast
Lance Henriksen; Stephen Lee; William J. Norris; Mark Margolis; Carolyn Purdy-Gordon

Genres
Horror

Description
Set during the height of Spanish Inquisition. The beautiful and kind-hearted Maria is arrested as a witch when she inadvertently cries out in horror at the public whipping of a child. As Maria’s husband Antonio tries to save her, Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, determines to punish Maria with torture for the desire she inflames in him. Loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe's classic short story.


Similar movies

Following up the successful "P.O.E.: Poetry of Eerie", some of the original filmmakers regrouped for this newest experiment which aims to bring the tales of Edgar Allen Poe to life through the distinct lens of Italian horror with spoken English. While the original film's focus was the poetic and macabre dimension of the infamous Boston author, this sequel focuses instead on the bloody, violent and disturbing. Stories include 'The Pit and the Pendulum', 'Solo', 'Loss of Breath', 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Tell-Tale Heart', 'The System of Dr. Tar and Prof. Feather', and 'The Premature Burial'... Like you've never seen before!
After getting a taste for blood as children, Hansel and Gretel have become the ultimate vigilantes, hell-bent on retribution. Now, unbeknownst to them, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches... their past.
Three stories adapted from the work of Edgar Allen Poe: 1) A man and his daughter are reunited, but the blame for the death of his wife hangs over them, unresolved. 2) A derelict challenges the local wine-tasting champion to a competition, but finds the man's attention to his wife worthy of more dramatic action. 3) A man dying and in great pain agrees to be hypnotized at the moment of death, with unexpected consequences.
Francis Barnard goes to Spain, when he hears his sister Elizabeth has died. Her husband Nicholas Medina, the son of the most brutal torturer of the Spanish Inquisition, tells him she has died of a blood disease, but Francis finds this hard to believe. After some investigating he finds out that it was extreme fear that was fatal to his sister and that she may have been buried alive!
England is torn in civil strife as the Royalists battle the Parliamentary Party for control. This conflict distracts people from rational thought and allows unscrupulous men to gain local power by exploiting village superstitions. One of these men is Matthew Hopkins, who tours the land offering his services as a persecutor of witches.
Seven students answer an advertisement to participate in an experiment to explore how the sensation of pain can be eliminated. Arriving at a secluded institute, they are welcomed by mysterious scientist JB Divay. Initially, JB's fascination with hypnosis, clocks and cactus plants are dismissed by the group as mere eccentricities. But as the students begin to disappear one by one, they begin to question JB's true intentions.
When her grave is disturbed by modern-day land developers, a 300-year-old witch is accidentally resurrected and terrorizes an English village.
Alan Foster, a professional American journalist, travels to London to meet with Edgar Allen Poe for an interview. While in London, Alan soon finds himself in the company of Lord Blackwood, and Alan accepts a bet to spend a night in his castle
Alice Guy's version of Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum. This film is partially lost.
A magician who has been turned into a raven turns to a former sorcerer for help in this film loosely based on the Edgar Allen Poe poem.
In the Olden Tymes, Count Regula is drawn and quartered for killing twelve virgins in his dungeon torture chamber. Thirty-five years later, he comes back to seek revenge on the daughter of his intended thirteenth victim and the son of his prosecutor in order to attain immortal life.
A comedy from the golden age of Hollywood, based on an unfinished novel by Throne Smith. A witch and her sorcerer father who were burned at the stake by Puritans in the 17th century return to the present to haunt the descendant of the man who condemned them. Now Wallace Woodley is running for governor when a young beautiful witch step into his life.
Three directors each adapt a Poe short story to the screen: "Toby Dammit" features a disheveled drugged and drunk English movie star who nods acceptance in the Italian press and his producers fawn over him. "Metzengerstein" features a Mediveal countess who has a love-hate relationship with a black stallion - who, it turns out is really her dead lover. "William Wilson" tells the story of a sadistic Austrian student with an exact double whom he later kills.
A collection of 4 Poe stories narrated by Vincent Price: 1) The Telltale Heart, 2) Pit and the Pendulum, 3) The Sphinx, and 4) The Cask of Amantillado.
Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen's legendary film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious-- instead it's a witches' brew of the scary, gross, and darkly humorous.
A warlock burned at the stake comes back and takes over the body of his great grandson to take his revenge on the descendents of the villages that burned him.
The Raven (1935) is a horror film directed by Lew Landers. It revolves around Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem, featuring Béla Lugosi as a Poe-obsessed mad surgeon with a torture chamber in his basement and Boris Karloff as a fugitive murderer desperately on the run from the police.
In seventeenth century England Lord Whitman wages unending war on what he sees as the ever-present scourge of witchcraft, and many local villagers have suffered at his hands. But one victim uses her occult powers to curse his family, enlisting unknowing help from one of the household.
A writer with a declining career arrives in a small town as part of his book tour and gets caught up in a murder mystery involving a young girl. That night in a dream, he is approached by a mysterious young ghost named V. He's unsure of her connection to the murder in the town, but is grateful for the story being handed to him. Ultimately he is led to the truth of the story, surprised to find that the ending has more to do with his own life than he could ever have anticipated.
Period piece set during the Inquisition about a witch-finder general who falls in love with the village beauty, who has made a pact with the devil to seduce and condemn the man who is killing off Satan's servants.
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.
The Stranger, a tall striking creature dressed in white sets into motions a series of events whilst reciting the Edgar Allen Poe Poem "Eldorado", which will have an effect on those heading towards the mythical city.
A warlock flees from the 17th to the 20th century, with a witch-hunter in hot pursuit. A Warlock (Julian Sands) is taken captive in Boston, Massachusetts in 1691 by a witch-hunter Giles Redferne (Richard Grant). He is sentenced to death for his activities, including the bewitching of Redferne's bride-to-be, but before the execution a demon appears and propels the Warlock forward in time to 20th century Los Angeles, California. Redferne follows through the portal. The Warlock attempts to assemble The Grand Grimoire, a Satanic book that will reveal the "true" name of God. Redferne and the Warlock then embark on a cat-and-mouse chase with the Grand Grimoire, and Kassandra (Lori Singer), a waitress who encounters Giles while he's attempting to find Warlock.
Steve's buddy Chris can't understand why he's reluctant to play in their band. So, one night at Steve's house, he tells Chris a story about traveling to Baltimore to meet up with his brother Jeff so they can check out a cabin in Virginia left to them by their father. They hit the road in a rv, along with Colleen, Jeff's wife, and her friend Susan. Along the way, Steve finds out Colleen can see ghosts and starts playing footsy with her after she reads a Edgar Allen Poe story. When they reach the cabin, they are approached by the ghosts of Confederate soldiers who tell them stories about their dead captain.
An innocent woman, accused of murdering her son and hanged as a witch, curses a tree and the children who play around it. The effects of this act of revenge echo through the years .....
An updated version of the classic horror tale by Edgar Allen Poe. Ryan and his girlfriend Molly are going to visit Ryan's uncle, Roderick Usher, at his mansion. They find, however, that Roderick's brother Walter has gone insane, and Roderick himself isn't far behind. Can Ryan and Molly escape from the doomed mansion before the curse of Usher claims them as well?
A Catholic school newcomer falls in with a clique of teen witches who wield their powers against all who dare to cross them -- be they teachers, rivals or meddlesome parents.
Maciste travels to Hell to find a witch and make her undo a curse she put on the surface world.
Christine gets her big chance at modelling when she applies at Sybil Waite's agency. Together with Christine's sister Betty they go to a castle for the weekend for a photo shoot. Sybil has lured Christine to the castle for more than modelling: she is recruiting a virgin for induction into a witch's coven, led by the owner of the castle, Gerald. To their surprise, Christine is more than eager to join the coven, but begins her own secret battle for control.
Six misfit schoolgirls at an all-girl Catholic high school, left alone at the school for Easter week, get mixed up with the occult and witchcraft after an old Satanic temple is found underneath the church where they attend as well as an old book of black magic spells for conjuring up an ancient demon from the pits of Hell. Janie, the most characteristic and cruelest of the girls, takes charge of the group and plots to resurrect the demon using a series of black arts spells, while one innocent girl, Faith, has a change of heart and tries to stop them from completing their spell which also includes a human sacrifice.
Witch from the first Witchcraft movie stalks the now teenage child. She attempts to kill his friends in order to slowly corrupt him to Satan. However the boy is able to defeat the evil Satanic witch, and not enter into Evil with her
Twenty years after his encounter with the witch, a grown-up Hansel returns to the haunted forest, seeking revenge.
On Mayday 1998 in the town of Dunwich, Massachusetts, Elizabeth gathers together a group of specially selected friends for a rather odd party. It turns out that she is the descendent of a malevolent witch named Lilith who was burned at the stake precisely three hundred years ago. Now Elizabeth hopes to resurrect her dreadful ancestor and has a specific (and murderous) need for the guests she has chosen
In this heist film turned horror fest, director Álex de la Iglesia's love of mayhem is on full display as a gang of gold thieves lands in a coven of witches who are preparing for an ancient ritual -- and in need of a sacrifice.
A student researching the German settlements of Central Texas unearths the grave of a reputed witch. The witch (who happens to be both beautiful and naked) rises from her grave and embarks on a campaign of seduction and murder against the descendants of her persecutors. It's up to the student to stop her bloody reign of terror-if he can resist the seductive powers of her evil beauty.
Young adults become fascinated by the events of the three missing filmmakers in Maryland, so they decide to go into the same woods and find out what really happened.
Jonah and Ella Mazer are typical teenagers, but strange and frightening things are happening at their new school. They learn that all of their classmates are descendants of witches -- and the two are destined to die.
The City of Salem, Massachusetts is visited by a coven of ancient witches.
Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted - at a cost - when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives.
Dr. Daniel Challis and Ellie Grimbridge stumble onto a gruesome murder scheme when Ellie's novelty-salesman father, Harry, is killed while in possession of a strange mask made by the Silver Shamrock mask company. The company's owner, Conal Cochran, wants to return Halloween to its darker roots using his masks -- and his unspeakable scheme would unleash death and destruction across the country.
New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood.
A young boy named Luke and his grandmother go on vacation only to discover their hotel is hosting an international witch convention, where the Grand High Witch is unveiling her master plan to turn all children into mice. Will Luke fall victim to the witches' plot before he can stop them?
The deserted island hotel hides a dark and sinister secret. Hundreds of years ago a witch held sway there, dominating her coven and spreading an evil that has seeped deep into earth. Two centuries later, a photographer and his virginal fiance sneak onto the island to research its gruesome history.Soon all will find themselves falling victim to a horror that has survived the ages....
An intense new marijuana strain named “Black Forest” is taking Los Angeles by storm, and Gretel’s stoner boyfriend can’t get enough. But when the old woman growing the popular drug (Lara Flynn Boyle) turns out to be an evil witch, cooking and eating her wasted patrons for their youth, Gretel and her brother Hansel must save him from a gruesome death — or face the last high of their lives.
When her great aunt dies famed horror hostess Elvira heads for the uptight new England town to Falwell to claim her inheritance of a haunted house a witches cookbook and a punk rock poodle. But once the stuffy locals get an eyeful of the scream queens ample assets all hell busts out & breaks loose.
5 white kids get lost in the hood looking for da hip hop witch, a year later their footage was found.
In 1965 Mexico City, Fabiola, a wealthy yet lonely schoolgirl, befriends Graciela, a young orphan girl who has an unhealthy fascination with witchcraft. Fabiola is convinced that she, herself, is a witch by Graciela, who then uses the fear that she's put into her new friend to get Fabiola to carry out her orders. As their games grow more serious, the two girls find themselves involved in murder.
Simon, a young man with magic power, invokes the help of the evil forces in order to take revenge of a man who cheated him with a bad cheque.
A young priest is ordered to preside over the wake of witch in a small old wooden church of a remote village. This means spending three nights alone with the corpse with only his faith to protect him.
A candy-colored nightmare from Italian terror maestro Dario Argento, Suspiria weaves a menacing tale of witchcraft as a fairy tale gone horribly awry. From the moment she arrives in Freiberg, Germany, to attend the prestigious Tans Academy, American ballet-dancer Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) senses that something horribly evil lurks within the walls of the age-old institution.
An ancient urn is found in a cemetery outside Rome. Once opened, it triggers a series of violent incidents: robberies, rapes and murders increase dramatically, while several mysterious, evil-looking young women coming from all over the world are gathering in the city. All these events are caused by the return of Mater Lacrimarum, the last of three powerful witches who have been spreading terror and death for centuries. Alone against an army of psychos and demons, Sarah Mandy, an art student who seems to have supernatural abilities of her own, is the only person left to prevent the Mother of Tears from destroying Rome.
While dabbling in Satanism, Count Karstein resurrects Mircalla Karnstein who initiates him into vampirism. As a rash of deaths afflicts the village, Gustav the head of Puritan group leads his men to seek out and destroy the pestilence. One of his twin nieces has become inflicted with the witchcraft but Gustav's zeal and venom has trapped the innocent Maria, threatening her with a tortuous execution, whilst Frieda remains free to continue her orgy of evil.
In a 15th-century feudal village, a woman is accused of witchcraft and put to death. Her beautiful older daughter knows the real reason for the execution lies in the lord's sexual desire for her mother. After confronting the lord on the matter, she, too, is killed. A much younger daughter is spared and taken in by her mother's killers. Once she is of age, as a horrible, deadly plague sweeps the land, she marries the lord's worthless son. Then, during a brutal thunderstorm, the older daughter mysteriously reappears and begins to avenge her mother's death.
A Group of teenagers test the legend of an immortal witch and get more than they bargained for. It's almost Halloween and six young people, spooked but not undaunted by the folklore surrounding an old haunted house, make their way to the abode of the legendary Wicked, perhaps hoping to provoke the malevolent witch, but clearly not prepared for what they've certainly unleashed.
A vengeful witch and her fiendish servant return from the grave and begin a bloody campaign to possess the body of the witch's beautiful look-alike descendant. Only the girl's brother and a handsome doctor stand in her way.
A persistent nightmare about a 16th century sorceress burned to death on a beach sends 17-year-old Angela looking for enlightenment at a fortnight retreat on a beautiful Caribbean isle. All the teens at the gathering are part of Angela's inexplicable dream, and when professed witch Bethany begins luring others into her coven, Angela slowly discovers the truth in this bloody horror tale with an exotic twist.
A remake of 1944's Lon Chaney film Weird Woman (the first was Burn, Witch, Burn! in 1962) is more of a horror spoof, as three women use witchcraft to help their professor husbands further their careers. When a higher position becomes available in the university, they turn on each other, and no one is safe!
A television reality crew has arrived in town to document facts about an isolated Amish sect called the Swartzentruber Amish. But their plans change, and filming is interrupted after the death of an Amish witch named Brauchau. After the witch's funeral, locals in the town convince the production company to document the paranormal activities that have begun plaguing them. To pull it off, the production crew and the townspeople must put up with evil forces that are set on destroying them.
A witch put to death in 1692 swears vengeance on her persecutors and returns to the present day to punish their descendants.
A lecherous thief posing as a preacher is wandering in northern coastal Mexico. After stealing a car and evading police, he stumbles on a small coven of mysterious witches living in a seaside mansion. The preacher attempts to extort money from the witches, not knowing how dangerous they really are.

© Valossa 2015–2024