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Poster for The Pit and the Pendulum

The Pit and the Pendulum

1991 · 97 min

A sweaty, gothic descent into religious fanaticism and flesh, lurid and grimly theatrical, with dread pressing in from all sides.

Tagline
A bizarre descent into hell from the creator of Re-Animator.
Overview
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.

Search YouTube for the trailer

Stream in the UK
  • Amazon Prime Video
More options Data from JustWatch
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • bleakstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • campystrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • faith
  • obsession
  • power
  • corruption
  • survival
Places
  • single country house
  • prison
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • single location
Content intensity
  • Gore strong
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex strong
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror8
Humour2
Realism6
Romance2
Tension7
Darkness8
Complexity5
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • Amazon Prime Video
Free
  • Plex
Rent or buy
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
horror
Directed by
Stuart Gordon
Written by
Dennis Paoli
Starring
Lance Henriksen, Stephen Lee, William Norris, Mark Margolis, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Barbara Bocci, Benito Stefanelli, Jeffrey Combs
Music
Richard Band
Cinematography
Adolfo Bartoli
Runtime
97 min
Country
Italy, United States of America
Languages
German, English

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