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The Pit and the Pendulum (1991), a review by Jimmy

Title: The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)

Genre: Horror
Director: Stuart Gordon
Rating: 18
Length: 1h37
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1:66.1
Audio: English
Subtitles: None

Stars:
Lance Henriksen   
Rona De Ricci
Jonathan Fuller
Mark Margolis
Frances Bay

Plot:
In the quest to save souls, the Spanish Inquisition will stop at nothing and knows no boundaries for its evil. Under the direction of Torquemada the Grand Inquisitor of Spain, a young baker's withe named Maria is falsely accused of witchcraft and dragged before the Inquisition and the Cardinal. Torquemada is enchanted by Maria's beauty and subjects her and her husband Antonio to heinous tortures to prove that his own desire for her are a result of her magic, and that she has "bewitched him". With the help of Esmaralda, Maria's cellmate and confessed witch, Maria must find the power to save her husband Antonio from Torquemada's ultimate machine of torture: the inevitable, razor sharp PENDULUM poised over the inescapable PIT of hell.

This is always enjoyable to watch a Full Moon's production from the time they were one of the biggest independant studio (wich is quite different of what they are now...). This was made in Italy and this add a lot to the production value (it sure looks better than the Corman's version). But you can't do a good movie only because the scenery is authentic. You need a good director, a good director and a good cast. All those ingredients are there with Stuart Gordon, Lance Henriksen (he is a much better actors than many believe), good supporting players (Jeffrey Combs, William J. Norris and Stephen Lee) and a good cameo by Oliver Reed who is now a Cardinal (see we can climb the hierarchy of the Church). The story is interesting (of course it isn't a new one since the original story was adapted for the screen many times), the effects are well done and the pendulum looks real and dangerous.

This is certainly not a real reference but the openning scene brought to my mind a dark page of the Catholic Church history. The trial of a long dead man is, at least for me, a reference at the trial of the Pope Formosus conduct by his successor Stephen VI (and no he wasn't a Pope for long, one year later he was condamned to death and strangled).


An excellent film and of course I recommand the blu-ray version I own. It is region free and looks much better than what Full Moon had released here.

Rating :

(From Jimmy's - 2013 Ooctober Horror Marathon on October 9th, 2013)

The Devil's Rain, a review by Jimmy

The Devil's Rain



Years : 1975

Director : Robert Fuest

Stars :

Ernest Borgnine
Eddie Albert
William Shatner
Tom Skerritt

Synopsis :

The Preston family owns a book that originally belonged to Corbis, who is a priest of the Satan Church, 300 years ago. He will do everything in his power to recover this book of great importance for him and his cult.

Viewing experience:

There was a period in the 70's when everybody wanted to make a film about the devil (The Exorcist, The Antichrist, The Omen, Abby, etc.) with varying results. This film is in the medium budget category, so don't expect The Exorcist or The Omen. However this doesn't mean it is bad movie.

The film is quite short (86 minute). The story is fairly simple to follow and the concept of the quest of a priest of a satanic cult who wants to recover his stolen property is interesting. He is not necessarily the bad guy in my point of view and this is surprising. This film is a good discovery for someone who like this kind of movie genre (seventies drive in movie). A good blind buy that I've made because of the DVD release company and William Shatner. I don't regret it one minute.

Postive points :

Ernest Borgnine is perfectly cast in the role of Corbis.
William Shatner overact as usual (That's why I like him).
The melting effect are greatly done.
The ending is surprising

Negative points :

Eddie Albert casting as an occult expert (I think of Green Acres everytime he is on screen).
The Satan Priest Make-up of Corbis is really bad.

Rating : 3,5/5
Movie trailer link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCcf_GYnyqs

P.S : This is my first try so if you have some sugestion for amelioration don't hesitate

(From DVD Profiler random marathon on December 11th, 2007)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

9. Harm's Way
Original Air Date: 1/14/2004
Harmony finds herself in over her head and desperate to keep her job after she wakes up in her bed next to a dead man with vampire bites on his neck.

Guest Stars:
Danielle Nicolet
Jennifer Haworth
Stacy Reed
David Gangler

My Thoughts:
This is a fun episode played more for comedy then anything else.  Which is a nice break from how they been playing it lately. And I must say I got a kick out of the Vampire cat fight... fighting with chopsticks!

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 23rd, 2010)