The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film) Tomb of Ligeia". Film critic Tim Lucas and writer Ernesto Gastaldi have both noted the film's strong influence on numerous subsequent Italian thrillers, from Mario Bava's "The Whip and the Body" (1963) to Dario Argento's " Deep Red " (1975). Stephen King has described one of "Pit"'s major shock sequences as being among the most important moments in the post-1960 horror film. In sixteenth century Spain, Englishman Francis Barnard (John Kerr) visits the castle of his brother-in-law Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price) to investigate the mysterious death of his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele). Nicholas and his younger sister Catherine (Luana Anders)
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film) these images having a dream-like quality, "twisted and distorted because they were being experienced by someone on the rim of madness". Corman decided to film the flashbacks in monochrome, since he had read that some psychiatrists believe most people dream in "black-and white" imagery. Crosby used wide-angle lenses, violent camera movement, and tilted camera angles to represent the character's feeling of hysteria. The sequences were then printed on blue-tinted stock which was subsequently toned red during development, effectively producing a two-tone image. The highlights were blue, with the shadows rendered as red...producing a deep, bloody quality. The image was then