The Pit and the Pendulum (1991 film) The Pit and the Pendulum (1991 film) The Pit and the Pendulum (released on DVD in the United States as The Inquisitor) is a 1991 American horror film directed by Stuart Gordon and based on the eponymous short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The film is an amalgamation of the aforementioned story with other Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", and it also appropriates the anecdote of "The Sword of Damocles", reassigning it to the character of Torquemada. In 1492 Spain, Grand Inquisitor Torquemada leads a bloody reign of terror. Opposed to the use of torture by the Church, Maria speaks
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film) is a big improvement on his first, "House of Usher"… Remembered as a first-rate chiller by every kid who saw it, "Pit and the Pendulum" upped the ante for frantic action and potential grue…" Recent critical opinion of the film is not all positive. Of the 17 reviews included in a Rotten Tomatoes survey of critics regarding the title, 17% reflect negative reactions. FilmCritic.com opines that the film "...is quite a disappointment...In the end, it feels like one of [Corman's] rush jobs, which of course, it was." The film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section