The Pit and the Pendulum

Thursday, December 13, 2007

I tivoed this one back in October when TCM was showing a bunch of old horror movies, and just got around to watching it. I still have a few others to catch up on as well.

As a horror movie fan, I've been working to expand my knowledge of older genre entries. This here is a Vincent Price movie from the early 60's loosely based on the Poe story.

I saw a few Vincent Price movies when I was a kid, and I always liked Price, but never liked the movies. He is a pretty hammy actor, I suppose, but in a really good, really entertaining way. He's corny, but he's got a lot of presence, you know? I am making an effort to see some more of his films.

I'm happy to report that The Pit and the Pendulum is the first Vincent Price movie that I liked. The rest of the cast besides Price suck, and it's a little too talky, but it's entertaining. It's colorful and visually over-the-top, has a pretty good story, and some really good scenes. The last 10 minutes-ish, when we finally get to the titular pit and pendulum, are pretty awesome.

Next up, I think I will give Price's Theatre of Blood a chance. He plays a Shakespearian actor who kills off the critics that don't like his work. That sounds pretty awesome.