AllMovie

The second in Roger Corman's series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations (more accurately called variations, since most of them bore little resemblance to the original stories), The Pit and the Pendulum improved on the previous year's House of Usher in nearly every respect. Daniel Haller's production design and Floyd D. Crosby's color cinematography make the film look and feel lush and lavishly atmospheric, no small feat given Corman's slim budget. While Richard Matheson's screenplay is closer to Poe's "The Premature Burial" than to the tale from which it draws its title, it's intelligent and well-crafted, giving a fine cast plenty to work with. Vincent Price's notorious hamminess creeps in at odd moments, but for the most part he plays it straight in a well-controlled performance as a man slowly descending into madness. While the first act is more about mood than scares, the superb finale delivers the goods, and Les Baxter's score is the perfect seasoning for this gourmet feast of fear. Beware of the pan-and-scan TV and video versions that make mincemeat of the visuals and the rhythms of Anthony Carras's editing.