Being a fan of both horror and grindhouse films, I've seen more than my share of strange movies. And while I won't go so far as to say "The Pit" tops them all, it is certainly high up the totem pole of weirdness.
The story revolves around a young boy named Jamie (played by Sammy Snyders), who is an odd sort of kid. Ostracized by the other kids, and even some of the adults, because of his unusual behavior, he finds friendship with his teddy bear (who speaks to him) and a small group of creatures that dwell in a nearby pit. But when he finds out what their diet consists of, all those who haven't been nice to Jamie end up finding themselves on the menu!
Almost from the start, the film has a very eerie and creepy tone to it. Jamie's erratic behavior tells you there is something not quite right here. Sammy Snyders really does a superlative job in portraying Jamie as a strange outsider. He's alone in his own little world and he has no problem with it at all. It's all the "normal people" who bug him. But when his crush on the babysitter, Sandy (played by Jeannie Elias), is threatened by her seeing him as just a kid and wanting to be with other men, eerie takes a turn into the outlandish. Unfortunately, how that is presented to us isn't always on an even keel. Jamie's luring his "foes" to the pit to feed them to his "friends," ranges from the scary (like what he does to the bully and his girlfriend) to the unintentionally hilarious (like how he handles the blind woman in a wheelchair). But for the first two acts, things remain coherent an entertaining, even if a bit rough in the execution. But at the end of the second act, with the death of Sandy, things go completely off the rails.
The last act of the film is almost a hodgepodge of situations, that often don't show how they are connected or even make much sense. The police investigating the disappearance of those Jamie has fed to the trolls, is absolutely ridiculous. To call it "keystone cops work," would be to insult incompetent police. Then, Jamie lets the creatures loose, but they don't go far or do very much. The mass slaughter of them is very anti-climactic, to say the least. And the end, where Jamie goes to live with his grandparents and we see his ultimate fate, just comes completely out of left field. What happened to his parents? Why didn't he move with them to Seattle? Was "Teddy's" voice only in Jamie's head or was there something else at work? And how many other pits full of these creatures are there? All questions to which we never get the answers. It's like the director just didn't know how to end it, so they just filled the last 20-25 minutes with pointless scenes that go nowhere and have no rhyme or reason. It drags down the film's enjoyment a bit and leaves you with a less than satisfying feeling, even though the rest of it has been interesting and entertaining.
As I said, "The Pit" is certainly among one of the most peculiar films I've seen, if not the most peculiar. And while the final act is a cluttered and disappointing jumble, the film's first two acts are engaging and it does keep you entertained throughout its 97 minute run time (something you can't say about many other "normal" horror films). I'd mildly recommend this for horror fans looking for a less-than-usual experience, due to its off-the-wall style and format. It is certainly one of the most unique specimens in the annals of horror cinema, that I have ever come across.
The story revolves around a young boy named Jamie (played by Sammy Snyders), who is an odd sort of kid. Ostracized by the other kids, and even some of the adults, because of his unusual behavior, he finds friendship with his teddy bear (who speaks to him) and a small group of creatures that dwell in a nearby pit. But when he finds out what their diet consists of, all those who haven't been nice to Jamie end up finding themselves on the menu!
Almost from the start, the film has a very eerie and creepy tone to it. Jamie's erratic behavior tells you there is something not quite right here. Sammy Snyders really does a superlative job in portraying Jamie as a strange outsider. He's alone in his own little world and he has no problem with it at all. It's all the "normal people" who bug him. But when his crush on the babysitter, Sandy (played by Jeannie Elias), is threatened by her seeing him as just a kid and wanting to be with other men, eerie takes a turn into the outlandish. Unfortunately, how that is presented to us isn't always on an even keel. Jamie's luring his "foes" to the pit to feed them to his "friends," ranges from the scary (like what he does to the bully and his girlfriend) to the unintentionally hilarious (like how he handles the blind woman in a wheelchair). But for the first two acts, things remain coherent an entertaining, even if a bit rough in the execution. But at the end of the second act, with the death of Sandy, things go completely off the rails.
The last act of the film is almost a hodgepodge of situations, that often don't show how they are connected or even make much sense. The police investigating the disappearance of those Jamie has fed to the trolls, is absolutely ridiculous. To call it "keystone cops work," would be to insult incompetent police. Then, Jamie lets the creatures loose, but they don't go far or do very much. The mass slaughter of them is very anti-climactic, to say the least. And the end, where Jamie goes to live with his grandparents and we see his ultimate fate, just comes completely out of left field. What happened to his parents? Why didn't he move with them to Seattle? Was "Teddy's" voice only in Jamie's head or was there something else at work? And how many other pits full of these creatures are there? All questions to which we never get the answers. It's like the director just didn't know how to end it, so they just filled the last 20-25 minutes with pointless scenes that go nowhere and have no rhyme or reason. It drags down the film's enjoyment a bit and leaves you with a less than satisfying feeling, even though the rest of it has been interesting and entertaining.
As I said, "The Pit" is certainly among one of the most peculiar films I've seen, if not the most peculiar. And while the final act is a cluttered and disappointing jumble, the film's first two acts are engaging and it does keep you entertained throughout its 97 minute run time (something you can't say about many other "normal" horror films). I'd mildly recommend this for horror fans looking for a less-than-usual experience, due to its off-the-wall style and format. It is certainly one of the most unique specimens in the annals of horror cinema, that I have ever come across.