Rating: 4.5/5
Francis Barnard (John Kerr) comes to the Castle Medina to see after his late sister Elizabeth’s (Barbera Steele) death. Her husband Nicholas (Vincent Price) and Nicholas’ sister Catherine (Luana Anders), however, remain unyielding in revealing the details of her death. And so, Francis stays at the Castle to learn what he can
We learn that Nicholas’ father, Sebastian, was one of the most notorious torturers during the Inquisition. They believe that Elizabeth saw Sebastian’s torture chamber and succumbed to the sinister spirit of the castle
One night, Nicholas goes missing, and harpsichord music fills the house — the same style Elizabeth played. Nicholas worries that perhaps she was not dead when they walled her up
John Kerr is goofy and out of place, but Price plays it up enough that it’s not a deterrent
Great costumes and set design — the titular pit isnone of the coolest sets I’ve seen in these movies
This film is one of the better Corman Poe movies — I think the freedom granted in the loose adaptation allowed a tighter and better-paced film
Good stuff!