Roger Corman’s THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961)

RETROGOTHIC FILM SERIES
April 24-26, 2026 | |$12 per film | $50 for a 5-Pass

Roger Corman’s THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM
(PG, 1961, 80 min)
Scream queen Barbara Steele and horror icon Vincent Price star in this deliciously macabre chiller from gothic master Roger Corman, whose 100th birthday we celebrate in 2026. Inspired by the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, the film tells of Elizabeth Medina (Steele), a young bride who dies mysteriously, leaving her brother Francis (John Kerr) desperate for answers. But inside Nicholas Medina’s (Price) shadow-drenched castle, explanations are as twisted as the corridors themselves. Whispers of premature burial, ghostly apparitions, and a blood-soaked family curse spiral into madness—until the shocking truth is revealed. With cobwebbed crypts, storm-lashed towers, and Price at his most sinister, this is gothic horror at its most gloriously over-the-top—a fitting gem to revisit in honor of Corman’s centenary.
TRAILER:

• Roger Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024): An iconic filmmaker known as the "King of the Bs," he pioneered independent cinema and mentored countless famous directors and actors, including Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.

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