Wednesdays get weird when Late Shift at the Grindhouse hosts Ross Meyer, Joe Derderian, and Aaron Holmgren dig up low-budget b-movies, horror and gore-fests, and camp classics for your viewing pleasure. Buy your ticket and take a ride in our Time Machine! Punch in and earn a bonus! $4 Pabst Blue Ribbon & Hamm’s tallboys, $4 small popcorn, small soda and candy! $1 off beer/wine/soda/popcorn/candy for FilmScene members. PLUS -- special custom trash trailer reel curated by Ross with cheap swag and prize giveaways!
Two tales of terror from the master of mystery and the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe.
"This Corman production has precious little connection to Poe's story, beyond the admittedly vital presence of the titular torture devices. But it's fun enough in its own right and represents Price and Steele's only pairing." - The Phantom of the Movies
"Luana Anders and Anthony Arbone are there to remind you that despite Poe and a newfound respectability, this is still an AIP picture." - Michael J. Weldon, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia
"If you haven’t seen this — fix that right now." - Sam Panico, B&S About Movies
A horse-drawn carriage pulls up on a deserted beach. A sombre figure dismounts and gazes up towards his destination – a foreboding cliff-top castle perched high above the crashing waves. Thus the perfect Gothic scene is set for The Pit and the Pendulum, the second of Roger Corman’s celebrated Poe adaptations once again starring the ever-reliable Vincent Price (The Fall of the House of Usher, Theatre of Blood) alongside the bewitching Barbara Steele (Black Sunday).
Having learned of the sudden death of his sister Elizabeth (Steele), Francis Barnard (John Kerr) sets out to the castle of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Medina, to uncover the cause of her untimely demise. A distraught, grief-stricken Nicholas (Price) can offer only the vaguest explanations as to Elizabeth’s death – at first citing “something in her blood”, but later asserting that she quite literally “died of fright”. What sort of unspeakable horrors are buried within the walls of this castle that could cause one’s heart to stop so? With Francis determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, the terrible truth will not stay buried for long.
Right from its brooding kaleidoscopic opening titles, The Pit and Pendulum draws you into its world of cobwebs, secret passageways and dusty suits of armour. All the necessary elements are present and correct and, along with one of Vincent Price’s most tortured performances, make The Pit and the Pendulum every inch the Gothic masterpiece.
Plus the short film:
The Conqueror Worm (2024)
You are cordially invited to a party like no other...
Original Poem by Edgar Allan Poe
Conceived & Directed by Carrsan T. Morrissey (The Salvages) & Mara Rothman
Part of Reel Representation at FilmScene.