"Ray Harryhausen Presents: The Pit and the Pendulum" Review - Written by TonyD

“Ray Harryhausen Presents: The Pit and the Pendulum”
2006
***½ out of ****
Director: Marc Lougee
Cast: Peter Cugno


I hate reading, but for some odd reason, I always get a kick out of reading some Edgar Allan Poe. One of my favorite short stories of his is “The Pit and the Pendulum.” After viewing a seven minute animated short film made by Marc Lougee, I decided that “The Pit and the Pendulum” was one of the best accomplishments of the animated short film.

A nameless character (voiced by Peter Cugno) is tried during the Inquisition and ends up in a dungeon, where he has to survive death devices. After watching films like “Saw,” these death devices may seem boring to many people, but in those days, these death devices were so advanced. I’m glad that they kept true to the story instead of going the way that we have been going since the infamous “torture-porn” genre.

One of the most entertaining aspects of “The Pit and the Pendulum” is the amazing looking animation. The stop-motion looks amazing and it fits perfectly to the story. One of the best parts about it is how it affects the setting and the tone of the story. Most of this little production is set in a dungeon. The film is really dark, which adds to the excellent stop-motion characters.

I do have one problem with “The Pit and the Pendulum.” While it’s clearly obvious in any works of Edgar Allan Poe, there is a lot of narrative in the stories that add to the suspense. It’s kind of hard to do some great narrative to this, but it’s not really any of the cast and crew’s fault. I’ve seen many of Poe adaptations (including one of the best adaptations to Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart”), and not one yet can really get down the narrative that Poe has set the story up with. It’s a challenge that I would be surprised that even the Ridley’s can keep up with when their adaption of “Tell-Tale” comes out.

Ray Harryhausen, if you didn’t know, is probably most well-known for his use of special effects in his films. He’s most famous for his work in the 1981 cult classic “Clash of the Titans,” but he has also done work on “It Came from Beneath the Sea,” “7th Voyage of Sinbad,” and “Jason and the Argonauts.” He’s only a producer to the short film, but the most extraordinary part about this event is that this is some of his first work since “Clash.”

“Ray Harryhausen Presents: The Pit and the Pendulum” is one of the best animated short films that has not been nominated for an Academy Award. It deserves it more than any.