Diagonaldi Very well executed

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

sol- Lonely and burdened with an usual sexual appetite for his age, a preteen boy finds unexpected solace with a group of monsters trapped inside a pit who he feeds and takes care of like the pets he never had in this very weird horror film from Canada. Sammy Snyders is perfectly creepy (while remaining sympathetic) as the confused lad in question with some truly oddball scenes as he tries to seduce his babysitter and as he plays one of the most imaginative telephone pranks ever committed to screen. 'The Pit' gets most of its edge though from its black comedy undertones; there is a hilarious scene in which he tries (but fails) to pull a cow towards the pit for his monster pets to feed on, the difficulty of which naturally causes him to consider using human meat instead! The biggest weakness of the film is the monster effects. There are some effective point-of-view shots as they stare up at Snyders from their dark abyss in the ground but they are not terrifying in the least when they become far more visible in the film's final third. That said, the movie ends on an incredibly strong note with an unforgettable freeze frame. Also, monsters or not, it is hard not to like the deeper messages that come with the offbeat narrative here as the entire project is underpinned by the negative effects of ostracising those who are different. At least the pit monsters are non-judgemental creatures!

Zeegrade I've got news for all of you. All twelve year old boys are obsessed with boobs. Well, most of them are. Sammy Snyders really makes this movie stand out as he really amps up the creep factor as Jamie Benjamin the neighborhood outcast that nobody, and I mean nobody, likes. This misfit is beaten up at school, teased by the local redheaded brat, looked down upon by most adults and has a strained relationship with his father who has grown tired of his antics. The only "friend" Jamie can confide in is Teddy, his stuffed animal that talks back to him and him alone. When his parents leave for an extended period of time they hire Sandy who is just the latest in a string of hired help that must look after the little pervert while keeping the house clean. Jamie is immediately smitten by Sandy and begins his own special way of wooing the older woman like staring at her naked breasts while she is asleep. Not a good start. After this odd morning encounter Jamie tells Sandy his secret. There is a massive pit about a mile from the house and inside this pit are little apelike trolls that only Jamie knows about. Sandy immediately dismisses the story as pure fantasy and tries to reign the little sex-fiend in. When Jamie learns that the "tralops" or whatever he calls them are carnivorous he at first tries to keep them fed by buying meat bought from a butcher until his money supply becomes quickly depleted. Teddy gives Jamie the idea of feeding the monsters all the bad people who have angered him over the years. This leads to one of the most amusing scenes as Jamie lures the people to the hole, knocks them in, quips sarcastically, and exits the forest with whatever booty he acquired from the victims. Eventually taking care of the beasts prove to be too much so Jamie drops a line down into the pit allowing the trogs to run rampant in town. A very enjoyable horror flick from the early eighties with enough naked breasts, goofy plots, and the aforementioned disturbing performance by Sammy Snyders. My only gripe is the fact that the relationship with Teddy is never really hashed out. In one scene the bear's head turns on its own indicating a supernatural explanation rather than Jamie just hearing his own voice during his conversations with it. What was the connection between Teddy and the monsters in the pit or was it just two separate details that just happened to have converged? Needless to say, this doesn't really detract from the movie as even the ending is pretty satisfying. A rather obscure movie that not a whole lot of people refer to when talking about good horror movies of the early eighties and I didn't even need my teddy to tell me that.

burbs82 I found "The Pit" to be pretty awesome, and I'm glad I ran across it. I found no great references for it, ('Creature Features' says steer clear, whoopty-doo), but once I saw the Avco Embassy logo, saw it was made in '81, and read the synopsis I figured it would be worth a shot. It's an interesting Chiller with a range of weird influences, from Freudian pop-psychology to H.P. Lovecraft, and it's actually a pretty hilarious look at the male adolescence of, say, a young 'Norman Bates' or 'Martin'-type character who ascribes a split personality to his Teddy bear... Several great moments include the kids' dinner table beaver hunt with his new babysitter, the Oedipan bathing scene, again with babysitter and several others, but then you throw in the kids weird pathological connection to the troglodytes, or 'Trogs', weird missing-link cannibal-mutant-morlockish-"old ones", living in the woods in a deep pit just outside of town, and to which the kid begins to offer sacrifices to, and you start crossing the muddled line between madness, fantasy and reality. Very entertaining. Sonja Smits, a.k.a. 'Bianca "You look just like one of father's derilects" Oblivion', appears as the kid's teacher, and Sammy Snyders, a.k.a. the luckiest kid alive in 1981, plays the sexual deviant youth 'Jamie Benjamin'. Great ending as well. Definitely check this one out.

movieman_kev A creepy, murderous kid listening to his demonic teddy bear lures various people to their doom in a pit he found in the woods; that is when he's not spying on older women in this weird but campy classic from the '80's. Filled with unnecessary close-ups, ridiculous laugh-out-loud dialog, and hokey acting, this oddity still remains constantly amusing (well truth be told it does lose steam about 20 minutes before the ending) That remains an obscure gem that's highly watchable.Eye Candy: Jeannie Elias, Laura Hollingsworth, and Jennifer Lehman all get topless briefly My Grade: B Anchor Bay DVD Extras: Posters & Stills gallery (on a double-bill with "Hellgate" on this flip-side DVD)