‘Jamie wouldn’t kill anybody… except Teddy instructed him to!’
The Pit aka Teddy is a 1980 Canadian horror movie directed by Lew Lehman from a screenplay written by Ian A. Stuart. The film was belatedly launched on October 23, 1981.
The film stars Sammy Snyders, Jeannie Elias (Deadline; Nomads; Tutenstein), Sonja Smits (Videodrome; Lethal Nightmares TV sequence), Laura Hollingsworth, John Auten, Laura Press (Goosebumps TV sequence), Paul Grisham and Wendy Schmidt.
A novelisation by John Gault was revealed by Bantam Books in 1980.
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Ian A. Stuart’s unique screenplay was significantly completely different from the ultimate movie. In his screenplay, protagonist Jamie was youthful, and the Tra-la-logs creatures have been figments of his creativeness. When Lew Lehman signed on to direct, he made Jamie older, the monsters actual, and added extra humour to the unique script. Stuart has expressed dissatisfaction with the ultimate end result [read Cinemachine interview].
On October 18, 2016, The Pit was launched on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber with the next particular options:
Model New 2K Restoration
Interview with Star Sammy Snyders
Interview with Star Jeannie Elias
Interview with Screenwriter Ian A. Stuart
Audio Commentary by Movie Historian Jason Pichonsky
Trailer
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Plot:
Jamie Benjamin (Sammy Snyders) is a misfit twelve-year-old boy, hated by each his classmates and the adults who dwell in his small city. When he encounters different folks, they tease and mock him. His solely buddy is a stuffed bear named Teddy, with whom he repeatedly holds conversations.
The viewers hears Teddy’s voice as he talks to Jamie. On the cusp of puberty, Jamie develops an unhealthy obsession with ladies. Thus, when his dad and mom go away on a enterprise journey and go away the enticing psychology scholar Sandy O’Reilly to babysit him, he falls utterly in love/lust together with her.
Throughout one among his conversations with Sandy, Jamie asks her if she will preserve a secret. Jamie reveals that within the forest, he has discovered a pit stuffed with mysterious creatures, which he calls “Tra-la-logs”. Though he decides to care for them by feeding them uncooked meat. Teddy suggests feeding the individuals who tormented him to the Tra-la-logs, and Jamie takes his recommendation…
Evaluations:
“The Pit isn’t scary, however it requires a post-screening bathe to completely shed its grand emphasis on uncomfortable matters, doing a fantastic job prying into an adolescent thoughts on the verge of full psychosis. The normal warning to impart can be to not watch the movie alone. The extra sincere recommendation can be to not watch it with individuals who may decide you.” Blu-ray.com
“Although it will have been an much more entertaining expertise had the tra-la-logs escaped their pit a half-hour earlier within the image, digging by means of these layers of peculiarity is in the end a rewarding and entertaining expertise, and a superb instance of the type of film folks imply after they say, “they positive don’t make ’em like that any extra! ” Canuxsploitation
“There’s some facet of the film that don’t make quite a lot of sense (why don’t the police get entangled after he primarily sexually abuses a lady?), whereas there’s a couple of shifts in tone between comical and creepy that don’t sit proper. Nevertheless, the movie does choose up somewhat in direction of the final half hour, when a serious character is offed and the creatures get out of the pit. The results are satisfactory however reasonably tacky and there’s not quite a lot of gore.” 80s Worry
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“Jamie’s pervy, mean-spirited methods are precisely the explanation that this film stands out. He’s one of many weirdest ‘killer children’ within the pantheon of killer child motion pictures and the truth that he communicates to a bizarre speaking teddy bear (whose head spins round, no much less!) simply type of provides yet one more layer of ‘wtf’ to his character.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
“The principle flaw is having each the teddy bear and the trogs in the identical film – what does one need to do with the opposite? The precise trogs look good, like dwarfish apes with orange eyes. It’s additionally bought some nudity and a ridiculous however becoming coda. Willard is a prototype.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers
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“Possibly it’s the pleasure of reveling in a movie so consultant of the endearing innocence of early ’80s horror, or maybe it’s the singular efficiency by Sammy Snyders as Jamie, pulling off scene after plausible scene with nothing however a teddy bear to work with. No matter it’s, The Pit stands out as a really unique movie, and one not simply forgotten.” Not Coming to a Theater Close to You
” …tacky and amateurish at instances, as if it’s been written for the era that preceded the target market of the movie. It nearly makes The Pit really feel like some G-rated household film that’s hit the crack pipe. Trog-vision happens once we see occasions by means of the eyes of the trogs because the display is tinted orange and is distorted and customarily the scenes are backwoods slasher influenced when it comes to killer POV pictures. ” Oh, the Horror!
“In some ways this film feels fairly dated, however that doesn’t matter when the top result’s so unusual and surprisingly particular (I loved the film however I do know of some people who adore it). I’d even need to say that the film appears to experience willingly defying/breaking conventions, one thing else which provides to its enchantment.” For It Is Man’s Quantity
“The Pit nonetheless works finest as a metaphor for each coming-of-age/puberty and perhaps additionally child-abuse. For those who look arduous sufficient, you may see Jamie’s possessed teddy bear as consultant of the broken little one in him and the monsters within the pit as his personal demons simply ready to be unleashed. The final scene appears to suit this view (child with private demons will get comeuppance from one other child together with her personal private demons).” Horror Fan Zine
The Pit is much and away one of the baffling and intriguing titles from the exploitation impartial period; an adolescent revenge fantasy (not unusual to the style) by the use of fantastical fairy story (there are monsters and a residing doll) filtered by means of the uncomfortably sleazy eye of a hacky director whose main concern gave the impression to be together with as a lot gratuitous nudity as doable, or no less than present his actresses doing aerobics or jogging.” Matthew H, Cinemachine
“A perverted take a look at a perverted child … The perversity by no means actually gels, with Sammy’s irregular sexuality shallowly explored. The story picks up steam as soon as the beasties escape the pit and reign munching terror on scrumptious people.” John Stanley, Creature Options
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“Finally, The Pit suffers for its bipolar focus; executed extra severely (and given pacing), the homicide sequences may have mustered some pressure however fall flat as they’re. Nonetheless, Snyders and Elias ship first rate sufficient performances contemplating the fabric, and the turnabout ending is a pleasant capper.” The Terror Lure
“The Pit suffers from a disjointed plot and an inconsistent tone (it veers from humor to horror with blended outcomes) however it’s loaded with sufficient random weirdness to qualify it as a minor traditional. I’ve by no means seen a film earlier than or since that mixes killer children, speaking teddy bears, and carnivorous cavemen so successfully.” The Video Vacuum
MOVIES and MANIA score:
Filming areas:
Though The Pit is a Canadian manufacturing, it was truly shot in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
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