The Dead Pit (1989)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It's fair to say I've earned my stripes in regard to zombie movies. Through the course I've taken to delve deep into horror, I've seen countless titles given the highest honors to the lowest scum-of-the- earth production values cinema has ever witnessed. From A to Z grade, however, there stands a few shining stars that are worth discussing. "The Dead Pit" is one of these last glimmers of hope. Brett Leonard, the man responsible for both writing and directing 1992's "The Lawnmower Man," made his directorial debut with this undead feature; he did a fine job in presenting it.The story begins at a mental hospital in California. Dr. Ramzi, a deranged doctor at the facility, has been murdering and experimenting on patients in the basement. Dr. Gerald Swan learns of his sinister activities; in fear of jeopardizing his career at the hospital, he decides to eliminate Dr. Ramzi and bury the truth for 20 years. Jane Doe, an unidentified woman suffering from amnesia, is admitted to the facility. After an earthquake occurs, visions allow her to slowly uncover the dark secret buried deep beneath.This movie seems to function greatly for a variety of reasons. Although a few typical 80s production clichés exist they all seem to apply perfectly in the given scenarios the plot uncovers - the use of smoke machines in correlation with intense back lighting are exhausted thoroughly. The bumbling policemen standing outside discussing donuts was also a nice touch. I expect certain predictable elements to exist within the era I'm experiencing. It all works tremendously. The vacant hospital wings that were chosen as set pieces for this film are outstanding. The director clearly knew what he was doing; as a viewer, I felt isolated. The cast of actors/actresses hired to fill the character roles did a decent job - certainly no Emmy nominations to be had, but a solid enough attempt in their own right. As far as the musical score is concerned, expect typical, 80s off-beat harmonics - which, in my opinion, is what I look forward to. Clearly anything with a dark melody is par for the course.This film can be classified as a zombie flick but it requires a bit of patience from the viewer. The pace seems sluggish for the first 40 minutes of the film but picks up nicely. There is plenty of violence and gore to satiate the blood thirst of any gore hound. The special effects and makeup are worth noting. Although I reserve a special pedestal for Tom Savini, the artists responsible for "The Dead Pit" are truly remarkable and come in a close second - their work displayed here is even a few notches down from , in my humble opinion, the greatest zombie masterpiece of all time, George A. Romero's 1985 feature "Day of the Dead." I consider this a true accomplishment; many Z grade zombie flicks from the 80s, primarily ones with an Italian-schlock quality (I'm not including Lucio Fulci when I speak of schlock, so please don't send a lynch mob to my doorstep!), fail miserably in achieving the same success. When it comes to zombie movies in general, I think most could agree that Romero was responsible for reinventing and trend-setting a particular brand of undead fiend in 1968's "Night of the Living Dead." I don't consider it a crime if his influence is shared by directors and production teams alike. Although not in the top 5 of classic zombie re- tellings, "The Dead Pit" surely makes the top 10 - give it a try and you won't be disappointed.

20 years ago, Dr. Ramzi (Danny Gochnauer) was caught performing unethical experiments on patients by Dr. Gerald Swan (Jeremy Slate.) 20 years later, mental patient Jane Doe (Cheryl Lawson) is seeing visions. Long story short, Ramzi is back, and he has an army of zombies with him.Brett ("Feeder", and several lesser movies like "Virtuosity" and "Man-Thing") Leonard's debut movie came to video in 1989 (complete with awesome video cover) and has since garnered something of a cult following-some think it's one of the worst zombie movies ever made, while others think it's a lost classic. The truth is: it's neither.The movie does suffer through some problems. While Gochnauer and Slate do a good job, the rest of the cast ranges from campy to amusing to just plain bad. Lawson, while she tries her hardest (and looks good in a nipple hugging baby tee and panties), is pretty bad in particular, and doesn't make a strong lead. Also, while the movie tries to play it straight, when it tries to be funny, it falls flat, with two cringe worthy one liners that threaten to turn Ramzi into a 3rd rate Freddy knock off.Still, there's plenty to enjoy. The biggest highlight is the eventual zombie carnage. While not the goriest, we get some highlights (brain removal, brain acupuncture, and more) that will put a smile to fans of the undead. Also, the zombies can only be killed with holy water-a unique method to say the least. Also, the score by Dan Wyman may be a bit dated, but it gets the job done.Is "The Dead Pit" a lost classic? Hardly. Is it one of the worst zombie movies ever made? Far from it. The best way to describe it is that it's like a bag of Twizzlers candy-it's not bad, but you won't exactly remember it either.

Should have revived the Zombie genre.No awards for plot originality. But the effects were as good as ever. And the creepiness was THERE.Haunted asylums with psycho Doctors are hardly original, but they made up for it with the assault from hell at the end.A combination of a women in prison flick, zombie flick, with a dash of occult flick.I was hoping this would inspire the new blood to make more zombie flicks. Unfortunately, the critics nor the censors allowed it much of a chance.The British accented professor/patient was a bit much though. The actor did OK. I just can't figure the chances of that really happening.But then...that's fantasy.

Brett Leonard (Lawnmower Man, Hideaway) gives us in his directorial debut a pastiche of De Moro's HELLHOLE and Fulci's CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, and it holds it's own with those two heavy-weights from opposite poles of the extreme-film spectrum. This movie has raving mental patients, psychotic doctors, people being buried alive, ritual murders in boiler rooms, flesh-hungry zombies, high-quality gore effects, and hot women. Very atmospheric for taking place in a clichéd setting = a mental asylum. Probably the creepiest one caught on film. There are dead bodies all over this movie. Amazing dialog like this doesn't hurt either: -"My God! You're a Doctor! You're supposed to be saving lives!" -"I've done life. Now I'm doing death." Not a disappointment for zombie fans looking for something different, or slasher fans doing the same. Solid. A must see.