THE DEAD PIT

Back in the gory glory days of the 1980s when even every small town had a video store, most often of the Mom and Pop variety, you could get your juices flowing for horror movies just by glancing at the cover art. Oversized boxes featuring images of agony and nudity often dared you to ask if the movie being hyped could possibly live up to its excitement and sense of taboo. Often times, they didn't; the box was worth more than the flick. Every now and then, though, a dark treasure was unearthed behind the slick promotional devices. Monsters rampaged, blood spilled like Niagara Falls, and the fixed strict rules of the status quo were ripped open in front of your blood-shot eyes. The Dead Pit, released with little fanfare, falls into this category. A bold and ballsy hybrid of the zombie and slasher film, this midnight movie not only lived up to its lurid promise (a VHS box sporting a zombie with glowing eyeballs), but had both style and attitude to burn. A minor cult classic of feverish intensity and carnage galore, director Brett Leonard's approach is rooted in furious action and a purposefully humorous tone. He wants to go too far and achieves his aims. This moody marriage of graphic carnage and eerie atmosphere is the stuff of midnight movie bliss. Just don't expect a deadly serious study of evil or poetic exercise in the supernatural. Spectacle, not careful or even intelligent storytelling, is the order of the day.

The plot is largely a sequence of throwaway events that seem to cheerily lead up to juicy sequences of physical violence. Similar to an EC comic, the tone is outrageous, the characters bold. Dr. Ramzi is just one more honorary member of the 'mad scientist' fraternity of demented brothers, holding state in the "State Institute for the Mentally Insane" (love the name!). A psychiatrist, Ramzi delights in torturing large numbers of the helpless inmates, treating them to lobotomy experiments. After, he hides their mutilated bodies in an underground pit. When one of his peers, Dr. Sawn, unearths his secret plot, a bullet ends the sinister doctor's career. But not for long. Twenty years later, when the hospital is on its feet again, a "Jane Doe" arrives. Soon after a severe earthquake rocks the hospital, unleashing residents of 'the dead pit' (although why the doc's victims would want to help him is just one of the movie's several loop holes. Only Jane and Swan remain to battle these hungry hoards!

Writer/ Director Brett Leonard crafted The Dead Pit before going on to more mainstream genre projects with The Lawnmower Man and Virtuosity. While these pictures displayed a fine sense of action and suspense, his zombie picture displays a more hands-on approach, rejoicing in prosthetic make-up, practical bloody effects, and enough shambling vengeful zombies to give a Romero fan the shakes. Entertaining in a visceral, pulse-pounding manner, Leonard's emphasis is clearly on sensationalism and effects, with story taking a back place. The plot and characters are all rather one dimensional, unable to live up to serious scrutiny. But, then again, no one is claiming that this is supposed to be a serious horror picture. This is a fine excuse to bring on zombie hordes and scantily clad women, not a character study. And it shows. If that is okay with you, and you can enjoy the simple pleasures of gut tearing at the expense of a complex, well-written story, then this goes down just fine! Mrs. Lawson's wardrobe will appeal to the sex-crazed adolescent in all of us, while the movie in general fulfils the promise of its generation. Curiously, cannibalism doesn't seem to factor into the story but there is more than enough brain damage to sustain the gore fan.

Code Red lives up to its developing reputation for cult movie excellence once again in the presentation and packaging of The Dead Pit. The restoration of the gore previously trimmed by the MPAA (around 6 minutes!) will be a major buy point for many, especially for the untrimmed brain dissection scene, a peon of depravity presented in lurid and lovely detail. While this feature has seen life on DVD in Germany and other countries, this Code Red package is superior in both visual presentation and in the generous slew of extras accompanying it. Presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, the image is occasionally soft but primarily clean and detailed. Colors are bright and lush, with the greenish color scheme transporting you into a nether world of the fantastic. The Dolby Digital Mono Audio is clean and sharp, although the dialogue is sometimes overshadowed by the musical score, which sets a dark charnel house mood.

Extras are a treasure trove of technical discussion and story, exploring the genesis and evolution of the film and the personalities and struggles of the men behind it. Most informative is the Audio Commentary with director Brett Leonard, writer Gimel Everett, and actor Jeremy Slate. The men cover everything the film's location (a real mental institution), the cast, and distribution problems. Two Video Introductions to the film are also included, as are Video Interviews, wherein Cheryl Lawson and the rest recall their favorite scenes, moments on set, and problems with the FX. The original Theatrical Trailer is next, along with several other intriguing Code Red teasers. True fans of The Dead Pit are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for the two-disc special edition, which includes a short film short film and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery.

Review by William Simmons