The Pit

The_PITThe Pit is an underseen Canadian horror, set in Wisconsin, which might as well be Canada, what with their humility, funny accents, affinity for beer, ample forests and lousy weather.

The film’s creeping sexual coming-of-age elements, an unintended byproduct of casting a 12-year old boy rather than a 9-year old as the screenwriter intended, definitely breathes life into this 1981 feature and will make it well worth your time (a kid-centric edgy movie like this would never be made today, given the dominance of tepid supernaturals).

Neat film, but The Pit is a terrible title. It’s alternate, Teddy, is equally bad and slightly misleading. While young Jamie is a bullied youngster whose sole companion is a stuffed (and at times sentient) bear, this conceit is abandoned midway and could be interpreted as just another figment of the kid’s imagination.

When it comes to looking after Jamie, it’s been a babysitter revolving door. He’s definitely a handful, with his dead-eyed demeanor, kidnapping schemes and his clingy burgeoning sexuality. Psych grad student Sandra is up for the challenge though, even if he tests her limits by spying on her while she sleeps and skulking into the bathroom while she’s showering.

The-Pit-1981-MovieJamie’s obsessed with a pit out in the middle of the woods, The Pit in question. It’s inhabited by trolls, “Tra-la-logs” as he puts it, a “troglodyte” solecism. The boy takes it upon himself to feed the furry creatures, procuring meat from the local butcher and dumping it into the hollow.

Soon, they’re not satisfied and need live prey. And Jamie is all too happy to oblige.

Where are his parents you ask?

Jamie’s in dire need of discipline, a good ol’ fashioned ass-whoopin’. The Pit’s finished product is undisciplined as well. The psycho-sexual elements are eerie and convincing, but by the time we’re introduced to the trolls, some of the tension and claustrophobia is lost (especially when a skeptical Sandra becomes a believer). Still, the first two-thirds make for a really tight, inspired little horror.

According to our pals over at Daily Dead, Kino Lorber are releasing this oddity on Blu-ray.

*** (out of 5)

[CHECK OUT OUR PODCAST DISCUSSION OF THE PIT!]

Search and Destroy

Search_and_destroy

Search and Destroy isn’t just a ripping Stooges song, it’s also a Canuxploitation that really pops.

Director William Fruet is responsible for two stellar Canadian tax shelter horrors, the revenge flick The House by the Lake and the hick horror Baker County USA. In Search and Destroy, we get a Vietnamese guide, Nguyen, leading a platoon of US soldiers through dense jungles with explosives going off in every direction.

Shoot ahead a decade to post-war Los Angeles and the black guy gets it, just like you’d expect in a horror film.

We’re then suddenly in Niagara Falls, where the honeymoon is over for another platoon member, slumped over his steering wheel, his car nose-first in a river. Two kids going fishing, notify the authorities who then fish the vehicle out.

The assailant: a mysterious stalker with fore and middle finger fused together like he’s going to go all Django Reinhardt on his vics. He’s stealthy and sports a black glove. Very giallo.

With ‘Nam guys dropping dead on both coasts…maybe there’s a pattern?

The deceased, RJ, was good buddies with Kip, who was his colonel in Vietnam. (Kip is played by the always compelling Perry King, please see our Class of 1984 podcast) Cops lean on him and then press Kip for details about who’d want his friend dead.

Search_and_destroyHe’s at a loss for words, so he grabs friend and tough-guy Buddy (Don Stroud, Death Weekend/The Amityville Horror). Together, they burst into the auto repair business owned by the resident Niagara Falls underworld figure to see if he’s had anything to do with it (see image). He’s cleared.

Meanwhile, the assassin stalks the men to the famous Maid of the Mist boat ride at the foot of The Falls, where the hit-man shoots at them, before taking Buddy to the top of the hydro-electric plant, and walloping him within an inch of his life before the law arrive.

It’s all up to Kip to find out what in hell is going on, while we get to see a slew of notable Canadian filming locations including Toronto’s Junction neighborhood, the aforementioned Falls, and also a compelling shootout on that tacky promenade, Clifton Hill Niagara Falls, known for its gaudy bars and museums.

Great Canadian exploitation fun.

*** (out of 5)