Mr_Ectoplasma "The Pit" follows a young adolescent boy, Jamie, who is an outcast in his bucolic small town; his only friend is a teddy bear, he has an unusually focused sexual interest for his age, and his classmates pick on him incessantly. When his parents leave town for an extended business trip, he is left under the care of Sandy, a psychology graduate student who is babysitting to make money. Jamie bonds with her (and also becomes romantically obsessed), and lets her in on his hidden secret: an ominous pit in the woods that is home to a group of carnivorous creatures.Walking the line somewhere between "Carrie" and "Gremlins," (the latter of which it predates), "The Pit" was an unexpected surprise to me. I went into it (no pun intended) with considerably low expectations, given that everything from the synopsis of the film to its poster art scream "really awful '80s movie," so I anticipated little, but found quite a lot to like here. Make no mistake—this film is pretty ridiculous—but it's also quite well-done and takes itself just seriously enough to not implode. If one can get past the silliness of flesh-eating troglodytes being fed local townspeople by a disturbed young boy, the film is insanely enjoyable.While the special effects of the creatures are somewhat dated, and the entire premise utterly insane, "The Pit" no less manages to be engrossing largely due to its lead performances from Sammy Snyders and Jeannie Elias. The scenes between Jamie and Sandy are some of the most interesting (and disturbing) in the film, and set a sinister tone that permeates throughout; the quieter scenes at home are where the pair's acting really shines, and the character dynamics are most vividly realized.The film also gets major points for managing to be suspenseful as the creatures are fed victim after victim—everyone Jamie has been scorned by. It's all headed somewhere grim, and the tension between Jamie and Sandy increases as his antics grow more and more twisted. It's also a very nicely-shot film with some beautiful compositions, and a fantastic, bucolic setting that is rich in atmosphere and lends it a late-'70s Americana feel. The conclusion to the film is unexpected and provides one final jab at the audience that steers from the expected formula.Overall, "The Pit" is a hidden gem of a horror film, and is a mild triumph in its own right. It's the kind of film that takes itself seriously yet requires the complete reverse of its audience. If one can suspend their disbelief, there is a finely-crafted, atmospheric monster movie here. Granted, it is far from scary, but it is ridiculously entertaining, consistently sinister, and never once fails to keep one's attention. It's held up rather well for a film that ascribes itself to such a fantastical premise. 8/10.

James McKnight This film is surprisingly interesting. I rarely rate a horror film with the idea that I'm laying alongside Citizen Kane. When I do rate them I lay them in relation to how strong they are in the genre. And this film is pretty bizarre. I really found myself enjoying the concept of The pit even if I didn't enjoy the dialogue or acting. Jamie Benjamin,a young boy hitting puberty in an a manner that borders on the creepy that seems unnerving. Whom also hears his teddy bear talking,his only friend since most of the town ridicule him as a weirdo, stumbles upon a Pit. It isn't long before Jamie is convinced that something lives within the pit that's hunger cannot be controlled. That is if this evil exists.I'd say this one was a little bit surprising as I have a hard time being fair to films that are to some extent very interesting premises,but struggle on the execution,but it is still better than a majority of the lesser know 80s horror. This is a film to watch once because of its almost cruel Ironic ending.

lost-in-limbo You got problems… check your nearby woods and maybe they'll be solved. Twelve-year-old Jamie is a strange, sexually obsessed loner whose only real friend is a sinister, scheming stuffed teddy bear that talks to him. He has secret that in the nearby woods he finds a large hole in the ground which harbours a pack of prehistoric beasts known as troglodytes. He doesn't know what to feed them, until reads up on them and learns they're carnivorous. So those people who have harassed him or got on his bad side will soon find out about Jamie's secret. However he did tell his secret to one other; the attractive babysitter looking after him since his parents have gone away… but maybe that wasn't such a good idea."The Pit" is a very peculiar, but hypnotic b-grade l, drive-in rural psycho-kid outing that's a lot of fun. If you enjoy something rather twisted, senseless and perverse with a dark sense of humour. What it really has going for it is the extra creepy and disquieting performance of Sammy Snyders as Jamie. He striking visual features standout and he superbly plays a disturb mindset, as if he entirely lives in his own world along with his teddy. Quite a seedy little teddy, but still don't know if its because of his imagination or if it was possessed due to one sequence which has its head moving with Jamie being nowhere in the scene. The dialogues between the two are dementedly funny, but still there's a real sincerity about it. The lovely Jeannie Ellis plays the concerned babysitter who tries to communicate and understand him, but she finds out he's truly a little monster. Director Lew Lehman plays it as it is, never trying for anything truly clever. While its low-scale restrictions show it up at times (don't know why it began with a scene that shows up later on), but Lehman's vivid creativity shows in sequences along with the mean-spirited vibe and immensely unpredictable nature. There's a little touch sleaze (the voyeuristic peeping) and blood and gore, but the killings mainly happened off-screen (some moments were quite rib-tickling with how certain people just don't seem to see the pit before taking the trip in) and monsters are nothing more than cheesy costumes with the striking element being the glowing eyes. Most of the time they're in a dark pit, until later on when they come to the surface to cause havoc. The music score is sweepingly full of life, but terribly overwrought and the final shot ends on such a perfectly foreboding and ironic note that goes down so well.

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.