Having not seen this film since it was first released in 1989 I had forgotten a lot of what director Brett Leonard’s first film THE DEAD PIT was really about. Having really enjoyed Leonard’s most prestigious films THE LAWNMOWER MAN (1992) and VIRTUOSITY (1995), I decided to take a look back at memory lane at this first film of his. I probably was better off forgetting about it.
THE DEAD PIT is a straight to video horror film about a woman who has lost her memory and is sent to an insane asylum. There, she unwillingly unleashes a dead doctor from hell (his death and cover up explained in a brief prologue) who wants nothing more to kill more of his patients and unleash hell upon the earth by resurrecting all the patients he had killed when he was alive. There are subplots about how this woman, referred in the film as Jane Doe (Cheryl Lawson), lost her memory as well as other aspects of why the insane doctor was killed in the first place. All this makes for a heavily dated late ‘80s horror escapade that’s better left forgotten. There are few imaginative deaths (even for ‘80s standards) and the cinematography leaves a lot to be desired. This does look like a film from a first time filmmaker.
There is little recognition of Leonard’s talents in this film that show themselves in his subsequent films as his wrote & directed THE LAWNMOWER MAN just three years later followed by HIDEAWAY (1995), VIRTUOSITY, and the IMAX film T-REX: BACK TO THE CRETACEOUS (1998). For several years he disappeared before returning in 2005 with both the Marvel Comics adaptation of MAN-THING and the under-rated indie film FEED. Most recently he had released the latest in the ever expanding Highlander franchise – HIGHLANDER: THE SOURCE (2007).
THE DEAD PIT may have been an “indie” production but it lead to bigger productions and remains a favorite to many horror film fans. I’m just not one of them.
THE DEAD PIT is a straight to video horror film about a woman who has lost her memory and is sent to an insane asylum. There, she unwillingly unleashes a dead doctor from hell (his death and cover up explained in a brief prologue) who wants nothing more to kill more of his patients and unleash hell upon the earth by resurrecting all the patients he had killed when he was alive. There are subplots about how this woman, referred in the film as Jane Doe (Cheryl Lawson), lost her memory as well as other aspects of why the insane doctor was killed in the first place. All this makes for a heavily dated late ‘80s horror escapade that’s better left forgotten. There are few imaginative deaths (even for ‘80s standards) and the cinematography leaves a lot to be desired. This does look like a film from a first time filmmaker.
There is little recognition of Leonard’s talents in this film that show themselves in his subsequent films as his wrote & directed THE LAWNMOWER MAN just three years later followed by HIDEAWAY (1995), VIRTUOSITY, and the IMAX film T-REX: BACK TO THE CRETACEOUS (1998). For several years he disappeared before returning in 2005 with both the Marvel Comics adaptation of MAN-THING and the under-rated indie film FEED. Most recently he had released the latest in the ever expanding Highlander franchise – HIGHLANDER: THE SOURCE (2007).
THE DEAD PIT may have been an “indie” production but it lead to bigger productions and remains a favorite to many horror film fans. I’m just not one of them.
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