"The Pit" was a low budget (estimated at about $1,000,000 in Canadian dollars) film that was released in 1981. It's pretty obscure, and it reportedly didn't do much at the box office, or critically. (IMDB lists its American gross at a pitiful $560, and its rating a mediocre 5.8, and Rotten Tomatoes gave it a kind-of-bad 4.2 rating.) I'm a fairly educated horror movie buff, but I'd never heard of it until it was featured on a Red Letter Media, "Best of the Worst" episode. (I think I've mentioned this website/YouTube channel before, but they do fun and entertaining reviews, often of cheesy sci-fi, horror, and action movies, both new releases, and older films.) I first saw "The Pit" grey market style, on YouTube, and I was quite taken with it. And for Christmas 2019, Santa brought me a copy on Blu Ray. Anyway, I'll follow my usual pattern--first a brief, spoiler-free synopsis, then a longer, spoiler-rich recap, then a discussion of the film's strengths and themes, and ending with some cast and crew info.
Jamie Benjamin is one unhappy and disturbed 12 year old. He's a target of bullies, for starters. His only friends are the frogs and snake in his terrarium, and his Teddy bear. Plus the mysterious Tra-la-logs who live in the pit in the woods near his house. When his parents go away to shop for a new house in Seattle, Jamie is left with Sandy, a young college student. Jamie is also very interested in women and sex, which he takes to extremes. People in the small town start disappearing--is Jamie somehow involved? And what exactly is the story about the pit, and its alleged non-human inhabitants?
(SPOILERS AHEAD UNTIL NOTED) "The Pit" opens at Halloween in a small town. A boy in a ghost costume approaches an older boy and girl. We see in a flashback that the bigger boy has bullied the smaller boy in the past, with the girl an amused audience. The "ghost" boy lures the pair into the woods, saying he's found a bag of robber's loot. He offers it to the older boy in exchange for membership in a club, and for a cessation of bullying. However, the bag is located on the edge of a large pit. The ghost boy promptly pushes the older boy in....
After the opening credits the scene shifts to a school. A boy named Jamie Benjamin is writing on the blackboard for punishment, as he brought an adult book of nude art photographs into class. After dismissing Jamie, his teacher, Mrs. Lynde, returns the book to the library, and talks to the librarian, Marg Livingstone. Jamie climbs the fire escape to spy on Marg, as she realizes that a letter sent with a crude mockup of her head pasted on a nude woman's body was from that very book. A janitor scares Jamie away. Back at the Benjamin home, Jamie's parents are interviewing a new babysitter, Sandra O'Reilly. They're traveling to Seattle for about a week to shop for a new house. Mrs. Benjamin explains that Jamie is getting very into girls and sex. Simultaneously we see Jamie interact with Abergail, a girl who taunts and bullies him, and Mrs. Oliphant, an old woman in a wheelchair, who also dislikes Jamie. Jamie's father explains that Jamie only has imaginary friends, and lives in his head in a worrisome manner. Sandy says she has experience with exceptional children, so she's still interested in the job. Jamie meets Sandy at dinner, and even sneaks a peek at her underwear under the table. Afterward, his parents leave, with Sandy in charge.
Jamie asks Sandy if she has a boyfriend, and he's obviously smitten. He talks about this with his Teddy bear, who we hear talk back in Jamie's distorted voice. His attraction gets creepy, as he's caught staring at Sandy while she's sleeping, with one of her breasts poking out of her pajamas. Jamie tells her that he's had many babysitters, but they never come back twice. He also reveals a secret, about the Tra-la-logs that live in a pit nearby. Sandy takes Jamie to a football game, one in which her boyfriend Alan is playing. Jamie is bored by the game, but he later becomes upset when he sees Sandy and Alan kissing. Abergail plays a cruel trick on Jamie the next day, inviting him to sit on her bike, which then collapses. While cleaning up Jamie's room, Sandy discovers the nudie magazine hidden under Jamie's mattress. However, after she leaves Teddy's head moves with no one around. Sandy tries to explain to Jamie that the Tra-la-logs aren't real, but Jamie disagrees. She jokingly suggest that the monsters might eat chocolate bars while fending off Jamie's clumsy advances.
The following day, Jamie tries feeding them chocolate bars, but the Tra-la-logs, which the audience sees are small, hairy, black monsters, aren't interested. Mrs. Lynde tells Sandy that Jamie is a loner, and very smart, but he only applies himself in science. After some research about animals from library books, Jamie buys some meat at the butcher's, and throws this in the pit. This time the pit creatures enthusiastically eat his offering. After yet another creepy incident with Sandy, Jamie steals money from her purse to buy more meat at the butcher shop. He also plays an elaborate prank on Marg Livingstone, telling her that her niece has been kidnapped, and getting her to flash her nude body at her window, while Jamie watches and takes Polaroid pictures. Sandy confronts Jamie about his theft, and then asks Alan to talk to him. Out of money, Jamie unsuccessfully tries to steal some meat, and then he futilely tries to pull a cow into the hole. Teddy and Jamie hatch another plan to feed the pit creatures--people, but only "nasty" ones. Jamie lures a series of people to their deaths in the pit--Abergail, Mrs. Olyphant, Alan, and in a repeat of the opening scene, bully Freddie Phelps and Christina.
By then Sandy is dating another guy, Garth, but she's concerned about Alan's disappearance. Jamie mentions all the missing people, and that the Tra-la-logs "don't eat chocolate bars." Sandy finally goes with Jamie to see the pit. Once there she realizes the monsters are real. She says they need to tell people about them, and inform scientists. Jamie angrily refuses this. Then Sandy accidently falls into the pit. Jamie tries to help pull her out, but the monsters kill and eat her. For the first time, Jamie is upset about the Tra-la-logs killing someone.
The Benjamins return. Jamie lies and says that Sandy ran off with her boyfriend, even to the police. He starts to see hallucinations of a bloody and torn up Sandy scolding him. He also attempts to frame Garth, planting Christina's tutu and the Polaroids of Marg Livingstone in Garth's car. Then he ties a rope to a tree and puts the other end into the pit, explaining that the Tra-la-logs will have to take care of themselves. The monsters quickly take advantage, and escape from the pit.
The creatures rapidly start ravaging the area. A couple is murdered, and remains of their bodies are found. Another young couple is slain by the Tra-la-logs while swimming at an abandoned quarry. The police form an armed posse, and track the creatures. The monsters return to their pit, but are cornered and shot to death by the posse. In an epilogue Jamie arrives at his grandparents' house in the country. He's introduced to a distant cousin, a girl named Alicia. She invites him to play, and he eagerly accepts. She leads him to a pit, like the previous one. Jamie is horrified, and says that the Tra-la-logs eat people. Alicia replies that she knows, and pushes Jamie in. (The End)
I know I've said this often lately about the films I discuss, but "The Pit" is definitely an acquired taste. Some audiences might find it too slow, and too much of a character study of Jamie. But I'd say by far the most polarizing aspect of the film is its tone. It varies quite significantly. Much of the movie is quite serious, as it shows us exactly how disturbed and psychotic Jamie is. But then there are scenes that are clearly being played for laughs, sometimes kind of in an inappropriate manner. Sometimes with expert comic timing, edits, and accompanied by jazzy little musical stings. The attempted cow killing, and then the first few murders are particularly big examples of this. Comic in tone, and very absurd. Abergail goes to get her stolen bike, and somehow doesn't see a large pit right in front of her, in broad daylight. Then we see Jamie pushing Mrs. Olyphant in her wheelchair, past the corn field, through the woods, and then right into the pit. Afterwards Jamie even tops it off with a jokey remark. Alan's demise is similarly ridiculous, as once again, during the day, he somehow doesn't see the pit while running to catch a football. But then things start getting more realistic, and less funny. Maybe Freddy couldn't see the pit in the dark, for example. Christina actually faints, and Jamie pulls off her tutu before callously lifting and then dropping her into the pit. Sandy's death is not played for humor at all, as for the first time we see the monsters grabbing and brutally and bloodily ripping her apart. The rest of the movie is played straight too, save for the very last shot. And the scope changes radically, as the police investigation is shown, followed by scenes of the Tra-la-logs murdering more people (or the results of it) before meeting their own, bullet-ridden deaths. Followed by the light-hearted murder of Jamie by Alicia--Jamie undone by the very creatures he used to support. Again, I know that some viewers won't like this, or didn't back in 1981. But I found this wildly gyrating tone to be okay, even oddly endearing. The story itself was quite dark and disturbing, and I found these attempts at humor, though broad, to be nonetheless entertaining, and helpful to my enjoyment.
The writer of "The Pit," Ian A. Stuart, disagreed strongly with the changes that director Lew Lehman made to his original screenplay. The original version had a markedly different ending-- in it the final scene shows the Benjamins talking with Sandy, now very much alive. Jamie has imagined the pit itself, the Tra-la-logs, and all the deaths. Stuart also didn't like many of the comic moments I discussed previously. As I listened to him talk about this on the DVD extras, and in reading further about it online, I had kind of mixed feelings. It's a shame that Stuart didn't like the alterations to his creation. His version does sound scarier, and grimmer, and much more realistic. It was a serious study of a boy who's deeply mentally ill. But, at the same time, I found myself disagreeing with Stuart. (I mean, as much as I can, since I clearly can't view the movie with its original ending, I just have to imagine it from the information I have.) I sometimes find it frustrating when we learn that most, or all of the movie was a dream, or imagined, or a hallucination. (With some exceptions, such as, off the top of my head (SPOILERS) the movie "Jacob's Ladder," which I discussed in my post on April 4, 2020.) That's a difficult trope to pull off, as it's been done many, many times. Sometimes it feels like a cheat, like the whole movie was a waste of time. So, the eventual ending that Lehman used, and the overall moments of humor, to me make "The Pit" more fun and memorable. Admittedly, they were weird, and at times ridiculous, but sometimes that makes me enjoy the film more. Definitely there were some so-bad-it's-good elements, but at the end of the day, they make the movie better, in my opinion. Also, the decision to make Jamie pubescent (in Stuart's original draft he was about 8 or 9 rather than 12) helped the story, too, although again Stuart probably disagreed. Sure, part of this was surely to add some nudity for prurient purposes, but it added to the disturbing nature of Jamie. It helped explain why he was so weird, and unaccepted, and ostracized by his peers, and the adults in town. Simply put, his perversions made him a more compelling, messed up, 12 year old character.
Another reason I appreciate "The Pit" was Sammy Snyders' performance as Jamie. He's in almost every scene, so he's really asked to carry the movie. And he acquits himself very well, I thought. He exhibits many aspects of Jamie's personality, and differing traits, quite effectively. Jamie is undeniably disturbed and creepy, and Synders plays these moments well. But we also see his pain at being friendless and alone, hated by pretty much everyone in town. Even his murders have a justification, at least in his warped mind. He only leads "nasty" people to their deaths, after all. (Understand, I'm clearly not saying these people deserved to die, just that we can understand Jamie's motivations in doing so.) Other viewers may disagree, but I thought that Snyders' performance was very convincing, even during the humorous moments. He was rather like a pint-sized Norman Bates.
There were a couple of serious themes buried within this movie, as well. You could interpret "The Pit" as exemplifying the damage that bullying can do, suggesting a cause for Jamie's condition. And, relatedly, the effects of ostracizing someone who is different. Maybe if the bullies had left Jamie alone, or if some of the other kids, or adults, had been a little more friendly and understanding, Jamie might not have become so crazy. At the very least, their behavior certainly made him worse. Then there's the bathtub scene, where Jamie tells Sandy that his mother washes him frequently. As in, she scrubs him herself, not just insist that Jamie take a bath on his own, like normal. Even when he doesn't feel dirty, and it's implied that she likes doing this. It's a small moment, but the implication is clear--did Mrs. Benjamin commit some sexual abuse or molestation of Jamie? If so, this could explain a lot. A child victimized like this might then have his concept about appropriate sexuality completely ruined. Jamie's obsessive interest in nudity and sex seem rather advanced for a 12 year old. Is he precocious, or was it something else? It might also explain why Jamie escapes into a fantasy world so much, and why his interactions with other people, and adults, are so filled with awkwardness and mistrust.
I have some questions, too. The scene where Teddy moves his head, with neither Jamie nor anyone else in the room, clearly indicates that the toy bear is supernaturally gifted in some way. Is Teddy possessed by some sort of evil spirit or demon? If so, that might help explain Jamie's mental condition as well. Teddy is constantly talking to him, and then possibly corrupting him. Teddy speaks in Jamie's voice (slightly distorted), but maybe that's a trick of the demon? All in the guise of his being Jamie's only real friend? I think the evidence is strong that Jamie is mentally ill on his own, but obviously a malevolent personality infecting his beloved toy companion could certainly make things worse! Then there is the biggest mystery--what are the Tra-la-logs? They don't appear to be any recognized earth creature. They're short but strong, covered with hair, and with beady yellow eyes Are they another branch on the human evolutionary tree, some kind of direct relative turned more savage? Or some sort of mutant ape? Or are they something supernatural, monstrous? Demonic again, like Teddy might be? This last guess doesn't seem likely, since they're readily killed by normal bullets, but still. And if they are animals, why haven't people discovered them until now? They're not exactly shy and retiring--they're always just sitting there in the pit, visible to anyone who looks down into it. Perhaps they normally live underground, in deep caves, but that's problematic too. Namely, what would they eat? (And yes, as usual, I know I'm reading way too much into this, overanalyzing details put into the movie for budgetary reasons, or just to move the story forward, or just for the hell of it, but that's what I do with movies and books.)
One final tidbit--the whole movie can be seen as a tragic love story, of missed opportunity. Alicia seems to be a female version of Jamie, only evidently better at acting normal and sane. If she'd gotten to know Jamie a little, maybe a friendship or even a romance could have blossomed. Two people together, tolerant and even welcoming of each other's sick psychotic habit of feeding human beings to hideous creatures. But no, Alicia was too eager to feed her pet monsters, in the process killing off the one person who could have truly understood, and accepted her.
On a more practical note, I thought the Tra-la-logs themselves were decent. The filmmakers wisely kept their monsters hidden for most of the movie, only quickly glimpsed, usually in the shadowy pit. Later, when they're out and about, in broad daylight, there are a few somewhat unconvincing moments, but again, the creatures are usually seen only briefly, and often from behind. Their creepy yellow eyes are a nice unsettling touch, I thought. There wasn't much action and gore in "The Pit," but when there was, it was okay. Nothing earth-shattering, but competent. The film never makes the mistake of showing the Tra-la-logs head on, for a long time, in good lighting.
(END SPOILERS--SAFE FOR ALL READERS) Not shockingly, no one involved in this small budget, Canadian horror movie became huge stars or household names worldwide. Many of them were Canadian themselves, so the bulk of their work was on Canadian television or Canadian-made movies. "The Pit" was Lew Lehman's only directing job. His resume otherwise was pretty sparse. He co-wrote the screenplay for "Phobia" (1980), and acted in a few features or shorts, such as "The Killing Machine" (1994) and "Death Junction" (1994). He also served as the music supervisor for two mid 1970's television shows--"The Swiss Family Robinson" and "Police Surgeon." Actress Jeanie Elias, who played Sandra O'Reilly, had the biggest career of anyone in the production. She acted in such films as "Power Play" (1978), "Blood & Guts" (1978), "Deadline" (1980), and "Nomads" (1985), and was in an episode of "Seinfeld" in 1993. But she's best known for her voice acting work, in live action features, animation, and video games. Highlights of this are roles in "A Bug's Life" (1998), "Babe: Pig in the City" (1998), and "Finding Nemo" (2003). Sonja Smits (Mrs. Lynde) appeared in such movies as "Videodrome" (1983), "That's My Baby" (1984), "Owning Mahoney" (2003) "How to Deal" (2003), and "One Way" (2006). But she's best known for her work on Canadian television, with starring roles in "Street Legal" (1987-92) and "Traders" (1996-2000). Laura Press (Mrs. Benjamin) was in such movies as "Mr. Patman" (1980), "Head Office" (1985), and "Behind the Red Door" (2003), and in such television programs as ""Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" (1993-96) and "Goosebumps" (1998). Mr. Benjamin portrayer Richard Alden appeared in films like "The Canadians" (1961), "The Sadist" (1963), "The Discoverers" (1972) and "Deadline" (1980), and on television programs such as "Hogan's Heroes" (1969-71) and "Friday the 13th: The Series" (1987). The character of Garth was played by John Stoneham, Sr., who also appeared in such films as "Black Christmas" (1974), "Phobia" (1980), "Strange Brew" (1983), and "Street Justice" (1987). However, he was mostly a stunt performer, appearing in dozens of movies in that capacity, such as "Body Parts" (1991), "Tommy Boy" (1995), "The Long Kiss Goodnight" (1996), "X-Men" (2000), "Survival of the Dead" (2009), and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014). Finally, Sammy Snyders, who played Jamie, had a brief acting career. He's probably best known for his Canadian television work, on programs like "Huckleberry Finn and His Friends" (1980), and "The Baxters" (1980-81). Other film credits include "Tomorrow Never Comes" (1978) and "The Last Chase" (1981). After that he went back to his main passion, dancing, and teaching dance.
So, I hope I've done a decent job in presenting "The Pit" in all its glory and its warts. As I covered, its tone is all over the place, but I think many people will find it a fun view. Maybe in an ironic, so-bad-it's-good way, but that has its place too. Once the pandemic is over, it's the type of flick that a group of folks could enjoy, perhaps aided by alcohol or various smokables. Also, I'm pretty sure I saw it advertised on the horror streaming service "Shudder," very recently, so it might be extremely easy to check out.
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