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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- A must see for Leonard fans interested in his filmography, 27 December 2006 Author: Molly Celaschi (carlykristen) from United States
The Dead Pit 1989 (*VHS "R") – Directed by Brett Leonard An evil doctor that experiments on his mentally ill patients is entombed in the basement of an abandoned wing. 20 years later, an amnesia patient known only as Jane Doe (Cheryl Lawson), arrives. An earthquake breaks the seal releasing the doctor to continue his dirty work. The dead patients also rise to wreck havoc.The biggest complaint I heard from other reviewers was about Lawson's acting ability, which I do not think is that bad considering this is her first feature. She is not Scream Queen material though and would be better suited for a Lifetime movie. (She won acting awards for this role and has since had a long career as a stunt woman). And why is she running around in her underwear? Not only would this be considered unethical treatment for patients, but since when are bikini panties standard issue? She would be wearing granny undies. One size fits all… This movie suspiciously looks a lot like Nightmare on Elm Street, which was released 5 years prior to this. Our Jane Doe looks identical to Elm Street's heroine Nancy Thompson. And the scenes where she is running in a dreamlike state evading the evil man in her dreams… But what really made me take notice was the scene where she is following her recently deceased friend only to be lead to Freddy, uhhh….I mean the evil doctor.This venture was a bit disappointing for director Leonard (Lawnmower Man, Feed) especially considering he co-wrote the script. There are a few script problems that should have been tweaked during script rewrites. Why do the doctors and nurses speak to patients like best friends? If there is limited funding for this mental institute, then why do they admit someone with amnesia and other minor illnesses? How likely is it that not one, but two patients are snooping around and solving mysteries? The biggest problem is that I guessed the surprise ending early on in the film.And while the film touches on controversial subjects like performing illegal lobotomies on patients, but never digs deep enough to leave a lasting impression on the viewer. There were a few scenes cut from the R rated version I watched such as an open brain surgery. Hopefully these scenes will be added in the upcoming DVD release.What stands out in the film are the top notch special effects provided by Ed Martinez. The zombies were the most exciting part of the movie although they come late at the 67 minute mark. You know the fun starts once the zombies emerge from the dead pit bald, rotting, and slimy. The patients later learn that a little bit of holy water goes a long way and we are treated to many melting faces.My favorite scene was toward the end when the "good" doctor (played by the late Jeremy Slate) walks down a hall hearing this disgusting gurgling, choking noise. When he enters the bathroom, it is covered with blood and the nurse walks towards him looking not so hot at the moment.Overall, I think they didn't try hard enough in the first part of the movie. With 2 writers on board, they should have been able to make a clever script with cool dialogue. They have a mental institution, a nun, amnesia, zombies, etc and they still struggled to make it interesting. Maybe they could have shown the orderlies and nurses being abusive towards the patients to make the first half of the film more dramatic and the zombies killing them in the second half bittersweet. Or why not add more religious themes since they had the nun patient blessing holy water? And if they insist on making Jane run around in panties, then why not sleaze it up to make it more fun? There were several different directions this film could have gone, but seemed to just tiptoe around the subjects instead of tackling them head on.Favorite Quote: None. The dialogue was lackluster. And shamefully, it wasn't even goofy enough to make me laugh.Extras: *This was the VHS version with no extras other than a few trailers at the beginning. (It won "The Best Video Box of the Year" by Entertainment magazine when it was first released). A special DVD release is in the process now with SFX artist Ed Martinez providing commentary and SFX extras. Commentary has already been recorded with director Brett Leonard, producer Gimel Everett, and the late actor Jeremy Slate. See the Ed Martinez Interview with HorrorYearbook for details.To hear about the upcoming The Dead Pit DVD release and the unfortunate passing of actor Jeremy Slate, read distributor Code Red's Blog here: http://www.codereddvd.com/nublog/.Bottom Line: A must see for Leonard fans interested in his filmography. Has some noteworthy scenes, but fails to be controversial or very scary.Rating: 7/10 Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- Fine zombie flick and creditable debut for director Brett Leonard., 14 December 2008 Author: Scott LeBrun from Winnipeg, Canada
A surgeon named Ramsi (Danny Gochnauer) at a mental institution is now an evil sadist performing horrific experiments on the inmates. "I've done life...now I'm doing death." he explains to his distraught colleague, Swan (Jeremy Slate). Swan puts a bullet in Ramsi's brain and seals off the basement where Ramsi has been committing these acts of atrocity.Twenty years later, a new inmate named Jane Doe (super-sexy Cheryl Lawson) is admitted. She doesn't know who she is, but is convinced that her memories weren't lost but deliberately taken from her. She strikes up a friendship with Christian (Steffen Gregory Foster), an amiable type who is much more lucid than most of the inmates. When an earthquake shakes up the whole place, the evil Ramsi and his subjects are freed from the basement to terrorize the inmates and staff.Leonard and his producer / writing partner Gimel Everett came up with an efficient little horror movie that really makes the most of a very small budget (approximately $350,000). The zombies are quite nasty and repellent and the movie, at least in its uncut incarnation, doesn't skimp on the gore (Ed Martinez does fine work here). Leonard, Everett, and crew know how to maximize the inherent atmosphere of their location, a genuinely spooky real-life institution that had been shut down for a number of years and then in a state of disrepair. The movie has some highly entertaining characters, such as "Sister" Clair (Geha Getz) and the Nurse Ratched-like Nurse Kygar (Joan Bechtel), and delivers some good and creepy moments.Lawson delivers a sympathetic enough performance in the lead; she is indeed a fine screamer and it's appreciable to see her do so many scenes (no matter how improbably) running around in a skimpy, midriff-baring T-shirt and underwear. Veteran Slate (who also appeared in Leonard's film "The Lawnmower Man") is excellent and Foster is engaging as the emerging hero. Mara Everett (Gimel's daughter, 16 years old at the time) is cute as an ill- fated nurse, with Jack Sunseri, the man who came up with the genesis for the movie, in an on-screen role as the head orderly. And Gochnauer is marvelously campy and creepy.I found this a good and entertaining movie with plenty of atmosphere, imagery, violence, eye candy, and some good camera angles as well. It's a horror movie worth catching.My only wish now would be to find one of those interactive video boxes (push a button, and the eyes of the zombie on the cover would light up) that the movie came in back in the day.8/10
4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :- Zombie asylum, 27 March 2005 Author: Dr. Gore (drgore@hotmail.com) from Los Angeles, California
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*I bought this video. A disturbed woman gets thrown into an insane asylum where she belongs. She insists she's not crazy. It's hard to believe her when she spends half her time screaming and wailing at whomever is around. This all becomes meaningless when zombies start charging out of the cellar. They were stashed in the pit. The Dead Pit. They want their asylum back and their head zombie won't take no for an answer.This was OK. There are a few gory spots once the zombies start chugging along. We get to see brains, delicious brains, and lots of them. The movie doesn't really get going until about the halfway point. The first half of the movie we get to see the heroine cry her eyes out at being declared insane as she's foaming at the mouth. "I didn't lose my memory! It was taken from me!" Hmmmm. Same difference? Look babe, you're a loon. Deal with it.As zombie flicks go, this was decent. It's worth a look.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :- A totally funky late 80's zombie horror splatter blast, 4 September 2008 Author: Woodyanders (Woodyanders@aol.com) from The Last New Jersey Drive-In on the Left
Mysterious amnesia victim Jane Doe (a game portrayal by luscious brunette stuntwoman Cheryl Lawson) gets sent to an asylum where twenty years ago the deranged Dr. Colin Ramzi (a pleasingly creepy Danny Gochnauer) was conducting sadistic brain experiments on the hapless inmates. A sudden earthquake resurrects Dr. Ramzi so he can embark on a new campaign of terror. Director/co-writer Brett Leonard and co-writer Gimel Everett do a bang-up job of creating and maintaining a grim, morbid and absolutely twisted brooding gloom-doom atmosphere: the dank and depressing tone rarely lets up for a minute, there's no goofy comic relief to speak of (however, this film does have a wickedly macabre sense of pitch-black gallows humor), Ramzi's lobotomized zombie victims are genuinely hideous and unsettling (the climactic lively zombie rampage seriously smokes, too), and we've got a handy helping of grisly gore (brains are scooped out, the tops of heads are cut off to expose peoples' glistening cerebrums, and long, sharp needles are thrust into several folks' skulls). The slick cinematography by Marty Collins makes neat use of shadowy lighting and gives the picture an attractive glossy look. Dan Wyman's spirited shivery'n'spooky score likewise does the skin-crawling trick. Moreover, the solid cast all play their parts with tremendous enthusiasm: Steffen Gregory Foster delivers an utterly engaging performance as charming explosives expert Christian Meyers, Joan Bechtel is deliciously hateful as the cruel and domineering Nurse Kygar, plus there's sturdy supporting work from Jeremy Slate as friendly head psychiatrist Dr. Gerald Swan, Geha Getz as unhinged nun Sister Clair, Mara Everett as the sweet Nurse Robbins, and Jack A. Sunseri as affable orderly Jimmy. As a yummy extra bonus, the gorgeously voluptuous Lawson spends a fair share of her screen time clad only in a tight tank top and skimpy panties (and she also even briefly bares her beautifully bountiful breasts as well!). All in all, this fright feature sizes up as a great deal of good'n'ghastly ghoulish fun.
2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Dead Pit = Dead Solid, 27 July 2005 Author: choppyno from United States
Brett Leonard (Lawnmower Man, Hideaway) gives us in his directorial debut a pastiche of De Moro's HELLHOLE and Fulci's CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, and it holds it's own with those two heavy-weights from opposite poles of the extreme-film spectrum. This movie has raving mental patients, psychotic doctors, people being buried alive, ritual murders in boiler rooms, flesh-hungry zombies, high-quality gore effects, and hot women. Very atmospheric for taking place in a clichéd setting = a mental asylum. Probably the creepiest one caught on film. There are dead bodies all over this movie. Amazing dialog like this doesn't hurt either: -"My God! You're a Doctor! You're supposed to be saving lives!" -"I've done life. Now I'm doing death." Not a disappointment for zombie fans looking for something different, or slasher fans doing the same. Solid. A must see.
2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Better than I expected, 14 August 2003 Author: alex (negativec07) from Plymouth, England
I brought this on DVD expecting a stinker, but this turned out to be much better than your average low budget zombie flick. Perhaps the biggest shock is that the acting is actually quite good! It's hardly award winning, but its enough to keep you interested and actually caring about who lives and dies. Make up is well done and you'll forget this film was shot on a tight budget (except the blatant model water tower at the end). The film also managed to steer away from most of the usual horror cliches as well (except the small bit of pointless nudity). All in all, I'd recommend this to horror fans, you could do a lot worse.
2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Eccch., 27 March 2002 Author: acidxian from Haddonfield, IL
My initial reaction to this film was to ignore it. Any video that must resort to a flashing gimmick on the box must be in danger of being ignored otherwise, so I chose to stay away. Then I stumbled across all of the positive remarks about the movie here on IMDb and became intrigued.Well I hate to be a spoil sport, but this one grated on my nerves.Cheryl Lawson, this movie's primary "chica-in-trouble", has one of the most annoying screams in movie history. Her voice reminded me of Lulu, the irritating daughter who screamed and squealed a lot in John Waters' "Polyester" (except in that case, she was trying to be annoying). Cheryl plays a young woman referred to as "Jane Doe" who gets tossed into the loony bin for nary a reason. It seems she's lost her memory, and naturally the proper thing to do is incarcerate her with a bunch of raving lunatics while the doctors use hypnotherapy to treat her. Well they're not all raving lunatics...there are one or two semi-coherent individuals, since the plot does require some other protagonists. The plot also requires Jane to traipse up and down the halls in her underwear a lot, standard practice in any insane asylum that turns up in a B movie.Let's see, where were we? Well the hospital is in trouble because it has a secret door in the basement, beyond which is a sub-basement where a previous doctor has been conducting experiments involving needles inserted into the exposed brains of his unfortunate subjects (conveniently plucked from the halls of the asylum). When a colleague discovers the true nature of the doctor's work, he shoots the doctor in the head & seals off the secret basement. Jane Doe's arrival at the hospital 20 years later coincides with an earthquake that jolts the door loose, and soon the undead doctor (with flashing red eyes) is appearing and snatching more victims for his needle-work (the purpose of this is never quite clear, but Cheryl screams a lot).All of this silliness leads up to an obligatory zombie attack, where the residents of the "dead pit" all come lurching out (while Cheryl screams and screams). They wreak havoc on the one or two people left alive in the facility until an elaborate plot is hatched by Cheryl and her male lead to douse the zombie pit with an entire water-tower full of holy water.Eh, well...I guess I should tell you why I hated it, in spite of the gloriously ridiculous plot (always a plus in B-moviedom). The soundtrack of the film--dialogue, music, and sound effects alike--sounds as if it's been recorded inside of a tin can. The brief attempts at character development include a scene where the movie's main characters meet in the cafeteria of the asylum, their dialogue overwhelmed by the gratuitous screaming and moaning of the other patients. Most of the film takes place in darkness, and it's often hard to tell what's going on. One illogical scene occurs when three individuals are trapped in an office room with about thirty zombies pounding on the door, and one of the characters must make a long speech, hemming and hawing as if he was trying to remember what he ate for dinner yesterday.But Oscar-winning performances are not what zombie movies are about. The main reason I hated "The Dead Pit", in spite of the excruciatingly awful sound quality, is that the movie has a serious conflict in style going on. It's filmed in darkness with lots of Gothic imagery (shadowy forms backlit by eerie light, the ominous interiors of the hospital, the rotting basement), yet the movie throws in screwball humor at the weirdest times. For instance, one zombie attack is preceded by two policemen casually discussing the local donut shops, and the whole holy-water-tower finale is quite laughable. The director also finds the place for a gratuitous breast shot as Jane Doe is hosed down with water, and why on Earth would Jane want to wander around a dark hospital corridor in her skimpy underwear?These moments, and others, undermine any sense of dread the director is able to dredge up from the material. Overall I was really disappointed with "The Dead Pit". The idea could have made for a creepy film, or even a creepy spoof, but the result is a jumbled mess, and probably one of the worst movies you will ever hear. I should have left the box with the flashing eyes alone.
3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- The Dead Pitiable…, 25 December 2006 Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls
"The Dead Pit" offers a grim & chilling atmosphere, sublime settings and some of the most exhilarating gore effects I've ever seen, and yet... it's all ruined by truly amateurish production values and incompetent acting performances. What a crying shame, as Brett Leonard's ("Feed", "Hideaway") debut easily could have been one of the late 80's most grueling horror accomplishments, with its disturbingly gloom psychiatric clinic setting and the fairly unique 'zombifying' process that involves scalping people and sticking needles in their exposed brains. When you watch many independent low-budget horror flicks, you tend to get used to bad acting and lousy editing jobs, but it becomes a lot more difficult to overlook when the story actually has such great potential. Then you're just left behind with feelings of disappointment and anger. This film would have been a lot better if everyone – with the exception of Jeremy Slate – just kept their mouths shut and focused more on the blood-soaked zombies that come crawling out of the eerie pit in the asylum's secret basement. The living dead are experiment cases of the gifted Dr. Colin Ramzi, who went a little ballistic in his search for discovering the medical causes of insanity. His former partner Dr. Swan killed him and walled him up underneath the asylum but now, twenty years later, the arrival of a mysteriously amnesic girl and a heavy earthquake brought him back and he's more satanic than he ever was. The plot makes no sense and it's full of holes, but it's a really creepy film that features absolutely no comic reliefs or sympathetic characters. The good characters (like the innocent young nurse) are slaughtered just as relentlessly as the wicked ones, and you shouldn't root for a happy ending, either! The odd music contributes to the unsettling atmosphere as well and that abandoned dark hospital building is honestly one of the creepiest horror setting in history. One sequence in particular, when Dr. Ramzi is standing over the pit with his arms spread whilst an army of undead souls emerges, is vintage 80's terror in my humble opinion. But now let's rant a little about the negative elements. They show right away, with the ineptly edited opening credits! The whole history between Dr. Swan and Dr. Ramzi gets constantly intercut with credits, which looks very amateurish and overly interrupts the pace. The clumsy editing remains the main problem throughout the entire film, as relocations are always indicated by stagnant images of a full moon. That one same shot of the moon must feature in the film for a total of 15 times or something. Most of the acting performances are just hopeless, especially Stephen Foster as the heroic male lead and Danny Gochnauer as the malicious, flashy red-eyed zombie doctor. His character should have just been a silent one. Cheryl Lawson isn't the world's greatest actress neither, but at least she looks nice and walks around scarcely dressed most of the time. Those are very nice undies you're wearing, Cheryl... And a sexy top, too!
A solid addition to the zombie court, 17 December 2009 Author: Dagon
It's fair to say I've earned my stripes in regard to zombie movies. Through the course I've taken to delve deep into horror, I've seen countless titles given the highest honors to the lowest scum-of-the- earth production values cinema has ever witnessed. From A to Z grade, however, there stands a few shining stars that are worth discussing. "The Dead Pit" is one of these last glimmers of hope. Brett Leonard, the man responsible for both writing and directing 1992's "The Lawnmower Man," made his directorial debut with this undead feature; he did a fine job in presenting it.The story begins at a mental hospital in California. Dr. Ramzi, a deranged doctor at the facility, has been murdering and experimenting on patients in the basement. Dr. Gerald Swan learns of his sinister activities; in fear of jeopardizing his career at the hospital, he decides to eliminate Dr. Ramzi and bury the truth for 20 years. Jane Doe, an unidentified woman suffering from amnesia, is admitted to the facility. After an earthquake occurs, visions allow her to slowly uncover the dark secret buried deep beneath.This movie seems to function greatly for a variety of reasons. Although a few typical 80s production clichés exist they all seem to apply perfectly in the given scenarios the plot uncovers - the use of smoke machines in correlation with intense back lighting are exhausted thoroughly. The bumbling policemen standing outside discussing donuts was also a nice touch. I expect certain predictable elements to exist within the era I'm experiencing. It all works tremendously. The vacant hospital wings that were chosen as set pieces for this film are outstanding. The director clearly knew what he was doing; as a viewer, I felt isolated. The cast of actors/actresses hired to fill the character roles did a decent job - certainly no Emmy nominations to be had, but a solid enough attempt in their own right. As far as the musical score is concerned, expect typical, 80s off-beat harmonics - which, in my opinion, is what I look forward to. Clearly anything with a dark melody is par for the course.This film can be classified as a zombie flick but it requires a bit of patience from the viewer. The pace seems sluggish for the first 40 minutes of the film but picks up nicely. There is plenty of violence and gore to satiate the blood thirst of any gore hound. The special effects and makeup are worth noting. Although I reserve a special pedestal for Tom Savini, the artists responsible for "The Dead Pit" are truly remarkable and come in a close second - their work displayed here is even a few notches down from , in my humble opinion, the greatest zombie masterpiece of all time, George A. Romero's 1985 feature "Day of the Dead." I consider this a true accomplishment; many Z grade zombie flicks from the 80s, primarily ones with an Italian-schlock quality (I'm not including Lucio Fulci when I speak of schlock, so please don't send a lynch mob to my doorstep!), fail miserably in achieving the same success. When it comes to zombie movies in general, I think most could agree that Romero was responsible for reinventing and trend-setting a particular brand of undead fiend in 1968's "Night of the Living Dead." I don't consider it a crime if his influence is shared by directors and production teams alike. Although not in the top 5 of classic zombie re- tellings, "The Dead Pit" surely makes the top 10 - give it a try and you won't be disappointed.
"god these dead people sure are smart.." *minor spoilers*, 10 October 2009 Author: hungerartist (braidwheel@yahoo.com) from kapaa, hi
...i wish the script writer was as intelligent! (the zombies have removed a key engine component required to start the car) i sooo want to love this movie. it has great atmosphere, LIGHTING, camera shots, etc.. the glowing red eyes on the doctor were fantastic, was that a high cost effect? cause they sure should have used them more! its such a shame because with a few extra tweaks to the screenplay, they could have made the gaping plot holes a bit more believable. i mean seriously. im a guy that loves supernatural, undead, etc. films, so i can obviously suspend belief pretty well, but why has the doctor come back? why is the protagonist the only one who can see the zombies throughout most of the film? i loved the lighting, the shots of the spiral staircase, the filming location was PERFECT and totally creepy, but with just A LITTLE more plot development and continuity this could have been a pretty fantastic movie. another thing: i know many horror fans are stoked on nudity/skin in horror flicks, granted its a staple in the genre to a degree, but FIRST of all, the protagonist isn't THAT attractive, and i find it kind of odd that she'd be walking around an asylum where she didn't feel she belonged in skimpy underwear and a see thru white crop top. i could go on and on about the ridiculous aspects of this film, but it really pains me, because there were so many camera shots, scenes, and elements that could have made this a pretty good zombie film. perhaps im being a bit hard on it, but with the obvious talent behind the camera, you'd think they could have created something far better.
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