The Pit (1981 film)

Last updated
The Pit
Teddy
Thepitposter.jpg
Canadian Theatrical Poster
Directed byLew Lehman
Written byIan A. Stuart
Produced byBennet Fode/John F. Bassett (executive producer)
Starring Sammy Snyders
Jeannie Elias
CinematographyManfred Guthe
Edited byRik Morden
Music byVictor Davies
Distributed byAmulet Pictures/Ambassador Film Distributors (Canada)
New World Pictures (United States)
Release dates
  • October 23, 1981 (1981-10-23)(Canada)
  • June 4, 1983 (1983-06-04)
  • United States (United States)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
BudgetCAD $900,000 [1]

The Pit (also known as Teddy) is a 1981 Canadian horror film starring Sammy Snyders and Jeannie Elias. Although it is a Canadian production, it was actually filmed in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. The pit itself was filmed in Waupun, WI.

Contents

Plot

Jamie Benjamin is a misfit 12-year-old boy from Toronto, Canada. He's the Canadian-born whipping boy of his classmates, the other kids in the city and the grandmothers who live in Wisconsin. When he encounters other people, they tease and ridicule him. His only friend is a stuffed bear named Teddy, with whom he regularly holds conversations. The audience hears Teddy's voice as he talks to Jamie.

On the cusp of puberty, Jamie develops an unhealthy obsession with girls. Thus, when his parents go away on a business trip and leave the attractive psychology student Sandy O'Reilly to babysit him, he falls completely in love with her. His lust for her is first revealed when he drops his napkin at the dinner table and when he reaches for it, he uses the opportunity to look at Sandy's panties.

During one of his conversations with Sandy, Jamie asks her if she can keep a secret. Jamie reveals that in the forest, he has found a pit full of mysterious creatures, which he calls "Trogs", which he takes care of by feeding them raw meat. He steals money from Sandy's purse in order to obtain meat for the creatures. Teddy suggests feeding the people who tormented him to the Trogs, and Jamie takes his advice. After he runs out of people, he takes Sandy to the pit, where she accidentally falls in and is eaten by the monsters. Heartbroken and angry, Jamie lowers a rope into the pit, and the Trogs escape. After rampaging through the countryside, they are tracked down and chased back to their pit, where they are shot by the local militia and buried in it. In order to avoid panic, the killings are blamed on "wild dogs". Jamie goes to live with his grandparents, where he meets a girl named Alicia who says she will be his friend. The film ends with Alicia tricking Jamie into following her into the woods, where she pushes him into her own pit.

Cast

Production

Ian A. Stuart's original screenplay was considerably different from the final film. In his screenplay, Jamie was 8 or 9 years old and the Tra-la-logs were figments of his imagination. When Lew Lehman signed on to direct, he made Jamie older, the monsters real and added more humor to the original script. Stuart has expressed dissatisfaction with the final result. [2]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. It is currently ranked as a 42% "freshness" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Due to its unusual premise and Sammy Snyders' effective performance, it has retained a small cult following.

Novelization

Teddy by John Gault is a novelization of the film published in 1980. [3] It appears to adhere closer to Ian A. Stuart's original screenplay than the finished film, containing more character development and a far darker tone.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>Truly, Madly, Deeply</i> (film) 1990 British film

Truly, Madly, Deeply is a 1990 British fantasy drama film made for the BBC's Screen Two series, by BBC Films, Lionheart and Winston Pictures. The film, written and directed by Anthony Minghella, stars Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wally Fawkes</span> Canadian-British cartoonist and clarinettist (1924–2023)

Walter Ernest Fawkes, also known as Trog when signing cartoons, was a Canadian-British jazz clarinettist and satirical cartoonist.

<i>Trog</i> 1970 British science fiction horror film by Freddie Francis

Trog is a 1970 British science fiction horror film directed by Freddie Francis and starring Joan Crawford, Michael Gough and Bernard Kay. The screenplay was by Peter Bryan, John Gilling and Aben Kandel.

<i>Urban Legend</i> (film) 1998 film by Jamie Blanks

Urban Legend is a 1998 slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks, written by Silvio Horta, and starring Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Tara Reid, and Michael Rosenbaum, and is the first installment in the Urban Legend film series. Its plot focuses on a series of murders on the campus of a private New England university, all of which appear to be modeled after popular urban legends. In addition to its younger cast, the film features supporting performances from Robert Englund, Loretta Devine, John Neville, and Brad Dourif.

<i>Talk to Her</i> 2002 film by Pedro Almodóvar

Talk To Her is a 2002 Spanish psychological melodrama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, and starring Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Geraldine Chaplin, and Rosário Flores. The film follows two men who form an unlikely friendship as they care for two women who are both in comas.

<i>Memento</i> (film) 2000 film by Christopher Nolan

Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the short story "Memento Mori" by his brother Jonathan Nolan, which was later published in 2001. Starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano. The film follows Leonard Shelby (Pearce), a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia—resulting in short-term memory loss and the inability to form new memories—who uses an elaborate system of photographs, handwritten notes, and tattoos in an attempt to uncover the perpetrator who killed his wife and caused him to sustain the condition.

<i>Closing the Ring</i> 2007 Canadian film

Closing the Ring is a 2007 romantic drama film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Mischa Barton, Stephen Amell, Neve Campbell, Pete Postlethwaite, and Brenda Fricker. It was the final film directed by Attenborough, then aged 83, who died seven years later. The film was released in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom on 28 December 2007. Closing the Ring is an international co-production between the United Kingdom, Canada, and United States.

<i>I Can Get It for You Wholesale</i> (film) 1951 film by Michael Gordon

I Can Get It for You Wholesale is a 1951 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Gordon. The screenplay by Abraham Polonsky is based on Vera Caspary's loose adaptation of the 1937 novel of the same title by Jerome Weidman.

Sam Snyders, is a former television and film child actor from Canada.

<i>Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled</i> 2002 Canadian film

Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled is a 2002 Canadian dark fantasy horror film directed by Chris Angel and starring Michael Trucco, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Jason Thompson, Victor Webster, Kimberly Huie, and John Novak. It is the fourth and final installment of the Wishmaster series.

The Secret World of Benjamin Bear is a Canadian animated television series and a joint effort produced by Amberwood Entertainment, Secret Bear Productions, and produced with the participation of Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund including animation by Philippine Animation Studio. It originally aired on Family Channel from 2003–2009. 52 episodes were produced.

<i>Jeannie</i> (film) 1941 British film

Jeannie is a 1941 British romantic comedy film directed by Harold French and starring Barbara Mullen, Michael Redgrave, and Albert Lieven.

<i>American Nightmare</i> (film) 1983 Canadian film

American Nightmare is a 1983 Canadian slasher film directed by Don McBrearty and starring Lawrence Day, Lora Staley, Lenore Zann, Michael Ironside, and Alexandra Paul in her feature film debut. It tells the story of a successful pianist investigating the disappearance of his sister in an urban decadence as a serial killer targets prostitutes and sex workers. The screenplay by John Sheppard, based on a story by John Gault and Steven Blake, was influenced by the rising crime rates in American cities throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.

<i>The Wicked</i> (2013 film) 2013 American film

The Wicked is a 2013 American horror film directed by Peter Winther and starring Devon Werkheiser, Justin Deeley, Jess Adams, Jamie Kaler and Caitlin Carmichael.

<i>I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney</i> 1993 film by Ben Affleck

I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney is a 1993 American short satirical film directed by Ben Affleck from a screenplay by Kamala Lopez and Jay Lacopo. The film is Affleck's first directorial effort.

<i>The Frontier</i> (2015 film) 2015 American film

The Frontier is a 2015 American crime film directed by Oren Shai and written by Oren Shai and Webb Wilcoxen. The film stars Jocelin Donahue, Kelly Lynch, Jim Beaver, Izabella Miko, Jamie Harris, Liam Aiken, and A. J. Bowen. Donahue plays a drifter on the run who stops at a motel, only to find that several people there may be involved in a local heist.

<i>Lady Macbeth</i> (film) 2016 British film by William Oldroyd

Lady Macbeth is a 2016 British period drama film directed by William Oldroyd and produced by Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly. Written for the screen by Alice Birch, it is based on the 1865 novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov. It stars Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Paul Hilton, Naomi Ackie and Christopher Fairbank. The plot follows a young woman who is stifled by her loveless marriage to a bitter man twice her age.

Never Steady, Never Still is a Canadian drama film, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alicia Clark</span> Character in Fear the Walking Dead

Alicia Clark is a fictional character in the AMC television series Fear the Walking Dead, created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson. Portrayed by Alycia Debnam-Carey, Alicia is the daughter of Madison Clark, the former main protagonist. She begins the series as a teenager who struggles with her family situation and plans to leave the city for a new life, before facing civilization slowly crumbling due to a zombie outbreak. The character has received praise, with critics calling her an emotional anchor of the series, complimenting her evolution, and naming her one of the most memorable characters of the Walking Dead universe.

<i>Guest of Honour</i> (2019 film) Film by Atom Egoyan

Guest of Honour is a 2019 Canadian drama film, written, directed, and produced by Atom Egoyan. It stars David Thewlis, Laysla De Oliveira, Rossif Sutherland, Alexandre Bourgeois, Arsinée Khanjian and Luke Wilson.

References

  1. Vatnsdal 2004, p. 155.
  2. "Interview with Ian Stuart" . Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  3. Gault, John (1980). Teddy. New York: Bantam. ISBN   0-7704-1598-9.

Bibliography