Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Just perfect...

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

A low-budget, off-beat, horror/comedy, 1981's "The Pit" can be a pretty entertaining movie, if you keep your expectations at a humble level.That Jamie Benjamin, he's a real "funny person" (yep, that quote, said by the movies youngest cast member, is actually meant as an insult).Jamie Benjamin, the movies lead character - is a nerdy and sexually precocious, 12 year-old, autistic boy, who tends to rove around the neighborhood day and night causing mischief - just for kick's. But his brand of fun can get quite devious at times and an about hour into the film we see him graduate from a peeping tom to a reluctant serial killer. This is cheap, off-beat little film certainly does has it's moments of charm and humor, plus, there are are some pervy peeping tom interludes, that should definitely bring a grin - and they establish that part of his personality in the opening minutes. The movie seems to be at it's best when Jamie, our homely 12 year-old star performer, is running around causing mischief and enjoying himself to the fullest, that's when his performance shines the brightest - of which there are a handful of deviously lively scenes scattered about throughout the film. Personally I wish they had taken the peeping tom angle a bit further.Also starring is the beautiful actress Jeannie Elias, who plays the role of the foxy, young, babysitter, who stays with him for the next week or so, while his parent's go "check out a house in Seattle" that they're considering purchasing. And no sooner after his parents have left and just as Jamie's mom had warned her, he predictably develops a crush on his babysitter (he's gone through a lengthy succession of them in his 12 years - but Sandy's "the one" for him) and several mildly amusing instances, some of which involve brief nudity, proceed to occur between the two on a regular basis - mostly in bedrooms and bathrooms. You're seeing the world through the eyes of a "budding" 12 year-old, so expect to see many scenes revolving around youthful sexual curiosity and "voyeuristic activities", it'll be obvious that peeping's a favorite pass-time of his, however it sometimes goes beyond that - Jamie's a little perv (in fact that's the very word they used).The meat of the story however, is a hole in the ground, a pit, THE Pit and more importantly, what is it that's lurking in the bottom of it. What Jamie has found is a small pack of knew found, yet presumably ancient, carnivorous, fur-suit, hole-dwellers of a low level of intelligence; he refers to them as "Trogglodytes" and he takes up something of a parental guardian role towards them. In actuality these trolls or troglodyte's or whatever the hell you wanna call them, pretty much appear to be midgets in furry costumes with glowing orange eyes - I must say the costumes aren't nearly as bad as you'd think, considering the budget they were working with. It's with this pit and the furries that dwell within it, that the movie takes a dark turn and as mentioned earlier Jamie literally turns into a serial killer, either by luring or by physically pushing six people (all of which have "irked" him in the past) into the pit to be devoured by his... pets.Tragically, Sandy, Jamie's lovely young babysitter, in a moment extreme carelessness, inadvertently becomes their next meal and poor-poor Jamie is utterly devastated by her demise (though it won't be the last time he see's her, as some visitations from beyond the grave are in the plans) and completely grief-stricken, he runs home and cries to Teddy (Who? You'll see) and in his characteristic dulcet tones he comforts and consoles his grieving friend. The next day after having exhausted all his meat-buying-money and also having run out of "bad people" who he considers to be worthy and ripe for the slaughter, he sets them loose by throwing a pair of ropes into the pit and soon afterwards carnage ensues; in the form of a string of grizzly murders - leaving the police baffled. Meanwhile Jamie-boy plays it coy and ignorant with his gullible, just-back-from-Seattle parents and the coppers, who are naturally inquiring about Sandy's disappearance.For the next 8 to 10 minutes you'll have to do without the immense star-power and singular screen presence of Sammie Snyders/Jamie Benjamin; as a few more unsuspecting victims fall prey and more investigating unfolds. Which eventually culminate's in a manhunt with the sheriff leading a couple dozen shot-gun-toting-yokels out in the sticks, that ends in a blaze of gunfire. Then a bulldozer comes in and makes short work of The Pit! If by any chance you haven't seen enough of the likes of the little rascal Jamie, don't worry, because at the end he's due for a visit at his grandparents place, who have a house out in the country. Nearby is the seemingly sweet little neighbor girl "Alicia" - whose all smiles. They quickly buddy-up and off they go, giddily frolicking through the forest, where we see Jamie in his Toughskins striding along following Alicia's lead, then suddenly, lone and behold, another pit comes into view, Jamie wonders up to the edge AND! A good twist-ending.If, by any chance, you haven't noticed, Jamie's very nerdy and half the fun is watching this homely and awkward dweeb run around in his dorky clothes and badly-dated hair-cut. Having a raspy voice and a wiry frame, Sammie Snyders doesn't exactly scream: movie-star-in-the-making, not surprisingly his acting career was a brief one. However the beautiful Jeannie Elias would go on to co-star in more films, but mostly she's a highly prolific voice-over actress. The voice of "Princess Toadstool" from the Super Mario Brothers cartoon (remember that one). Also there's a Seinfeld cameo in there ("The Bris"), where she has a single, yet spirited, line: "DON'T TOUCH HIM!!!"

This was an extremely entertaining early 80's find. I loved it. The little kid, Jamie, was one little creepy kid, not to steal a Wally Beaver line. There was the horror aspect to this creep out and then there was the comedic part to it. The part of the movie where Jamie realizes that the pit trogs like human meat and then goes on a spree. The kid is creepy because he acts so much older than his 12 years in some places and then in others he is less mature than that 12 years. His best pal "Teddy" gives him advice and helps him out with his moral dilemma's. You can see the ending coming from a mile away, but it is funny anyway. This is a little kid creeper that is a lot of fun to watch. Right up my alley. You can tell this is an early 80's flick by the clothing and the look of the movie. It doesn't hurt the movie, it actually makes it better, more cult. If you don't like dated movies or poor film quality, then go elsewhere. If you appreciate the offbeat flicks from our neon decade, then go for it.

I can honestly say that THE PIT is unlike any film I've ever seen. There are several different themes running concurrently in this one-all wrapped up in a strange, low-budget, horror film.Jamie is quite obviously a severely emotionally disturbed loner of a pre-teen weirdo. He has no friends, save for 'Teddy'-his teddy-bear (that talks back to him...), and some troll-like creatures that live in a pit in the woods. He's also a bit of a pervert and has an unhealthy obsession with his latest live-in babysitter. When Jamie runs out of money and can't afford to provide his troll-buddies with meat from the local grocer-he turns to the locals that have wronged him as a new source of food for the pit- dwellers... THE PIT is one of those seriously 'what the f!ck' type films that really makes you wonder what types of psychedelic drugs the writers were on to come up with such a story. There's no shortage of bizarrity going on in this one. The talking teddy-bear, some alluded to incest themes ('do you know why my mother washes me so much? Is she really trying to make me clean? Do you like washing me???'), Jamie's overall creepy nature, pit trolls-the list goes on. The kid that plays Jamie is surprisingly good in his role as the freakish outcast-and his ability to switch from vulnerable and almost sympathy-inducing, to deranged and homicidal on-the-fly is pretty noteworthy. My only real problem with THE PIT is there are parts toward the middle and end that are (I hope intentionally) 'funny' and sorta kills the mood at times-and the parts toward the end where the trolls get out feels a little disjointed compared to the rest of the film (though the very last scene is priceless and suitably twisted). There's very little gore to speak of, and just a few quick titty shots-so don't expect anything in terms of graphic sex or violence. In the case of this film though-I was entertained enough that I didn't really notice it-and for once-I'll go so far as to say that the film didn't suffer from the lack of graphicness. Definitely an odd-ball of a film-and since I tend to dig the 'evil kids' sub-genre, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Not a 'great' film so-to- speak...but definitely original and entertaining. 8.5/10

I found "The Pit" to be pretty awesome, and I'm glad I ran across it. I found no great references for it, ('Creature Features' says steer clear, whoopty-doo), but once I saw the Avco Embassy logo, saw it was made in '81, and read the synopsis I figured it would be worth a shot. It's an interesting Chiller with a range of weird influences, from Freudian pop-psychology to H.P. Lovecraft, and it's actually a pretty hilarious look at the male adolescence of, say, a young 'Norman Bates' or 'Martin'-type character who ascribes a split personality to his Teddy bear... Several great moments include the kids' dinner table beaver hunt with his new babysitter, the Oedipan bathing scene, again with babysitter and several others, but then you throw in the kids weird pathological connection to the troglodytes, or 'Trogs', weird missing-link cannibal-mutant-morlockish-"old ones", living in the woods in a deep pit just outside of town, and to which the kid begins to offer sacrifices to, and you start crossing the muddled line between madness, fantasy and reality. Very entertaining. Sonja Smits, a.k.a. 'Bianca "You look just like one of father's derilects" Oblivion', appears as the kid's teacher, and Sammy Snyders, a.k.a. the luckiest kid alive in 1981, plays the sexual deviant youth 'Jamie Benjamin'. Great ending as well. Definitely check this one out.