Meister des Grauens (1991)

Meister des Grauens: Directed by Stuart Gordon. With Lance Henriksen, Stephen Lee, William Norris, Mark Margolis. Horror film set in 1492 Toledo, Spain, depicting the cruel deeds of a monk named Torquemada, Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition.

“I havenu0026#39;t liked Stuart Gordonu0026#39;s output much since his classic one-two punch of u0026#39;Re-Animatoru0026#39; and u0026#39;From Beyondu0026#39; back in the 1980s, so Iu0026#39;ve avoided seeing some of his movies for years. u0026#39;The Pit And The Pendulumu0026#39; is one. I thought it was going to be a turkey, but now that Iu0026#39;ve finally seen it, Iu0026#39;m pleasantly surprised. While it isnu0026#39;t as great as vintage Gordon, itu0026#39;s far better than u0026#39;Castle Freaku0026#39; or his recent u0026#39;Dagonu0026#39;. The cast really makes this work. Lance Henriksen is excellent as the tortured Inquisitor Torquemada, and Rona De Ricci is very good as Maria the beautiful girl he becomes obsessed with. I donu0026#39;t know why De Ricci didnu0026#39;t go on to a career as she can act and sheu0026#39;s very hot. The supporting cast is way above average, with Gordon regulars Jeffrey Combs and Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, u0026#39;Dollsu0026#39; Stephen Lee, Tom Towles (u0026#39;Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killeru0026#39;), Mark Margolis (u0026#39;Piu0026#39;) and even a cameo by Oliver Reed, who letu0026#39;s not forget appeared in u0026#39;The Devilsu0026#39; back in the early 70s, a movie which this u0026#39;The Pit And The Pendulumu0026#39; has more in common with than the 60s Roger Corman version starring Vincent Price. I liked this movie a lot more than I expected to. Itu0026#39;s underrated and definitely worth checking out, especially for Henriksenu0026#39;s intense performance, one of the best of his career.”