A great B movie... and the ultimate study in repression. Reminiscent of classic Hammer films. Lance plays Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, supreme torturer of the Spanish Inquisitions.
Lance says, "I played Torquemada as a guy who could smell you across the room. I was experimenting to see how far I could go. Stuart Gordon , the director, said I almost gave him a heart attack. I would freak him out." SFX July 2001
Directed by Stuart Gordon, The Pit represented the director's view on Edgar Allen Poe's Spanish Inquisition. Based on the real terrors of 1492, where those who didn't believe in the 'true' Catholic faith were murdered by the thousands.
Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, is the master of this madness, but he's forced to confront his own sinful lust when the angelic Maria disrupts an execution. Unable to express his attraction to her, Torqie throws her into the dungeons for 'purification', while Maria's husband is sentenced to a more horrible fate as the first victim of the razor sharp pendulum blade. The Pit's torturers are driven by this sexual tension. Gordon agrees, "There's a definate connection between sex and horror, which is the eternal conflict between life and death. Pit is a very sensual tale about the profane love the Inquisitor feels for this woman. Because Torquemada can't express it, he allows his libido to fester until it comes out in violent and perverted acts. This is about a love triangle..."
Gordon tells of where he inspiration for the film, "I visited the tower of London while I was casting 'Dolls'. I went into rooms where people were imprisoned, chambers so small that they could not stand up straight. I realised that what people did to one another was far scarier than anything a horror film could dream up."
There was about a year's delay to the filming when Veston Pictures went bust and $6 million fell through. When filming did restart the entire cast had to change (Peter O'Toole was originally cast as Torqie), and Lance appeared on the scene.
Gordon says: "It's difficult to imagine anyone else in the part.... He's a tremendous performer and wonderful to collaborate with. Lance completely transformed when he put on Torquemada's make up, and at times the Inquisitor would become very short with me. Torquemada wasn't used to being questionned about his motives, or having to hit the mark. And when a focus puller screwed up a shot, he went begging to Lance on his hands and knees for dispensation. You've got to remember that this wasn't an easy film for the actors. In order to perform well, they had to believe the story was really happening. Since Pit deals with torture and unpleasantess, the actors were putting themselves into that dark frame of mind. It's easy to get lost in there. So I tried to keep light on the set."
Lance states, "He persecuted millions in the name of religion and was the essence of evil. I was very upset with myself playing him because I felt like a complete slimeball. Whilst in Rome, I approached a Dominican monk and asked him why this creep wasn't ex-communicated. When he told me Torquemada was considered an important theologian I almost threw up."
Copyright of interview by Simon Bacal and Alan Jones, Shivers Magazine. and Fangoria #101.
(Also worth watching to hear Oliver Reed's Afro-Carribean cum Italian accent ... "De Pope, De Pope!!" )