The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)

Having grossed us out with Lovecraft more than once, Stuart Gordon moved onto Edgar Allan Poe. Keeping it faithful to the period meant he could present the Spanish Inquisition in all its terrible glory.
Lance Henriksen’s Grand Inquisitor Torquemada is a lecherous, masochistic bundle of moral and religious contradictions that embodies well the kind of obsessional traits that haunt many of Poe’s literary characters. His fascination with the beautiful Maria (Rona De Ricci) will leave no one in any doubt where the film is headed, but it pendulums (*ahem) in quality.
If you like it, Gordon’s Masters of Horror episode, The Black Cat (2007), saw him return to Poe, along with Jeffrey Combs.

3 nipples for Satan out of 5