Movies like The Pit and the Pendulum (1964)
The best movies like The Pit and the Pendulum (1964) are The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Martyrs (2008) and The Woman (2011). If The Pit and the Pendulum hooked you with its drama and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLe Trou (1960)8.2/10 from 616 votes
- NewestThe Exorcism of God (2022)Released 2022
- In FrenchMartyrs (2008)Also in French
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMartyrs (2008)
A young woman’s quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tortured her as a child leads her and her best friend, also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Woman (2011)
A lawyer puts his family in jeopardy when he captures the last member of a violent clan and tries to forcibly tame her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Exorcism of God (2022)
An American priest working in Mexico is considered a saint by many local parishioners. However, due to a botched exorcism, he carries a secret that’s eating him alive until he gets an opportunity to face his demon one final time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAntichrist (2009)
A grieving couple retreats to their cabin 'Eden' in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaged (2021)
An African American male is imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement after being found guilty of murdering his wife, as he's haunted by internal demons and his dead wife, and pushed to the breaking point by an abusive female guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady in a Cage (1964)
A woman trapped in a home elevator is terrorized by a group of vicious hoodlums.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn American Crime (2007)
The true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath Game (1977)
George Manning is a well-to-do businessman, husband, and father. While his family is away on his birthday, he invites a pair of rain-soaked young women into his house to wait out an evening thunderstorm. The two girls seduce Manning and ultimately kidnap and torture him in his own home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMurder in the First (1995)
A young, inexperienced public defender is assigned to defend an inmate accused of committing murder while behind bars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrute Force (1947)
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhostland (2018)
A mother of two inherits a home from her aunt. On the first night in the new home she is confronted with murderous intruders and fights for her daughters’ lives. Sixteen years later the daughters reunite at the house, and that is when things get strange...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBecky (2020)
A teenager's weekend at a lake house with her father takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts wreaks havoc on their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Experiment (2010)
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLe Trou (1960)
Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this24 Days (2014)
When Ilan Halimi is kidnapped for ransom because Jewish and supposedly rich, his family and the police start a race against time to save him from the tortures of the "gang of barbarians".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShort Eyes (1977)
A young man who is charged with child molestation is placed in New York City’s infamous Tombs prison. When the other inmates in his cell block find out what he is charged with, life becomes extremely difficult for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Castle (2001)
A court-martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShabbat Dinner (2012)
Shabbat Dinner is boring as usual for William Shore. His mother has invited two crazy hippies and their son and is doing her best to show off, his father is drunk and berating their oddball guests, and he doesn't have much in common with their son Virgo. That is, until Virgo tells him that he has just come out as gay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Awaiting Her (2010)
A day in the life of a shoe shine boy, an international economist and a sex worker. It is about women. The ones out there, or lack of. The ones inside us, or lack of. In this world of men, we are still awaiting her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Secretos conocidos (2011)
Jesus buys and sells little girls and hates himself for it. Frank abuses little boys even though they are his family, and the Judge tries to stop it all. We know them all, they are our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters ans friends, and yet it all remains such a big secret known by us all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Blind Photographer (TBA)
A look through a hipster photographers lens as he embarks on a project to capture the faces of desperate souls discovering planted treasures in the city's foraging hot spots. The photographs captured make up a trendy exhibition, where the gallery goers gorge themselves on hors d'oeuvre and champagne. This is a story of the photographers success until we are gently reminded of the stars of the show and their exploitation
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Butterflies Do Not Drink Coffee (2009)
Pierre is a very shy man in his sixties, with no family or friends and who just retired. What will he do now?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. Driven nearly mad by loneliness and despair, Stroud's life gains new meaning when he happens upon a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard and nurses it back to health. Despite having only a third grade education, Stroud goes on to become a renowned ornithologist and achieves a greater sense of freedom and purpose behind bars than most people find in the outside world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Village (2010)
A doctor mysteriously discovers that he is required urgently at the village to offer his services. He arrives there after a long and difficult journey, only to discover that the village is empty.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Marios and the Raven (2010)
Marios invites his children to the village to celebrate his fifty-three years. It seems filled but his happiness is more fragile than it seems ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Naked Among Wolves (1963)
Based on a true story of inmates at KZ Buchenwald that risked their lives to hide a small Jewish boy shortly before the liberation of the camp.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967)
In the Olden Tymes, Count Regula is drawn and quartered for killing twelve virgins in his dungeon torture chamber. Thirty-five years later, he comes back to seek revenge on the daughter of his intended thirteenth victim and the son of his prosecutor in order to attain immortal life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Pit and the Pendulum?
The closest matches to The Pit and the Pendulum are The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Martyrs (2008) and The Woman (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Pit and the Pendulum?
Start with The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), the closest match to The Pit and the Pendulum.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Pit and the Pendulum?
Le Trou (1960), rated 8.2/10 by 616 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Pit and the Pendulum?
The Exorcism of God (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Pit and the Pendulum?
Yes: Martyrs (2008), Le Trou (1960) and 24 Days (2014).
How are movies similar to The Pit and the Pendulum chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Pit and the Pendulum, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.