**_Surprisingly good cult flick shot in rural Wisconsin_**

In a town northwest of Milwaukee an outcast boy uses his imagination to cope (Sammy Snyders). When his parents go out of town they hire the umpteenth caregiver, a young woman from the local college (Jeannie Elias). The kid tries to convince her of a pit he’s discovered in the woods where meat-eating beasts dwell. Are these creatures real or simply his imagination?

"The Pit" (1981) is an obscure cult flick that meshes coming-of-age, psychological drama, black comedy and horror. It’s quite original with no predecessor, although it has bits of “The Child” (1977) and “Magic” (1978). It would influence future flicks like “Gremlins” (1984), “The Gate” (1987), “Blood Harvest” (1987) and, especially, “Pin” (1988).

The film only cost $1 million in 1980 yet, despite the limited production values, it delivers the goods as it successfully brings the viewer into the creative world of Jamie, the harassed protagonist. You understand his imaginary relationship with Teddy and his developing feelings for Sandy, as well as his angst toward his persecutors. Moreover, the story keeps you guessing about where it’s going.

The original script was written by Ian A. Stuart, but director Lew Lehman made some wise changes, like making the boy 12 years-old, rather than 8-9, not to mention adding bits of black humor.

Besides the lovely Jeannie Elias, the female cast includes Sonja Smits (teacher), Laura Hollingsworth (librarian) and Wendy Schmidt (Christina).

The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Wisconsin at Beaver Dam (town) and Waupun to the north (pit scenes), with the football scenes done in Oshkosh, further north. All of these areas are located northwest of Milwaukee, an hour or two away by car. Meanwhile the interiors of the pit with the tra-la-logs were done in the studio in Toronto.

GRADE: B+/A-

The Pit is an '80s horror movie unlike any I've seen. The closest comparison is Gremlins, but even that is very different. We follow Jaime, he's a lonely young boy who is unliked by kids at school, and adults in his neighborhood. The movie begins with a scene from deep within the second act, which was an odd choice, but then takes us back to the present. The story is a little clunky for how simple a premise it has, but it still works. Is his stuffed bear alive? Probably not. Is his mother molesting him? Damn, that was random, I hope not. What could have easily just been a movie about an outcast boy, with some psychological issues, reaches another level when he finds what he calls trollalogs - essentially ancient primates - and starts feeding them the awful people he knows. There's a subplot about him being infatuated with his babysitter, but it never goes anywhere, and really feels tacked on, like it was just added to pad the runtime. There is a swerve ending that makes The Pit feel like a long episode of Tales from the Dark Side. A little goofy in a few scenes, but overall pretty good.