The Pit is a 1981

1981 in film

-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....

 horror film

Horror film

Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 starring Sammy Snyders. Although it is a Canadian production, it was actually filmed in Wisconsin.

Plot

Jamie Benjamin is a misfit 12 year old boy, hated by both his classmates and the adults who live in his small town. His only friend is a stuffed bear named Teddy, whom he regularly holds conversations with. On the cusp of puberty, Jamie develops an unhealthy obsession with girls. So when his parents go away on a business trip and leave the attractive psychology student Sandy O’Reilly to babysit him, he falls completely in love with her.

In the forest, Jamie has found a pit full of mysterious creatures, which he calls “Tra-la-logs”. Although he decides to take care of them by feeding them raw meat, he soon runs out of money. Teddy suggests feeding the people who tormented him to the Tra-la-logs, and Jamie takes his advice. After he runs out of people, he takes Sandy to the pit, where she accidentally falls in and is eaten by the monsters. Heartbroken and angry, Jamie lowers a rope into the pit, and the Tra-la-logs escape. After rampaging through the town, they are shot by the local militia and buried in the pit. In order to avoid panic, the killings are blamed on “wild dogs”. Jamie, now completely unstable, meets a girl who has a similar life. But she has a secret. Another pit in the woods.

Production

Ian A. Stuart’s original screenplay was considerably different than the final film. In his screenplay, Jamie was 8 or 9 years old, and the Tra-la-logs were figments of his imagination. When Lew Lehman signed on to direct, he made Jamie older, the monsters real, and added more humor to the original script. Stuart has expressed dissatisfaction with the final result.

Reception

The film was shot in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,243 at the 2010 census, making it the second largest city in Dodge County, and the largest city fully located within the county. It is the principal city of the...

, and released in theatres in 1981. Due to its unusual premise and Sammy Snyders' effective performance, it has retained a small cult following.

Novelization

Teddy by John Gault is a novelization of the film published in 1980. It appears to be adhere closer to Ian A. Stuart's original screenplay than the finished film, containing more character development and a far darker tone.

Cast

• Sammy Snyders as Jamie Benjamin
• Jeannie Elias
  Jeannie Elias
  Jeannie Elias is a Canadian American film and voice actress.-Anime Roles:* Blood+ - Young Haji, Nahabi, Additional Voices* Ergo Proxy - Kitty* Naruto - Kaori-Non-anime Roles:...
  
   as Sandy O'Reilly
• Sonja Smits
  Sonja Smits
  Sonja Smits is a television actress who has played roles in many television series, including Falcon Crest, Airwolf, Odyssey 5, The Outer Limits, Street Legal, Traders and The Eleventh Hour.She also played Bianca O'Blivion in the David Cronenberg horror movie, Videodrome.Sonja went to Bell High...
  
   as Mrs. Lynde
• Laura Hollingsworth as Marg Livingstone
• John Auten as Library Janitor
• Laura Press as Mrs. Benjamin
• Paul Grisham as Freddy
• Wendy Schmidt as Christina