I first saw The Pit a few years back, when I was doing research for an article on cult horror films and discovered that it was playing for free on YouTube. Falling under the unofficial “Canuxploitation” label (owing to its Canadian origins), the film is an utterly bizarre '80s oddity about a bullied, mentally unstable 12-year-old boy who discovers a hole infested with monsters known as “Tra-la-logs” in the forest near his home. And then…he starts throwing people into it. On the orders of his talking teddy bear.
No, The Pit — Lew Lehman's sole directorial credit — isn't a good movie. But it is weirdly compelling, a one-of-a-kind artifact, and — clearly catching on to the film's cult reputation — Kino Lorber has now given the film a 2K restoration and will re-release it in select theaters later this month, allowing fans who never had the chance to see it on a big screen (a.k.a. basically everybody) the opportunity to do so. You can find a list of upcoming screenings here.
For those who are't able to attend one of the film's theatrical engagements, there's hope yet: the restored version is also hitting Blu-ray on October 18.
In the meantime, you can watch the re-release trailer below: