The Pit And The Pendulum (1961)

In 16th century Spain, a young man (John Kerr) arrives at the remote seaside castle of his brother in law (Vincent Price). He is suspicious of the circumstances regarding his sister's (Barbara Steele) death and wants more information. But his sister's "ghost" seems to be haunting the castle. There's very little resemblance to the Edgar Allan Poe story in Richard Matheson's adaptation. But Matheson's screenplay is very effective nonetheless and director Roger Corman brings a flamboyant spirit to the proceedings. The production design and art direction of Daniel Haller is almost a character in itself and Floyd Crosby's strong lensing makes use of tinted frames during the flashback sequences to give it a surreal look and the contribution of Les Baxter's underscore can't be ignored. So if the movie isn't faithful to Poe's slight short story, at least the film  captures the spirit of Poe and that's an accomplishment not to be dismissed. Colorful and luxurious, this remains one of the highpoints of 60s horror cinema. With Luana Anders and Antony Carbone.