The Pendulum, the Pit and Hope

The film combines real-life settings with puppets and it describes in a suggestive manner human suffering and the hope for relief. Dramatically speaking, it expertly combines the contents of the stories "The pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allen Poe and "The Hope" by A. Villiers de l'Isle Adam. It is a classic horror story from the era of the Inquisition. While in Poe's story the main hero escapes from the devilish inquisition trap, Svankmajer, inspired by Isle Adam, has the escape planed in advance. Similarly to other Svankmajer pictures, the protagonist has no chance to avoid is fate. (official distributor synopsis)