The movie begins at a Halloween party. You know when you hear children playing it’s some times difficult to tell if they’re screaming because they’re having fun or because they’re being brutally murdered? This would be the perfect example. Kids run amok in costume, oblivious to what the others are doing. In a flashback a boy, Jamie (played by Sammy Snyders), approaches cool-boy Freddy. Poor Jamie is not accepted in Freddy’s club because Jamie is a loser. Back to the party, Jamie leads Freddy away from the party saying he has something to show him.

If you were worried that there might be exposition or suspense in this film? Never fear! In one of the most literal movie openings ever, a boy is literally pushed into a pit within the first three minutes. Eat your heart out, Hitchcock.

Switch back to present day (past day? any day) where randy pre-teen Jamie is writing lines on the chalkboard for being dumb enough to bring an “adult book” to school. No one can enjoy their literature in peace when you’re twelve.

Jamie is one of those kids that everyone seems to enjoy hating. Even little old ladies. Why? Because he’s a creep. He hangs outside naked, has imaginary friends and has a terrarium to round out his list of hobbies. To curb the strange happenings, Jamie’s parents decide to hire a psychology student, Sandy, to help Jamie out while they’re away.

Now Jamie does have one friend named Teddy – a teddy bear who talks to him. Jamie and Teddy are certain that Sandy is “perfect” for them. They make little plots to see at much of Sandy as possible. Yes it is as creepy and perverted as you’d think. But Jamie is head-over-heels for the girl and decides she is the right person to tell his secrets to.

And what is his big secret? He knows where there is a hole in the ground. But this isn’t any old hole in the ground (IT’S A PIT!), there are things that live in the bottom of the hole. They are called Tra-la-logs (I shit you not) and have little yellow eyes and are hunched over. He claims to be friends with them, but would even something called a ‘tra-la-log’ even like this kid?

Things increasingly get worse with Jamie. He begins to go even further with his obsession with women and pulls off some really comfortable pranks. But it also begins to be become apparent that Jamie and his mother have a bit of an “unusual” relationship – something that’s probably not all that wholesome. Though it becomes difficult to tell when he’s being honest and when he’s simply trying to manipulate someone. But it’s quite apparent that he didn’t end up woman-obsessed by chance.

By Teddy’s suggestion, Jamie begins to feed the tra-la-logs (who eventually get a real name but I could care less). He steals the money from Sandy. After she calls him out on it, he increasingly becomes more desperate. Attempting to steal meat doesn’t work. Attempting to steal a cow doesn’t work. So what are they going to eat? HUMANS! When are they going to eat them? NOW!

Yes Jamie begins feeding everyone he hates to the little demons in the pit, which I guess they deserve for being equally terrible people. Unfortunately, when Jamie runs out of victims, the movie runs out of steam. The last third of the movie is dull and slow, plus everyone’s favourite 12-year-old pervert is mostly absent. The story focuses on the hunt of the tra-la-logs (hooray) and not Jamie’s decent into further madness. Thankfully there is an absolutely hilarious ending as a pay off.

The Pit is a pretty over-the-top movie. Everything about this premise grantees a totally unique viewing pleasure. Though, it also dishes plenty of pervy weirdness that is less enjoyable, but Snyders does a pretty great performance as Jamie that is convincing enough to make your skin crawl. A weird little movie, but one to watch.