Pin (1988)

This is truly one of the most bizarre films to ever come out of Canada.

David Hewlett is Leon, and Cynthia Preston is Ursula. Leon and Ursula had a strange upbringing. Their mother is a neat freak of the highest order, and very controlling. Dad (Terry O'Quinn) is an emotionally detached doctor. He learns to raise his children by throwing his voice into a life-size medical dummy named Pin (after Pinocchio). Pin becomes a part of the children's lives, to the point where Leon is obsessed with him, and uses his own voice in place of his father's. Mom and Dad are killed in a car accident with Pin in the back seat, and Leon brings Pin home, eventually dressing him in his dead father's clothes and insisting on letting Ursula's dates meet him. Pin begins telling Leon what to do...and who to kill.

This is not your silly '80's slasher fare, or even something along the lines of "Magic" or "Child's Play." This is a very creepy effort helped by great performances by Hewlett and Preston. Hewlett's Leon is not all facial tics and googly-eyed movie mental illness, he turns in an outstanding performance as a sheltered adult whose life revolves around the medical dummy. His reading of his "poetry," where he imagines the main character assaulting their own sister, is chilling. Preston has an equally hard part, but plays it well. She loves her brother, but is torn between him and her new boyfriend. She is not as weird as Leon, but Ursula was raised this way and shows signs here and there of childhood trauma. The script, however, ruins a key plot point. The final shot is chilling, but if you pay attention, it is not surprising. A really scary musical score accentuates the sterile house the siblings live in. Special effects are kept to a minimum, thank goodness, adding to the suspense. The director of this was the screenwriter on "The Amityville Horror," and he has a good eye.

"Pin" is one of those films that you probably saw at the video store back in the day, but passed it up in favor of something else. Give it a chance, and those other films will pale by comparison. I highly recommend it. Also known as "Pin...," "Pin: A Plastic Nightmare," and "Deadly Friend."

Stats:
(1988) 103 min. (10/10)
-Directed by Sandor Stern
-Screenplay by Sandor Stern based on the novel by Andrew Neiderman
-Cast: David Hewlett, Cynthia Preston, Terry O'Quinn, Bronwen Mantel, John Pyper-Ferguson, Helene Udy, Patricia Collins, Steven Bednarski, Katie Shingler, Jacob Tierney, Michelle Anderson, Joan Austen, Jamie Stern
(R)
Media Viewed: Home Video