Pin

Plot synopsis:
Dr. Frank Linden has a life-size, anatomically correct medical dummy in his office which he calls "Pin". Via ventriloquism, Dr. Linden uses Pin to teach his children, Leon and Ursula about bodily functions and how the body works in a way the children can relate to without it being awkward. Dr. Linden's interactions with the children are otherwise cold and emotionally distant, and his ventriloquism act is the only sign of a more warm and playful side to his nature. Unknown to Dr. Linden, Leon is mentally ill and has come to believe that Pin is alive. Due in part to his mother, who discourages Leon from playing outdoors or bringing anyone home, Leon has no real friends and sees Pin as the closest analogue. Leon is further traumatized when he secretly witnesses his father's nurse use Pin as a sex toy.
When Leon turns eighteen, Dr. Linden, having come back to retrieve case studies for a speech, catches him having a conversation with Pin (via ventriloquism, which Leon had learned). Realizing the extent of Leon's psychosis and that his son is mentally ill, Dr. Linden takes Pin away to use as a visual aid for a speech with the intention of leaving Pin at the medical school. As Dr. and Mrs. Linden speed to the hall, they get into a car crash caused by either Dr. Linden's recklessness or Pin; the Lindens are both killed instantly. Later, as Ursula sits in the back of a police car, crying, Leon secretly retrieves Pin from the scene.
Leon and Ursula, though grieving and orphaned, enjoy their newfound freedom until Mrs. Linden's sister, Aunt Dorothy, moves in. She encourages Ursula to take a job at the library, which Leon is against. Believing that she is influencing Ursula and after talking it over with Pin, Leon causes Aunt Dorothy to die from a heart attack by using Pin to frighten her. However, Ursula continues to work at the library, where she meets handsome athlete Stan Fraker and falls in love. Meanwhile, Leon takes his fixation with Pin to pathological extremes, first by dressing him in Dr. Linden's clothes and finally fitting him with latex skin and a wig.
Leon believes that Stan is only interested in Ursula's inheritance and that he wants to put Leon in a sanitarium. He invites Stan over under the guise of discussing a surprise birthday party for Ursula. Leon drugs Stan's drink, and when Stan fights back, Leon bludgeons Stan with a wooden sculpture. Following Pin's instructions, he puts Stan in a bag and plans to dump him in the river. Leon is interrupted by a call from Ursula, who says she intends to come home early. Leon quickly hides Stan's body in a woodpile outside the house and cleans up the blood.
To calm her, Leon tells Ursula that Stan is visiting a sick friend out of town; she believes him until she discovers a gift she gave Stan and a wet spot on the carpet. When she confronts Leon, he blames it on Pin, which causes her to run out of the house in hysterics. Leon asks Pin why he would not help him. Pin states that he has never lied to or for him and that Leon's motives were selfish. Ursula returns with double-bit axe, which she raises ready to strike; the screen goes white as Leon screams and cowers.
The police find Stan's body; to their amazement, he is still alive. Some time later, Ursula and Stan return to the house to visit Pin. Ursula tells him that she's going on a trip with Stan. Pin inquires as to whether she's heard from Leon. Ursula replies "No." Pin says that he misses him a great deal. Ursula agrees, it is revealed that she is talking to Leon, who has taken Pin's persona. When the dummy was destroyed, Leon had a psychotic break, which left only the Pin side of his personality to completely take over which also means that Leon has also become a real, life-size version of Pin.

Tags: tragedy, plot twist, murder

Review:
Impressively written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Sandor Stern (who is probably best known for scripting THE AMITYVILLE HORROR), this underrated psychological thriller comes as a rare and welcome surprise, especially at a time when Freddy, Michael Myers and Jason were hacking their way through theaters (and sadly, hogging most of the attention).The prosperous Linden family live in tight household headed over by a very stern doctor father (Terry O'Quinn) and an obsessive-compulsive clean freak mother (Bronwen Mantel) so extreme she keeps plastic slip-covers over all the furniture.
When their sheltered children, Leon and Ursula, begin to start inquiring about the birds and bees, O'Quinn uses his ventriloquist skills to bring a medical display dummy named Pin to life to answer their questions.
The film then jumps ahead ten or so years when the parents are killed in a car crash and Leon (David Hewlett) begins to display schizophrenic tendencies.
He still believes Pin is alive and is eventually reduced to using Pin to murder his "enemies" to keep his sister (Cyndy Preston) in his life.A film as subtle and quiet as this one requires solid, serious dramatic performances to work and Hewlett, Preston and O'Quinn don't disappoint in this thoughtful and eerie film.
Thats why I now get some of the negative remarks because if you want to get a psycho axe wielding maniac and his rotten mom you sure will be disappointed by nice guy Leon and his pretty boring doll.If you just watch Pin for what it is and that to me is a kind of apsychological drama, then it makes much more sense and has some interesting insights.
the downward spiral picks up pace and troubled Leon who desperately tries to keep his "family" together by keeping Ursula from other peoples influences starts going over the edge.Ursula know about Leons mental state and plays along with his schizophrenic role play and the Pin doll which Leon gives his voice just like his father did.
She doesn't want her brother to end in a sanitarium, realizing too late that her playing along just makes things worse.The movie is very slow and the deterioration of Leons mental state is not thrilling, everything is shown in kind of a normal way because thats what it is for Leon.
If you are interested in a psychological study in a "Psycho"-like set watch this movie, if you want corpses, thrills and scary horror dolls this sure is the wrong movie for you..
Ursula is trying to become a well-adjusted adult, but Leon finds that his only true friend is Pin and still thinks he is actually alive.
The latter half of the film doesn't focus on Leon's psychology as much as one would expect, though it is clear that the kid has a warped idea of sexuality based on his twisted parental guidance and a freaky...incident he witnessed involving his beloved Pin. The acting is above average for an 80s horror film, and most genre fans will recognize David Hewlitt from "Cube." He does a good job playing the potentially-psycho teenager, and Cynthia Preston is marvelous as the sister trying to bring some stability to the family.
The plot follows a brother and sister, Leon and Ursula, whose father uses ventriloquism and an anatomical dummy as a learning tool for his children.
A childish idea that leads to a very dark future for Leon.While the film lacks any real potent bite, it blends it's elements together with a good plot pace well enough to ensure that the film always offers compelling viewing and although the action gets a little predictable at times, we always want to carry on watching to see what happens.
Ventriloquism is a hobby that has always lent itself well to horror movies; from the dummy tale in 'Dead of Night', to this film and more; you can always count on a creepy movie if one of it's core subjects is the act of someone lending their voice to a plastic doll.
Sure, it may remind you of "Psycho" or of "Magic" (the 1978 thriller with Hopkins), but its slow pacing, its MORBID atmosphere and its weirdness make it feel completely different from those movies.
Scenes include a skinless mannequin giving a private sex lecture to a young brother and sister, a man giving his daughter an abortion, and a nurse who uses Pin as a sex doll when she thinks no one else is watching.This neglected gem is an example of 1980's horror at its most creative.
Cynthia Preston is also very good as the grown up Ursula, who tries to get her life back together, whilst also coping with the increasing demands of Leon/Pin. Don't expect anything too exploitative or overly sensational, as 'Pin' builds up the tension and the scares by telling a good story and providing proper character development.
The story: a young, lonely fragile-minded boy in need for parental love and guidance get's close-to-none from his too self-consumed parents and projects his needs into a medical display dummy which his father (a doctor) use as "a handyman" to help teaching his children.
Pin is a hard film to categorise, I'd say horrorish.......maybe just a thriller.It tells the story of a strict family raising their two children.
The father is a doctor who treats his anatomic educational mannequin as though it were a person and gets his children in on it as well.As you can imagine this effects the kids quite severely especially the son who grows up to be more than a little odd.Starring the excellent Terry O'Quinn and David Hewlett (Even though I didn't realise it was him until late in the film) this quirky little tale is filled with a combination of weird and deeply uncomfortable scenes.Not sure who the demographic for this one would be, I'd say a definite one for those with a taste for the less than usual.The Good:Terry O'QuinnDavid Hewlett is excellent but unrecognisableThe Bad:Unsettling filmNot exactly engagingThings I Learnt From This Movie:I'm genuinely concerned for the writer of the film and their level of mental health.
Papa uses Pin in his practice to help kids feel at ease during the visit - and throws his voice to Pin - ventriloquism for dummies.Fast forward to the 'present' - kids are grown (Leon & Ursula) and in their teens.
Suffice it to say that murder & mayhem and some general craziness come to play in this flick...Parts of this movie are out of place - the nurse's sex party, for example, and parts are right in place - the eventual end of the story, the love interest that grows, etc.Overall, a good flick with enough in it to keep your interest.
PIN was written by Andrew Neiderman, who has written forty-seven novels under his own name, but is perhaps better known for the sixty-eight -- and counting -- that's ghostwritten from V.C. Andrews and her Flowers in the Attic series.1988's Canadian movie adaption skips most of the incest, but trust me, it's no less strange.Directed by Sandor Stern (the writer of the original The Amityville Horror and writer/director of the Patty Duke starring Amityville: The Evil Escapes), PIN starts with Dr. Frank Linden (Terry O'Quinn, forever The Stepfather in our hearts), who keeps a human size, anatomically correct Slim Goodbody-esque medical model in his office that he's named Pin. He uses Pin -- throwing his voice to make him speak -- to explain how the body works without it being awkward.
He panics and runs to Pin for help, then uses the frightening doll to chase the girl away from the house.Leon believes that Stan is only interested in Ursula's money and to put him away.
After the death of his parents, a teenager grows closer and closer to his father's anatomically correct medical mannequin called Pin in this offbeat Canadian thriller from 'Amityville Horror' screenwriter Sandor Stern.
I didn't get to read much that day, and left with the idea that the novel was about a boy and his friend who was a person, or magical being, or *something* alive, named Pin. In adulthood I heard of the movie and assumed the same thing, that it was about some kind of plastic android, or something else that could actually speak.
I learned that it was a horror story for the first time then, and I assumed that Pin went on a killing rampage or something (I told you I didn't understand what it was about!).Well I saw the movie last night and of course I was surprised that that *wasn't* the plot at at all.
A friend rented this movie several years ago and we all agreed that it was an entertaining but deeply disturbed film - a little "too weird for this world."  I'd recommend this movie to people who like to be spooked but can do without the graphic violence and gore, thank-you..
But there's something about it -- maybe that we all know someone like Leon, or that no other movie follows this storyline exactly -- that makes it worth viewing.
However, while the novel is more ambiguous about whether Pin is actually real or not for most of it, the film handles the story quite well.Leon and Ursula are the children of very strict parents, the father a doctor.
While we realize his problem (the film doesn't try to make you think Pin is real after all), it's the boy's sickness and his sister's compassion that makes the story intriguing.
David Hewlett (Leon), and Cyndy Preston (Ursula) handle their roles with a natural feel that makes you care for these people, and Terry O'Quinn as always can make you uneasy with just a simple stern expression.
While we know what Leon's problem is and the plot possibilities that will arise, it's the execution of it and the satisfying ending that will please those who don't expect more than this story is, and trust me folks, this is more a psychological drama than it's promoted "horror" label (and did I hear right, it aired on the Sci-Fi network?
In this low-budget descendant of "Psycho", Ursula and Leon are sister and brother, living alone, save for a large wooden puppet they call "Pin" (for Pinocchio).
When Ursula starts hanging around with new boyfriend Stan, Leon and Pin take action.What drew me to this film was Terry O'Quinn, who has never (so far as I'm aware) made a bad film.
PIN, so Leon believes has the answers to everything and sits in at the family table like the good block of wood he is.The flick goes right down the MAGIC path and eventually poor old sis, (delectable Ms Preston) finds herself at the whim of PIN or is it her brother..or are we, the viewers insane?
Tackling such delicate issues as parental abuse, incest, schizophrenia and psycho-sexual trauma, this is not your typical 80s horror by a long chalk, but rather a bold study of an extremely dysfunctional family and its eldest sibling Leon's gradual descent into madness.Given Leon's bizarre upbringing, though, one can hardly blame the poor guy for ending up more than a little disturbed: as children, Leon and his sister are led to believe that the medical dummy in their doctor father's surgery is able to talk (when, in reality, their father is simply throwing his voice); Leon's mother, a controlling germ freak, disapproves of his school friends; his younger sister, Ursula, develops an unhealthy obsession with sex at an early age, sharing intimate conversations with him about her 'needs'; at a crucial stage in his development, Leon witnesses a member of his father's staff sexually gratifying herself with his plastic pal Pin; and when his sister gets herself up the duff at age 15, good old dad performs the abortion and even invites Leon to watch!!!
His sister, who has long realised that the dummy cannot really talk, is naturally very upset by her new house-guest, but things go from bad to much, much worse when Leon, who harbours suppressed incestuous desires, takes a dislike to her new boyfriend Stan.Although Pin might be a little slow going at times, its delightfully perverse subject matter ensures that boredom is never an option.
David Hewlett as Leon Linden is extremely impressive in the key role, being convincingly off his trolley and more than a little bit chilling, and he is given excellent support by the gorgeous Cynthia Preston as his libidinous teenage sister, and the brilliant Terry O'Quinn of Lost fame (and The Stepfather, of course) as his father.
Director Sandor Stern occasionally allows his film to stray dangerously close to the absurd, but for the most part he handles his material both intelligently and confidently, wringing a fair amount of tension from his bizarre set-up in the process.Pin's subject matter might be a touch perverse for casual viewers seeking more traditional edge-of-the-seat entertainment, its subtleties may be lost on fright fans yearning for more primal thrills (meaning there ain't a lot of blood and gore in this one), and I suspect that the going will be a little too slow for many, but those actively seeking an unusual and daring horror/thriller could do a lot worse than to check this one out..
Pin is half a weirdly interesting film and half a predictable and boring one; so I'll spend a bit of time on the first weird half and gloss over the sucky last hour.Two young children Leon and Ursula live with their rich and ultra-strict parents in a large stately home.
A knocked up Ursula is already pregnant, they summon the courage to ask Pin even though Dad is not present, who says (much to their surprise) that she must deal with it, and not only does Dad get to perform his daughter's abortion – but he asks Leon if we wants to watch, telling him it might be interesting.With the confidence gained by a chat to Pin, Leon starts visiting him alone with great frequency for long chats, and when Dad finally finds out he is none too pleased.Now while this might sound like it is building up to something – this is actually where the movie becomes formulaic nonsense and peters out to a disappointing piffle.Ma and Pa are killed and Leon moves Pin into the large family home that he and Ursula now dwell in alone.
Leon spends more and more time with Pin and in between writes his own disturbing version of poetry, Ursula gets a job and finds a boyfriend, and the filmmakers try to make us decide what is going on.
The movie tries to be different and mildly hints at some disturbing content including incest and sexual relations with inanimate objects, but in the end the makers were too candy assed to actually explore the possibilities.If you like crappy psychological thrillers, camp or David Hewlett, watch this film.
Pin is too restrained to be a true horror film and not deep enough to be a good psychological drama as often happens with Canadian films.
But God,is this film great.It centers around  a character called Leon(DAVID HEWLETT,of "DARKSIDE" and "CUBE"),who has this devilish-talking-dummy named Pin as a friend.POSSIBLE SPOILERS: Pin guides Leon on his every-move,even when it happens to do with his sister,Ursula(CINDY PRESTON of "DARKSIDE',"THE BRAIN" and "PROM NIGHT 3".I think "PIN" is one of the greatest horror movies of the 80`s.
Normally, this is far too ambitious for an independent horror film but Sandor Stern (co-writer and director of Pin) efficiently blends it all into one seriously compelling and quite disturbing thriller.
Leon and Ursula are the kids of a successful doctor (brilliant B-actor Terry O'Quinn) who brings an anatomically correct office dummy to live with his ventriloquism-skills.
Leon descents further and further into madness while 'protecting' his younger sister and nursing the dummy.Pinis a very unsettling film, story-driven and very well elaborated.
When both parents die in a car crash, Leon takes Pin home as a family member.The acting of David Hewlett as Leon is impressive.
When reading about it before I saw it, I thought it would end up much more like a horror cliché of the dummy coming to life.
The father has seemingly a self-mastered ventriloquist projecting his voice into "PIN" which talks to his patients, and his own son and daughter.The son (Leon) grows up so close to PIN that he truly believes it is a real person.
He even finishes PIN's clear skin to look more like a real human, which only adds to the bizarre creepiness.In the second half of the film we find an Aunt moving in to look after the kids.
He carries the movie through and helps makes the film feel less like a bad B-horror movie and more like a "Psycho"-style psychological thriller.
Leon is a tad off to say the least and chooses to have Pin, a life-sized anatomically correct medical dummy that his father (the legendary Terry O'Quinn) had used as a ventriloquist doll, as his best friend.
When Leon feels threatened be it from an aunt that the siblings don't particularly care for or an admirer of Ursula that Leon gets jealous of (yes Leon's slightly incestrial, I neglected to mention that), bad things start to happen.This film comes off like a slightly more twisted version of Psycho, with the dummy providing stand-in for Norman's deceased mother.
so when little Ursala and Leon grow up in the 1960's with their neat-freak mom and doctor father, they also grow up with Pin, leaving both of them more or less terrified of him, but as children considering the dummy their secret friend.
There was one moment that scared me as a kid but I now find comedic: when Leon scares his aunt to death literally, by holding Pin above her face at night and moaning like an old man.If you're a horror fan, I highly recommend Pin. The soundtrack is eerie, the acting superb for a low-budget film and it's certainly one of the most disturbing things I've seen, although it has very little, if any, gore.