Review of Pin

Pin (1988)
7/10
Impressive psychological horror
7 November 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Pin is a shamelessly ignored 80's chiller that urgently deserves more attention. Without exaggerating, you can safely say that this is one of the most mesmerizing and emotion-provoking films of a decade where genre fanatics were only out to get cheap thrills and see bloody violence. Psychologically speaking, this is a quite a demanding film handling about serious issues such as schizophrenia and incestuous tendencies. 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 is obsessed with this dummy – Pin – and keeps it in his parents' house after they got killed in a road accident. 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. It all looks extra eerie because of the natural acting. This film introduces us to intriguing characters and they're played by neutral, but very devoted, performers. David Hewlett ('Cube') is truly chilling as Leon and he often stands the comparison with Norman Bates. The cherubic Cynthia Preston looks wonderful and she's very convincing as the emotional Ursula. The climax is rather predictable but yet you still feel a little uncomfortable when it is actually shown. This film should be saved from total oblivion! Flawless horror that sticks to you!

Favorite 'Rewind'-moment (HUGE SPOILER!!!!!!): In a subtle and well-photographed sequence, we see how the young Leon witnesses how a nurse uses the anatomically correct Pin to satisfy her own lusts. A traumatic experience that unquestionably had a giant impact on the further development of the boy's introvert personality.
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