Mascota siniestra

I will be brief. This movie, a fantastic piece of Canadiana, is one of the most underrated movies in the horror genre. This endorsement is purely for true horror fans. If you love the genre, you will want to see Pin. It's one of those rare movies that relys on someone's twisted perception of normal events to trigger a series of terrific scenes. It is also a true horror movie, for it depicts the real consequences of a dysfunctional family, and how one can be subsequently affected. Every one I have ever showed this movie too says the same thing. "That's not right." Suffice is to say, it's the kind of movies that keeps the lights on when you go to bed.

I watched this movie expecting some kind of a horror/thriller from most of the comments here. Of course the basic story has quite some resemblances of the famous "Psycho" but I think that this movie is far more into the psychological level and less into thrills and chills. 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 story revolves around two kids Leon and his Sister Ursula who grow up in a very conservative upbringing. Their mother a 60s cliché of a cleaning obsessed house woman and their father a doctor whom his kids call "Sir" and who teaches them several things through an anatomical doll using ventriloquism. The doll named "Pin" becomes a part of their lives and especially Leon becomes attached to it also talking to him in his fathers absence. Years later their parents die in a car crash and Leon and his sister start living on their own. From here on Pin becomes Leons Alter Ego and kind of a family member ... 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. People die in this movie but its not for thrills and especially the ending shows that "Pin" is rather a drama than anything else. 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.

This is a masterpiece ! Sadly neglected by the audience (probably because it lacked gore and fx) and by the critics (probably because it came from Canada: critics seems to have a habit of neglecting Canadian movies, unless they are directed by David Cronenberg). It's slow, haunting, unnerving and very well acted by all actors involved (mostly unknowns, except for Terry O'Quinn as the father and for David Hewlett as the son who acted also in Scanners II: The New Order (1991) and Cube (1997). It's directed with skill by Sandor Stern who was also responsible for the screenplay, based on a novel by Andrew Neiderman (who also wrote the novel The Devil's Advocate). 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. The only love and care the boy get's come from his kid-sister. The parents die in a horrible car-accident, leaving the children financially independent. They grow up to be teenagers and when the kid-sister starts to date, her brother's obsessive over-protectiveness results into chaos and murder. The final scenes are chilling and leave the audience (who has come to care for the characters) heartbroken.

The eighties produced a lot of horror films that were clearly made just for people to rent on Friday nights to ignore while they had a few beers and a laugh with their mates. While most of these films were instantly forgettable, some were actually quite good and unfortunately have been forgotten along with the forgettable ones. Pin is one such film. While the movie isn't a horror classic, and it takes essential elements from a range of sources, most notably Psycho; it still represents a good success in the psychological horror sub-genre. So, if you like your films to be dark and moody; you can go wrong here! Based on a best seller by Andrew Neiderman, Pin blends the story of a young boy growing up with murderous schizophrenia to horrifying effect. 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. What he doesn't count on, however, is Leon taking this act too seriously and believing that the dummy really is alive. 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. The dummy itself is the centrepiece of the film and director Sandor Stern has managed to create a malevolent atmosphere around it. The thing looks creepy anyway, but when combined with it's put-on voice; I can imagine it giving some more easily scared viewers nightmares. 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. The acting in the film is typically eighties; but it's not all that bad considering the type of movie that this is. On the whole; Pin is a nice atmospheric chiller that deserves more attention, so if you get the chance to see it; I highly recommend that you do!

"Pin" has a strong, troubling, psycho-sexual undercurrent -- that's why I like it. I didn't mind the Andrew Neiderman novel, either, which presented the character of Pin from a totally realistic perspective. The atmosphere director Sandor Stern conjures here reminded me of the Virginia Andrews novel,"Flowers in the Attic", though not the ghastly film version. The children's world is enclosed and corruption of some kind is inevitable. In this, Pin is a life-size medical mannequin who is used as a parental surrogate for two children whose parents are too screwed up and occupied with their own affairs to see the folly of their decisions. The film is dark and moody, sexually loaded, and awfully grim in parts. The "voice" of Pin is disturbing in the extreme and his mere presence in each scene is fascinating but unnerving. Directed with enormous skill and beautifully acted. A treasure.