Predrag "Pin" is an anatomically correct, see-through mannequin. His interests include tutoring, chocolates and terrorizing young ladies. Pin speaks with a slow, thin, whispery voice. His educational expertise includes math and sex. He also enjoys listening to incestuous poetry and creeping quietly in the dark. Pin's story is destined to become a cult classic. The strength of this movie lies not in direction, nor necessarily in acting, but in story. Pin is one of the strangest movies you'll watch. 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. Its not a gory film by any means, but it will chill you to the bone, as its a superbly crafted psychological study into the mental disintegration of a fragile mind. The most disquieting scenes of course involve Pin, whether its involving Leon, or just when another character is alone in the room with the mannequin. It seems to exude a threat even when Leon is not around to carry out Pin's 'bidding'. At the heart of this film is a superb performance by David Hewlett as the adult Leon. He gives a very sympathetic performance of someone whose mind has been unbalanced by the maladjusted childhood he has gone through. 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. A fascinating film!!Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

Foreverisacastironmess Who's the puppet, who's the master? I just love this film, there's no other quite like it. I think it's a beautifully crafted and perfectly balanced tale of the tragedy of one young man as he gradually loses his grip on reality and eventually his whole mind. Although it's definitely on the extreme fringes of being one, it's no true horror movie, as there are no monsters, gore or torture in it. It's much more of a very dark and twisting psychologically-layered thriller which is based on strong performances by well-developed characters that you actually care about, and a simple & straightforward story that moves along at a smooth and engaging pace. So it's not really about spookiness, but there's certainly a strong unsettling vibe that runs through it. I think it's really up to the viewer's perspective if there's any supernatural elements involved in Pin, the story is as dark and fantastical as your own mind allows it to be. I love the haunting and bittersweet music score which I always remembered when I thought of this film. A lot of the music is very poignant and ethereal, and there are some extremely weird sound effects placed here and there at specific moments that sound almost like growling and thunder.. It all helps to give the film its eerie and gripping tone and distinct appeal. David Hewlett was so awesome in this, it's the best acting that I've ever personally seen from the guy. To me it's his fantastic performance that really drives this movie onward so brilliantly. You can tell he was working hard to make a strong impression with his character. He's very low-key about it, most actors who play schizophrenic/split-personality characters tend to overdo it, but what's interesting about the way Hewlett played it is that he portrays a slight neurosis that cracks and subtly grows more intense and manic as it goes on, rather than full-blown dementia right from the beginning, which I thought was a more interesting way to do it. And there is something very sad about the eventual disintegration of his character at the end, I do feel sorry for him because it shows the kind of upbringing he's had with the virtual isolation and cold unloving parents, especially the germ-obsessed shrunken hag of a mother who labels his few friends as "diseased." And while his dad may have been distant and woefully oblivious, he at least tried to remove Pin from his son's life once he found out what was happening. Cyndy Preston was so beautiful and her fragile yet strong character loved her brother and didn't want to see him put away, but neither was she willing to completely give up her own life for the sake of his jealous delusions. I just loved her voice, she sounded like an angelic princess! I love the whole sequence between Leon seemingly murdering Stan and when the ugly truth is finally revealed. It's tremendously suspenseful as Leon grows more edgy and nervous as his sins lie just outside buried in the woodpile and the tension just cranks up as you know that sooner or later something's gonna happen to make him slip up. There's such a great payoff to the scene as everything Leon's done - not just that night but over the years, comes crashing down on him in one night. And like practically everything else about this movie, it's done in a very subtle, yet strongly compelling and engrossing way, and that's one of the reasons that I love it. I really wish I still did feel like when I was a kid, but I don't find Pin himself creepy, just not at all! There's like a total mental blank there, I see him as a thing, an inanimate object. It doesn't spoil anything for me as I don't think the film requires one bit that you find Pin scary in order to enjoy it. What I do find disturbing is the depths of Leon's attachment to the thing, and how when he argues with it he's actually arguing with himself about the strange icky disturbing stuff that he can't bring himself to admit to, and the way his split personality existed as a totally separate entity as Pin, and how his bond with a simple anatomist's dummy ran so deep and powerful that when Ursula eventually chops it to bits it's actually Leon's sense of self that 'dies' as the Pin half of his personality consumes his own and he becomes the new Pin as revealed in the moving final scene. And I don't care what anyone says, until you see his face, you're wondering what the hell is going on in that moment! And it's an excellent way to end this sadly underrated and overlooked classic that, once seen, is one that you don't tend to forget in a hurry, and for good reason. Later.

chev-errant 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.

Tikkin Although I acknowledge that this film is well written and directed I can't say I personally enjoyed it. It was too boring for me, too slow. We do get to know the characters and even care about them a bit, but the pace is just too slow and doesn't really fit a horror film. We don't get any moments of sudden rage where people get murdered. I can see that this film was intended to be suspenseful and atmospheric - and it succeeds at achieving that, to an extent. But it's not enough for me, it doesn't have that "something" to grab my interest. I found some scenes quite creepy and sickening, particularly the one where the woman uses PIN as a sex doll. I also found the whisperings of incest disturbing. The ending was clever too. Overall though I would only recommend PIN to those that can tolerate very slow-paced, subtle horror that requires a bit of thought. Gore-hounds, look elsewhere!