I Had a Pin-terest In This Movie

I had not heard of the 1988 horror film, "Pin," until I read one of those "14 Most Whatever Things That Will Make You Eat Cabbage and Want to Ride a Horse. Really, It's Actually That Awesome. Just Wait Until the Man Starts Singing. It Will Make Your Shoes Fly Off Your Head"-esque posts on Facebook. The list had something to do with 20 "Weird" Movies That You May Not Know. Indeed, I did not know about "Pin." Based on the description of the film, I located a dvd of "Pin," and enjoyed what I saw.

"Pin" is written and directed by Sandor Stern who, previous to directing this film, wrote the screenplays of "Fast Break," the basketball movie starring Gabe Kaplan and the 1979 version of "The Amityville Horror." Prior to "Pin," he directed the pilot episode of the CBS tv series, "Cutter to Houston," and the tv movie, "John and Yoko: A Love Story," among other credits. Since "Pin," Stern has written and directed a menagerie of horror films, none of which have I seen. I have seen "Fast Break." I remember it appearing on the CBS Sunday Night, or possibly, Tuesday Night movie in the early 80's. The story of "Pin" revolves around a doctor (the always interesting to watch Terry O'Quinn, who you may know from the very good film, "The Stepfather" and the tv show, "Lost," not the classic Al Adamson kid's film from 1981, which has been criminally removed from Netflix instant streaming) who uses a life-size human body model, which he names Pin, in his office, presumably to point out various ailments of his patients, but also serves as a parental reinforcement. Pin speaks, telepathically, to the children of the doctor and to the doctor. Pin is a member of the family, even though it is a medical tool. Yes, we have entered the fun world of the strange, bizarre, and unique in the world of cinema. Events happen which I will not give away. Pin continues to "live" with the brother and sister, Ursula and Leon (Cynthia Preston and David Hewlett) into their college years. Ursula understands that Pin is not a person, however, Leon has trouble comprehending this fact and treats Pin as a member of the family. Hilarity ensues and disturbing things occur involving Pin, Ursula and Leon and Bob and Carol, and Ted and Alice.

"Pin" had enough strangeness going on to keep me interested throughout. The performances by Preston and Hewlett are well done also. They both do a nice job of acting with a human body model and with each other, interpreting the uncomfortable dynamic between Ursula and her slightly off brother. Presumeably, there is a "Pinocchio" motif at work in the film, however, it seems to be hidden well and rarely referenced in the script. This is fine, as "Pin" works very well as simply the story of siblings and the weird presence of this "Pin" in their lives. I think you should pin it to your list of obscure, unique films to seek out and watch.