This surreal descent into plastic-covered chaos is riveting, but it may not be for everyone.
When I first read about the concept of Pin (1988), I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the movie itself. It turns out it isn’t just the story of a young man falling in love with a talking anatomical mannequin, but a rather tragic tale of trauma and suffering.
I will note, as stated above, that this movie will probably not be everyone’s cup of tea. That’s fine. I thoroughly enjoyed it though, and the lo fi production is a part of its charm in my eyes. I also have a soft spot for old Canadian movies, with me being from there and all.
If you enjoyed Frailty, the previous movie I wrote about, then you might find yourself enjoying Pin as well. This movie is definitely more bizarre though, and noticeably lower-budget, but they do very well given that fact. All things considered, if you’re going to watch an old, weird, indie movie, you need to have a certain tolerance to unpolished production. That being said, I thought the acting and most of the writing here held up surprisingly well.
We’re introduced to our antagonist (I guess?) pretty early into the movie, and my god is Pin’s (uncredited) gaze unsettling. Adding to the creep factor, his voice sounds vaguely like Mickey Mouse, but with a definite edge to him. He works in a medical office run by our main family, and he has become quite close with the doctor’s young son.
We see early on that Pin serves as a sort of father figure to our main character Leon (David Hewlett), or maybe more of an older brother. He even gives him and his sister Ursula (Cynthia Preston) a weirdly poetic, winding “birds and the bees” talk. This is followed up by Leon watching Pin have sexual relations with a nurse through a closet door. Keep in mind, we’re about 10 minutes into the movie at this point.
There are a lot of odd sexual themes to this movie in general. A weird tension between Leon and Ursula is hinted at quite frequently, and I’ve heard that it’s a bit more in your face in the novel. I also simultaneously learned that this movie was based on a novel to begin with, and that it was written by Andrew Neiderman. Nearly 10 years later, Neiderman would go on to write The Devil’s Advocate, and 7 years after that Keanu Reeves would star in its big screen adaptation.
Pin is a nosedive straight into insanity, with things unraveling further as characters gradually become more unhinged. We reach a point where Leon has accepted his stationary friend as a member of their family, and Pin’s inclusion at the dinner table becomes quite a hot topic between Ursula and her brother. Unfortunately, things only go downhill from here.
If you’re down to get a bit weird, and don’t mind a bit of cheesy surrealism, then I would highly recommend Pin to you. I found it to be uncomfortable yet engaging, with a really novel concept that’s executed well. It won’t deliver any fast-pace scares, but there is a eerie sense of dread to all 102 minutes.