Chi c'è in fondo a quella scala...

In this low-budget descendant of "Psycho", Ursula and Leon are sister and brother, living alone, save for a large wooden puppet they call "Pin" (for Pinocchio). When Ursula starts hanging around with new boyfriend Stan, Leon and Pin take action.

What drew me to this film was Terry O'Quinn, who has never (so far as I'm aware) made a bad film. And although he is more of a secondary, supporting actor here, this film is no less good than anything else he has done.

What makes this film good is its relatively slow pace, building the suspense, waiting for the moment when all heck will break loose. And, for first time viewers, there is the mystery: is Leon crazy or is Pin truly alive and only willing to open up to specific people? (The answer was not what I expected.)

Leon and Ursula's parents aren't very affectionate. Their mother cares more about a spotless perfect household and their doctor father is always at work. He often brings them along, and uses ventriloquism to make it seem like his medical "anatomy" dummy is speaking to them. The kids are quite fond of the dummy (Pin) and believe he is really alive. As teens, after various upsetting events, they find themselves living in their home alone. Ursula is trying to become a well-adjusted adult, but Leon finds that his only true friend is Pin and still thinks he is actually alive. Is he? Or is Leon going crazy?

This is a very bizarre movie, and one of the better horror films I've seen from the 80s. The first half hour or so is sort of awkward to watch due to some of the children's experiences. The latter half of the film doesn't focus on Leon's psychology as much as one would expect, though it is clear that the kid has a warped idea of sexuality based on his twisted parental guidance and a freaky...incident he witnessed involving his beloved Pin. The acting is above average for an 80s horror film, and most genre fans will recognize David Hewlitt from "Cube." He does a good job playing the potentially-psycho teenager, and Cynthia Preston is marvelous as the sister trying to bring some stability to the family. Overall, this is an interesting, mildly creepy, and refreshingly toned-down offering from the decade of excess.

My Rating: 7/10.

This film is certainly unique - nothing like you've ever seen before. That's not necessarily a good thing, but it does make it intriguing. Sure, it may remind you of "Psycho" or of "Magic" (the 1978 thriller with Hopkins), but its slow pacing, its MORBID atmosphere and its weirdness make it feel completely different from those movies. It's not particularly good or bad, just EXTREMELY weird . Pay attention to the opening sequence, or else the ending will seem inconclusive and you'll have to rewind the tape - like I did.

Brother and Sister Leon and Ursula received fairly strict parenting, their father would use his medical dummy named pin to direct and instruct the children, using the medium of ventriloquism. When the parents die, Leon begins controlling his sister, through Pin.

What an unexpected gem of a movie this turned out to be, I thoroughly enjoyed it, there are so many quirky and unique horrors from the decade, this is one of the best I've seen for a while.

It's a story about control and obsession, Leon is very much a product of his strict and controlling father, he's clearly transferring his father's behaviours.

Full of suspense, it had me captivated til the very end, it really does manage to hold your attention.

What a creepy guy Pin is, I'm only surprised this film hasn't been remade, an audience is missing out on an updated version.

8/10.

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.