I can really feel the burn now and I’m only into the third night. Continuing the #HalloweenMovieChallenge, ladies and gentleman, I present to you last nights movie choice.
PINOCCHIO’S REVENGE (1996)
When a man is convicted and sentenced to death of being a child serial killer, his lawyer Jennifer Garrick (Rosalind Allen) is convinced he didn’t commit the atrocities. After his execution, all that is left of her client is a hand carved doll of Pinocchio, which somehow finds its way into Jennifer’s home. Her daughter Zoe (Brittany Alyse Smith) quickly becomes attached to Pinocchio. As their friendship grows so does the body count.
I have very mixed feelings about Pinocchio’s Revenge. On the one hand I enjoyed it. On the other, it annoyed the shit out of me. Lets have a look at both sides of the argument.
The production value of the movie is quite good. It’s shot confidently, it has a sense of scale, and there’s decent acting. I noticed this in the first few minutes of the film. I’ll admit I was surprised, given the title. I expected an absolute disaster. Some sort of Child’s Play rip-off. But I was surprised to 
discover my initial assumption wasn’t true. Although it is marketed as a Chucky style film, there are hidden depths to the movie that I never expected.
Jennifer is a divorced defense lawyer with a pre-teen daughter, Zoe. The job takes its toll on both of them, but especially Zoe. She’s developing strong violent emotions and she tries hard to suppress them. But sometimes she can’t. When she finds Pinocchio in the back seat of her mother’s car, she mistakenly believes it is her birthday present. Zoe develops a strong bond with Pinocchio and begins talking to him. To her surprise, he answers. He tells her how they could be happy without certain people in their lives like; her mom’s new boyfriend David (Todd Allen) (cause she totally can hear them shagging in the next room); and the super, sexy house maid, Sophia (Candace Mekenzie). Pinocchio promises to make them go away so Zoe can have more time with her mother.
Through the eyes of Zoe we see Pinocchio come alive and speak. But no one else can see him move or talk. After both Jennifer’s boyfriend and maid are “taken care of”, Pinocchio sets his sights on killing Jennifer. Receiving a blow to the head, she desperately fights off the wooden puppet and throws it into a glass coffee table. When Jennifer comes to her senses she sees her daughter, bruised and battered, in the very same table. The ending is left open-ended and for the audience to decide.
This is what I really liked about the film. Pinocchio was never established as being fully aware or alive. He wasn’t portrayed as a doll possessed by some demonic spirit. He was just a doll until a little child with disturbing feelings gave him life. I enjoyed the ambiguity of the ending. It was a brave move. It reminded me of similar film, Pin. You’re never quite sure whether Pinocchio is really moving around freely or whether it is Zoe’s imagination. But throughout the film you do start to realise there is something very Tyler Durden going on.
Unfortunately, this is also why I disliked the film. Pinocchio’s Revenge is such a ridiculous title to begin with, and I had hoped for something a little more fun. The movie is incredibly slow-moving and builds tension that rarely amounts to anything. The Pinocchio puppet itself is ridiculous, with its bright blue eyes and blue dungarees. Everything about this film screams out Chucky. And from the trailer and poster, that’s exactly what you’d expect. However, we are denied a joyous thrill of demonic puppetry and instead are subjected to a psychological household drama about a young, disturbed pre-adolescent with Daddy issues.
As psychological chillers go, this is a fine attempt. But there seemed to be creative differences between studio and film-maker. I can imagine the conversation went something like this:
Filmmaker: It’s about a little girl who projects her anger and frustrations into her doll, Pinocchio. She uses him as an excuse to commit violent acts.
Studio: So it’s like Chucky?
Filmmaker: I’d say it’s more like Psycho.
Studio: But we see the puppet move, right?
Filmmaker: Well, not really. Only the girl believes he’s real. We’d like to keep that part vague and let the audience decide.
Studio: But he’s gotta move. People want to see killer dolls, not disturbed children.
The story, although being easy to follow, falls short of being a fun, horror extravaganza, and it doesn’t quite reach the level for a mature discussion about the existence of evil. The real problem is that there are no real answers to the bigger questions it presents. Pinocchio’s Revenge sets up some interesting ideas but fails to deliver the goods. It’s too long and too boring to stand out and it represents itself as something it is not. The name alone makes no sense and only adds confusion. Who was Pinocchio exacting revenge upon?! It was no one!
Overall, Pinocchio’s Revenge is an extremely standard film but with good production values. If only it new which direction it wanted to go in, perhaps I would have enjoyed it more.
Best Line: “Evil comes in all shapes and sizes.”
Best Moment: Pinocchio is curious about Sophia’s body and stares at her as she exits the shower.
3/10
