''Pinocchio's Revenge'' is a 1996 American psychological slasher film written and directed by Kevin S. Tenney and distributed by

Trimark Pictures Trimark Pictures was an American production company that specialized in the production and distribution of television and home video motion pictures. The company was formed in 1984 by Mark Amin as Vidmark Entertainment with Vidmark Inc. (later T ...

. It stars

Rosalind Allen Rosalind Allen (born September 23, 1957) is a New Zealand-born actress, best known for her portrayal of Doctor Wendy Smith in the second season of '' seaQuest DSV''. Early life Born Rosalind Ingledew in New Zealand, she studied acting there, ...

and Todd Allen and was released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

. The film's plot concerns a lawyer who brings home a wooden puppet that was found buried with a boy supposedly killed by his father. Her 8-year-old daughter Zoe sees the doll and takes it as her own. Soon accidents start happening and Jennifer struggles to find the cause as she begins to question her daughter's wellbeing and whether or not there may be something sinister to the doll. The movie is closer "to

Don Mancini George Donald Mancini (born January 25, 1963) is an American screenwriter and film director, most notable for the ''Child's Play'' franchise. Career Having been a horror fan since his childhood, Mancini's inspiration for '' Child's Play'' were ...

's original intent for Child's Play". Conceptualised as Bad Pinocchio, written as The Pinocchio Syndrome, shot as ‘Pinocchio’, and, finally, released on VHS and Laserdisc on 23rd September 1997.

Plot

Despite overwhelming evidence, Jennifer Garrick (

), the lawyer defending convicted child murderer Vincent Gotto (

Lewis Van Bergen Lewis Van Bergen (November 9, 1938 – April 6, 2018) was an American actor, best known for his role as Jon Sable on the short-lived 1987 television series '' Sable''. He was in the film '' Bugsy'' in the role of Joey Adonis, with whom Bugsy ...

), believes her client is not guilty and is hiding the identity of the real killer. A fellow attorney in Jennifer's office (

Ron Canada Ronald Ellis Canada (born May 3, 1949) is an American actor with a specialty in portraying judges and detectives. He is best known for '' One on One'' (2001–2004), ''The Shield'' (2003–2004), and '' Lone Star'' (1996). Career Following ...

) explains the presence of a large

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

-type puppet sitting in her chair, previously buried by Gotto in his son's grave, as belatedly delivered evidence which she had earlier requisitioned. Intending to examine the puppet in the hope of finding a clue which might prevent Gotto's execution, Jennifer brings it home and her emotionally fragile daughter Zoe (

Brittany Alyse Smith Brittany Smith, better known by her stage name Matisse, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and model. She was best known for being part of the duo Brit & Alex (with her twin sister Alex) until their breakup in 2009. Matisse was signed t ...

) mistakes it for a birthday gift. Zoe develops a relationship with the Pinocchio puppet and becomes unbalanced to an even greater degree. Trouble begins when Zoe's bully at school is pushed in front of a bus, which Zoe blames on Pinocchio trying to protect her. Soon after, Jennifer's boyfriend David Kaminsky (Todd Allen) is knocked down the basement stairs while babysitting Zoe, but is saved when she calls

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

. Later, Zoe is at one of her therapy sessions when her psychiatrist, Dr. Edwards (

Aaron Lustig Aaron Lustig (born September 17, 1956) is an American film and television actor. He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1997, for Best Supporting Actor on ''The Young and the Restless'' as Tim Reid, whom he has also portrayed on ''The Bold and th ...

), has to leave the room. Zoe begins talking with Pinocchio about who is to blame for David's accident, with each placing blame on the other. Jennifer and Dr. Edwards watch the argument through a video feed, seeing that Zoe is talking to herself. That night, Pinocchio convinces Zoe to set him free on the pretense that he will confess to David about causing his accident. Zoe makes him promise he will not do anything bad and cuts his strings, at which point Pinocchio takes off for the hospital with Zoe in pursuit. Through a first-person perspective, an unknown person walks into David's room and unplugs his life support machine, killing him. When Zoe denies to Jennifer that she visited the hospital and blames David's death on Pinocchio, an angry and confused Jennifer locks the puppet in the trunk of her car. That night, Zoe is left in the care of babysitter Sophia (Candace McKenzie), who reminds Zoe that she gave Pinocchio a conscience in the form of a cricket she caught earlier. Zoe runs to her room to check on the cricket, only to find it killed. Sophia runs to the sound of Zoe's screams, only to be attacked and killed by someone wielding a fireplace poker. Jennifer arrives home to find the babysitter dead and Zoe standing in a dark hallway. When she tries to confront Zoe, the girl runs away in a panic. As Jennifer explores the house, she is struck by the poker and sees her daughter standing above her with it in her hand. Zoe explains that she just managed to get the poker away from Pinocchio, but before Jennifer can inquire further, she vanishes. Jennifer stands up to see Pinocchio standing in the room, at which point he suddenly turns towards her and attacks her with a knife. Following a pursuit through the house, Jennifer throws Pinocchio through a glass coffee table, only to see that her daughter is suddenly lying in the puppet's place. The movie closes with a catatonic Zoe being committed. Jennifer vows not to give up until Zoe recovers and comes home, to which Dr. Edwards states, "I hope not, for your sake, I hope not."

Cast

as Vincent Gotto *

Larry Cedar Larry Frank Cedar (born March 6, 1955) is an American voice, film and television actor, best known as one of the players of the Children's Television Workshop mathematics show ''Square One TV'' on PBS from 1987 to 1994. He played Max, Alex the B ...

as District Attorney *

Janet MacLachlan Janet Angel MacLachlan (August 27, 1933 – October 11, 2010) was an American actress who had roles in such television series as ''The Rockford Files'', ''Alias (TV series), Alias'' and ''The Golden Girls''. She is best remembered for her key s ...

as Judge Allen *

as Jennifer Garrick *

as Zoe Garrick * Candace McKenzie as Sophia *

as Barry * Tara Hartman as Beth *

as Dr. Bert Edwards * Todd Allen as David Kaminsky *

Sal Viscuso Sal Viscuso (born October 5, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Father Timothy Flotsky in '' Soap'' (1977-1981). Acting career He is known for playing the character Father Timothy Flotsky on the ...

and

Ed Bernard Ed Bernard (born July 4, 1939) is an American actor best known for his roles as Detective Joe Styles on '' Police Woman'', Principal Jim Willis on '' The White Shadow'', and as Lieutenant Bill Giles on ''Hardcastle and McCormick''. Career Be ...

as Jail Guards *

Dick Beals Richard Beals (March 16, 1927 – May 29, 2012) was an American actor, who performed many voices in his career, which spanned the period from the early 1950s into the 21st century. Beals voiced both male and female children. Perhaps his most reco ...

as The Voice of

Verne Troyer Verne Jay Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, YouTuber, and stunt performer. He was best known for his role of Mini-Me in the ''Austin Powers'' film series. He had cartilage–hair hypoplasia and was ...

as Pinocchio Double

References

External links

* * * {{Kevin Tenney 1996 films 1996 horror films Films directed by Kevin S. Tenney Pinocchio films American psychological horror films Films about mother–daughter relationships Horror films based on children's franchises 1990s English-language films 1990s American films Horror films about toys

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links