Pinocchio’s Revenge Movie Review – Why is it Always a Damn Dummy?

Runtime: 96 minutes

Release Date: March 1996

Rating: R

Director: Kevin Tenney

Jennifer is a lawyer working for a man accused of being a serial killer. Not only did he kill multiple people, but he also murdered his own son. His son's body was found, holding a wooden dummy of Pinocchio. Though she believes that the man is innocent, he still winds up on death row. In the mist of all this, she's stuck planning a birthday party for her daughter Zoe.

While heading home from the office, she realizes that she stuck the dummy in her car. Though she plans to take it back the next day, her boyfriend accidentally gives the dummy to her daughter as a birthday present. Naturally, Zoe starts going through a bad time. The school calls because she shoved a classmate, but Zoe claims that Pinocchio did it to protect her. Every time something goes wrong, she blames her toy. Jennifer doesn't believe it at first, but after she sees some footage shot during her daughter's therapy session, she starts wondering if Pinocchio is the real killer.

What the hell is this? This is the type of horror movie that I absolutely love. Give me a "Uncle Sam" or a "Jack Frost" any day of the week and I'm a happy chick. I'm almost sure that I rented this one years ago, but nothing about it seemed even remotely familiar. It's a very low budget film, which will turn off some people, but it's the type of love budget film that I really enjoy.

Zoe is the stereotypical little wimpy girl who gets picked on by her classmates, and Jennifer is the stereotypical single mother who has to work all the time and sticks her kid with a nanny. It's really annoying when films do this because she whines that she never has time to spend with her kid and actually lets her boyfriend plan the little girl's birthday party, but that doesn't stop her from taking time out of her busy schedule to have a little sex with the boyfriend or go out on a date with him.

Sorry for the minor rant, but it's one of those things that drives me crazy about movies. Anyway, "Pinocchio’s Revenge" is pretty much a terrible movie. Zoe starts letting him do whatever he wants, but then she gets the blame for everything. At the same time, you have to wonder if she actually hears the dummy talking to her, or if she just blames him for the things that she does. For example, the boyfriend gets seriously injured and winds up in the hospital. She talks to Pinocchio in her therapist's office, and the doctor later watches the footage, which shows her talking to herself.

Unfortunately, the film never actually delves too much into this theory. Just when I thought it might get interesting, the movie heads right back into expected territory. The mom winds up realizing that it's all about the dummy and that he actually is real, and it's all downhill from there.