Pinocchio's Revenge
Pinocchio's Revenge is a 1996 American slasher film written and directed by Kevin S. Tenney and distributed by Trimark Pictures. It stars Rosalind Allen and Todd Allen and was released direct-to-video. 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.[1][2][3][4]
| Pinocchio's Revenge | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kevin S. Tenney |
| Produced by | Jeff Geoffray Walter Josten |
| Screenplay by | Kevin S. Tenney |
| Starring | Rosalind Allen Todd Allen Aaron Lustig Ron Canada Candace McKenzie Lewis Van Bergen Larry Cedar Brittany Alyse Smith |
| Music by | Dennis Michael Tenney |
| Cinematography | Eric Anderson |
| Edited by | Daniel Duncan |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Trimark Pictures Blue Rider Productions |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
Despite overwhelming evidence, Jennifer Garrick (Rosalind Allen), the lawyer defending convicted child murderer Vincent Gotto (Lewis Van Bergen), believes her client is not guilty and is hiding the identity of the real killer. A fellow attorney in Jennifer's office (Ron Canada) explains the presence of a large Pinocchio-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) mistakes it for a birthday gift.
Zoe develops a relationship with the Pinocchio puppet and becomes unbalanced to an even greater degree. Trouble begins with 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. Later, Zoe is at one of her therapy sessions when her psychiatrist, Dr. Edwards (Aaron Lustig), has to leave the room. Zoe begins talking with Pinocchio about who is to blame for David's accident, with both placing blame on one another. 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 admit 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, we see an unknown person walk into David's room and unplug 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 to locks the puppet in the trunk of her car.
That night, Zoe is left in the care of the 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 give up until Zoe recovers and come home, to which Dr. Edwards states, "I hope not, for your sake, I hope not."
Cast
- Lewis Van Bergen as Vincent Gotto
- Larry Cedar as District Attorney
- Janet MacLachlan as Judge Allen
- Rosalind Allen as Jennifer Garrick
- Brittany Alyse Smith as Zoe Garrick
- Ron Canada as Barry
- Aaron Lustig as Dr. Edwards
- Todd Allen as David Kaminsky
- Sal Viscuso and Ed Bernard as Jail Guards
- Verne Troyer as Pinocchio Double
- Dick Beals as the Voice of Pinocchio