Okay, I have a relatively minor confession to make here.
I’ve never actually seen Pumpkinhead. As someone who could watch horror movies every day for the rest of her life and probably never complain once, I’m sure to some this is an inexcusable crime.
Apparently, I haven’t been missing all that much, really.
The story of Pumpkinhead is really very simple. Quiet, simple rural type has a son he loves dearly. Son gets killed in a tragic accident by some stupid teenagers from the big city. Father seeks revenge by visiting the scary-ass witch up in the one section of woods in bum-fuck West Virginia (or wherever this movie takes place). Witch releases this crazy Pumpkinhead thing upon unsuspecting, stupid big-city teenagers who promptly die in horrific ways. Father has sudden attack of remorse and tries to stop the supernatural creature from killing everyone.
In many ways, it’s quite a lot like someone took the worst of Pet Sematary, The Evil Dead trilogy, and a Hallmark movie about rural folks and shoved it into a blender. Lance Henrikson doesn’t have a “down home” kind of feel because, hey — if you didn’t already know, Lance Henrikson is fucking creepy as shit! You start and end the movie totally repulsed. (Sorry, Lance.)
The plot and the storyline are predictable to any moviegoer. The real disappointment is the special effects. Stan Winston conducted them here, and he’s notable as writer/director as well. Pumpkinhead itself is some weird meld of special effects from the Alien franchise, with it’s strange walk, weird shoulder bone protrusions and semi-elongated head. The thing looks like it eventually would evolve into a xenomorph.
I’m sure at the time Pumpkinhead was pretty fresh, but it sucks nowadays.
Verdict: Avoid at all possible costs. Thank god for Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” feature or I would have wasted more time waiting for a new movie to come in the mail
1416 and Counting 
Aww weak dude! I OWN that shit! Pumpkinhead is one of those movies that, had you seen it as a tween, you would be enamored with it today. I know it’s not the best horror flick, but neither is Nightmare on Elm Street. I still watch Pumpkinhead because it scared the shit out of me as a stupid twelve year old kid.
But, that being said, I can see why someone wouldn’t like it today, seeing it for the first time. It hasn’t aged very well.
Oh yeah! Awesome new blog, Catilin. I’ll be popping in regularly!
First of all, andrew, thank you very much!
Secondly, I think if I had seen it when I was much younger, I would have totally dug it. Having been overdosed with Stan Winston creature effects and creepy main characters has not served me well, I suppose.
Poor Stan Winston. He was a god among men….now he works on every monster/sci fi movie ever. Learn to say NO, Stan!
Did you know he wrote Pumpkinhead? And was the second director on Aliens? Crazy.
Did you know he wrote Pumpkinhead? And was the second director on Aliens? Crazy.
I did! I like Stan Winston, but he got overused and fast. Part of my problem was I kept seeing so much of the xenomorphs in Pumpkinhead creaturey thingy that it was so distracting.
Poor old Stan Winston. I wonder what the hell he’s even doing these days?
“Poor old Stan Winston. I wonder what the hell he’s even doing these days?”
The new Iron Man….and Jurassic Park 4. He’s still out there, getting paid.
Ah, JP4, where the dinosaurs get WEAPONS!
He’s working on Iron Man? Sheesh, andrew, the fact that I had no idea about that shows my qualifications to be a movie blogger RIGHT. THERE.
“the fact that I had no idea about that shows my qualifications to be a movie blogger RIGHT. THERE.”
Yeah right. A 500 movie netflix queue and the time to write funny shit about both good and bad movies? You’re more than qualified.
Damn, andrew! I should’ve ripped you off and started a haiku movie blog!
Blogging bad movies
They say taste is subjective
I love Lionheart
Oh, andrew. Why do your haikus rock so hard?
I’m not gonna lie. It’s a god given gift.
Just kidding, I’m lucky to even make the syllables fit.