Pumpkinhead (1988)
Directed by Stan Winston
Happy Halloween! I thought for a while what movie would I choose for today. I looked through all the streaming services and my dvd/blurays. After about 20 minutes of searching, and driving my wife nuts, I settled on Pumpkinhead. It has been forever since I have seen this and I was excited to watch it again.
Pumpkinhead is about a man Ed (Lance Henriksen) and his son Billy, whom run a small grocery store in the middle of nowhere. A group of college age kids show up to pick up supplies and two are riding dirtbikes around. Ed leaves to pick up change, I think, anyway the little boy is left in the store with his dog Gypsy. Gypsy runs out and the boy follows after. One of the guys on the dirtbike comes up over a hill and hits the little boy, severely injuring him. The others rush to the boy to make sure he’s ok, and all but one rush to get help. The guy that hits him bails and says it was an accident but he was drinking so he’s definitely getting in trouble. Ed returns to find his son dead. One guy tells him it was an accident, Ed just gives him a death stare and takes Billy home. Ed now goes to a neighbor to ask where he can find Haggis the witch. The man refuses but his son tells Ed. Ed goes to the witch and barters with her, she tells him how to summon the demon Pumpkinhead to avenge his son. Ed goes through with the deed and the demon is summoned. Now Pumpkinhead is on a warpath, slowly stalking and killing all the college kids involved in Billy’s death.
Lance Henriksen was such an underrated actor, you really feel his pain and anguish when Billy dies. Its so sad, Billy was a sweet little boy, I blame the dog for his death. If the dog wouldn’t have ran out of the store and after the dirtbikers then Billy would’ve survived. The college kids are your typical horror movie cast. You get your arrogant douche Joel (John D’Aquino) whom picks fun at Billy’s thick glasses and in the end is the one that accidentally kills him. He refuses to call for help and tries to run away. Steve (Joel Hoffman) is Joel’s brother and he’s kind of a jokester but with a good conscience and stays back with Billy while the other’s go for help. Chris (Jeff East) is kind of the do gooder but his character really isn’t fledged out well. The girls are Kim (Kimberly Ross) the crop top wearing party girl and Joel’s girlfriend. Tracy (Cynthia Bain) the good girl, she’s very kind to Billy and chases after him seconds before he is hit by the dirtbike. Last is Maggie (Kerry Remsen) whom really isn’t established too much, she also seems like a good person. For a mostly unknown cast, they all do a fairly good job in this.
The special effects, especially on Pumpkinhead are awesome. The demon is so realistic looking and was actually a puppet controlled by numerous people. The makeup done on Haggis the witch is also really well done, and grotesque. The atmosphere and setting of the witch’s house and area where the demon resides are great. Lots of fog, dark lighting and 100% creepy atmosphere make it very impactful. The kills are pretty straight forward and effective. If you’re looking for super gory and crazy kills, then you might be disappointed but this isn’t that kind of movie, it relies heavily on atmosphere and suspense.
This movie really deserves more recognition. I know lately people have been rediscovering it and giving it props, but when it came out it wasn’t a hit, it cost 3.5M and only made 4.4M in the box office. The quality of the acting, the amazing special effects and the creepy atmosphere really sets this movie above many of its contemporary counterparts. I have this on dvd, but I ended up watching it on Hulu. I believe it is on a few other streaming platforms, so I would highly suggest it. It is creepy, fun, and even a little sad at the beginning. I grade Pumpkinhead a B+, it is a good watch and better than many of the same genre but it doesn’t have the yearly rewatchability that other classics have.
