Pumpkinhead Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: After his son is accidentally killed, a man asks a witch to summon a demon to exact revenge for him.

Review: Time now to take a look at the "Pumpkinhead" franchise which consists of four films (so far). I can't say I ever really liked these movies, even as a kid, especially when compared to the other '80s horror icons (to which Pumpkinhead barely qualifies as). There was a general shittacularness to the films, and part 3 and 4 only came out a few years ago anyway so they hardly count toward shaping the image of the character. In light of this, I am willing to torture myself one more time for the reviews while noting that the main draw for me will become clear when I go over part two. The first movie is pretty much the only tolerable entry and that's not saying much. I simply saw the film as a way to show off a cool monster concept with little else offered. I can understand why fans do enjoy this film and see it as something of a cult classic, but it simply doesn't cut it for me; maybe it's the annoyed kid in me who wasted a rental on this shit that's still bitter.

As you may have easily guessed, the story is paper thin and my plot summary almost completely explains the events of the film. Lance Henriksen plays the father, Ed, who starts off the movie seeing Pumpkinhead when he was a child. Later on when Ed and his son open up a store they own, they cross paths with wannabe yuppies or something who decide they will go dirt bike riding right then and there. Ed steps away for a second as the son is accidentally run over by the biggest douche of the yuppies. Upon the revelation that the kid is fucked up, the douche takes off claiming he's not going to jail for it. The other yuppies do seem genuinely concerned which is worth mentioning considering the order of deaths. Instead of calling the cops or anything, Ed simply takes his son home where he dies. Then he figures, well, I might as well conjure up a demon--I mean, come the fuck on, of course that's the only logical step to take! After Ed talks to some mountain people from the 1800s, they warn that it's a mistake (even they're smart enough to realize this a dumb plan!) but one of the kids tells Ed about the witch that can summon Pumpkinhead.

Eventually, the witch combines the blood of Ed, the dead son, and some mummified baby or whatever to create Pumpkinhead. Ed is totally cool with everything until the first yuppie dies and Ed experiences what Pumpkinhead does. Of course I must stress how annoyed I was that the first person to die was the yuppie that tried to help the dead son and was the only one that stayed to take the consequences; he should have lived instead of the losers that do survive. Ed comes to realize that part of himself is within Pumpkinhead and he regrets his actions...pretty much because he has to come to terms with Pumpkinhead's actions firsthand rather than hanging out at his cabin twiddling his thumbs. This movie has the best sense of morality. Pumpkinhead kills more yuppies until there are only two left who are aided by that same mountain kid that helped Ed earlier. Just to give you an idea of how retarded this kid must be, he couldn't put two and two together enough to realize that Pumpkinhead's appearance and Ed going to the witch had a connection. Really, dude? Ed tries to kill Pumpkinhead but the two end up merging completely meaning that the only way to kill Pumpkinhead is to kill Ed...which one of the yuppies obliges in an anti-climactic finale. The film then ends with the witch magically having a mummified version of Ed which she will use for the summoning of the next Pumpkinhead. That's actually not too bad of a way to end things.

Overall, Pumpkinhead himself is kind of cool with decent effects to bring him to life, and there were a few interesting ideas and sets, but that's all there really is going for the film. The deaths are boring and hardly utilize the possibilities a giant velociraptor like Pumpkinhead could accomplish. And why is Pumpkinhead a walking effect shot? Every time he appears we have strobe lights and fans going into overdrive like he's a walking typhoon or something. Calm that shit down! Also, every single time something happens there is this overly dramatic music spike that makes me want to crane kick someone; a lot of films do this, but they aren't this blatant with it. The story is surprisingly boring and feels pointless especially when you factor in how easily Pumpkinhead is dispatched with. I get the feeling Pumpkinhead was designed first and a movie was made around him rather than any other scenario. I know a lot of fans like this film, but I can't imagine casual viewers giving a damn about the effects and that is this film's only real draw besides Mr. Henriksen...or the off chance you want to see Blossom, Mayim Bialik, in a bit role.

Notable Moment: When Pumpkinhead nonchalantly passes by the cabin window. They delayed the stupid music cue as well which almost made this a genuinely creepy shot.

Final Rating: 5.5/10