PUMPKINHEAD REVIEW!!! (FIRST TIME SEEING THIS 80's HORROR CLASSIC)
- Matt Palmer
- Oct 2, 2023
- 3 min read
Initial release date: January 13, 1989
Studio: United Artists/De Laurentis Entertainment Group
Tagline: Cruel, devious, pure as venom. All hell's broken loose.
A Grim Fairy Tale
Plot: After his son dies in a hit and run accident, Ed Harley seeks revenge against the teenagers responsible. With the help of a local witch, Ed summons the vengeful demon Pumpkinhead to hunt and kill the group of friends. But when Ed discovers a bond between himself and the creature, he begins to have second thoughts about employing the vicious monster, and he fights to end Pumpkinhead's murderous rampage before it's too late.
Cast
Lance Henricksen - Ed Harley
Jeff East - Chris
John De'Aquino - Joel
Kimberly Ross - Kim
Joel Hoffman - Steve
Cynthia Bain - Tracy
Kerry Remsen - Maggie
Florence Schauffer - Haggis
Brian Bremer - Bunt
George 'Buck' Flower - Mr. Wallace
Matthew Hurley - Billy Harley
Lee de Broux - Tom Harley
Peggy Walton Walker - Ellie Harley
Writer(s): Mark Patrick Carducci and Gary Gerani
Director: Stan Winston (the effects extraordinaire)
Rated R (86 minutes)
Pumpkinhead is an 80s horror classic that has been on my radar for a few years now. But, every time I see it streaming somewhere I never get a chance to watch it. Well, I finally had the chance the other night and it's definitely a horror classic that all horror fans should see at least once.
The story is fairly simple - a few teens accidentally kill a young boy and the father summons this cterature to get rid of anyone involved with the accident. Lance Henricksen, who was really big in the 80s, does a great job as the rage-filled father.
Over time, you see that the father slowly begins to regret his decision on summoning the creature. You also get to see that when the is summoned and the people whom the creature is after, try to get help, no one will help them. Not exactly as spoiler, but the townspeople try not to help anyone who's getting stalked by the creature due to the fact that if anyone else gets involved, the creature will be after them as well.
And, before I wrap this up, the Pumpkinhead creature looks AWESOME! The movie can feel a little campy and corny at times. But that's almost every horror movie that came out of the 1980s.
HERE ARE SOME FUN TIDBITS FOR THE 80s HORROR CLASSIC PUMPKINHEAD!
The costume Florence Schauffer wore as Haggis the witch weighed about 65 pounds.
Directorial debut of Stan Winston.
Because of Stan Winston's request, the screenwriters made both Pumpkinhead and Haggis (the old woman), much darker than in the original script.
Pumpkinhead doesn't really resemble a pumpkin. It gets its name from the fact that summoning it involves digging up a corpse that's been buried in a pumpkin patch.
This movie, orphaned by the bankruptcy of De Laurentis Entertainment Group, eventually garnered a spotty release when acquired the alternate title Vengeance - The Demon.
Stan Winston and the filmmakers strongly clarified that they didn't indeed want a creature with a literal pumpkin on its head.
The De Laurentis Entertainment Group sent Winston the script only expecting him to do the special creature effects, but Winston instead saw in the project as an opportunity to make it his directorial debut.
The movie was given a limited release in the US by United Artists in October 1988 and wide release in January 1989. In total, it grossed $4,385,516 total at the domestic box office.
Despite its poor box office results, Pumpkinhead has become a cult film. Fangoria included it in their 101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen.
A sequel, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, was released direct to video in 1994. Two additional sequels, Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes and Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud, was filmed in 2006 as TV movies. They were broadcast on Syfy in October 2006 and February 2007.
A reboot of the series has been reported to be in development.
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