Pumpkinhead

Year: 1988
Director: Stan Winston
Writer: Mark Patrick Carducci
Genre: Horror: Monster

Despite the supremely cheesy name, this movie has a strange depth and life to it. I almost expected a goofy villain with a pumpkin for a head or something of the sort. When that turned out to not be the case I was surprised. Apparently, the film is based off a poem and so that's where the creature got the awkward name.

So Pumpkinhead has rural townsfolk living with a terrifying tale. For them, if a man is wronged then he can summon Pumpkinhead to take revenge (by killing whoever of course). It's been years since the last time Pumpkinhead came around but the townsfolk still have that knowledge firmly in their minds.

Cue a group of city kids coming to spend some time in a cabin there. They meet up with a man and his child at the gas station and try to put on their friendly faces. Unfortunately, an unforeseen accident occurs and they inadvertently kill his child. Feeling deeply wronged by the cityfolk, he goes on to exact revenge the only way he knows how - by calling upon Pumpkinhead. Oh no!

The characters are all pretty lively even if some of them die off really fast. It's nice to see that an attempt was made to give them character. I like the story and had no idea really how it would turn out until nearer to the end. It's still mostly predictable but worth watching due to the character interactions. It's also shot very nicely which sometimes is lacking in random horror films. It feels a lot like a fairy tale but the old kinds. Grim, violent tales not the happy Disneyesque things we have now. If you're into that sort of thing this is for you.