Fella_shibby I first saw this on a VHS in the early 90s. Revisited this recently on a blu ray. Plot - Lance Henriksen is a country man who owns a small grocery and is raising his small boy on his own. As a kid, he had witnessed Pumpkinhead (demon/monster) in action. City kids come into town with their motorbikes, and cause an accident killing Henriksen's small kid.... The movie is shot in the remote backwoods (myself a fan of backwoods, badlands n road movies). This film is the directorial debut of the FX genius Stan Winston. Pumpkinhead easily ranks among the best monster movie. It is one of my fav monster movie. The design of the demon/creature is astounding. The movie also features some good cinematography. The swamp scenes are bathed in an eerie blue light. The murky, foggy woods where the witch lives is just fantastic. The hill where the creature is dug up is spooky. The design of the witch's cottage is the true visual highlight. Its an old and dilapidated one, full of old relics and even some living animals. The flickering candle create heavy shadows n make the witch herself much scarier. Henriksens character and performance r excellent.

zardoz-13 Gifted cinematic special effects wizard Stan Winston won kudos for his work on the "Terminator" franchise as well as "Predator" series and the sequel "Aliens." Sadly, Winston spend little time behind the scenes as a helmer. Nevertheless, the first of his two feature-length directorial credits is the impressive creature-feature "Pumpkinhead" with Lance Henrikson. Maligned by most critics who have no tolerance for horror epics, this memorable little spine-tingling saga qualifies not only as a first-rate chiller, but it also is a textbook version of what a captivating creature series should possess. Scenarists Mark Patrick Carducci of "Neon Maniacs" and Gary Gerani of "Vampirella" have done an above-average job of adapting an interesting story by Winston and writer Richard Weinman based on Ed Justin's pithy poem about a malignant monster that spells trouble for anybody who finds themselves pitted against him. Clearly, the premise behind "Pumpkinhead" was appealing enough because this predator returned in three sequels. Basically, the eponymous creature is an invincible demon raised from the dead at the behest of others to mete out vengeance against those wronged. You would hate to have this spawn of Hell on your tail! Unlike most horror pictures of its ilk, "Pumpkinhead" is more complex than the usual cut-and-dried creepers.Ed Harley (Lance Henrikson of "Aliens") is a single-parent father with a son who ekes out a living in the country selling groceries to primarily hillbillies and the occasional passersby from the city. Ed grew up in the backwoods and he witnessed the wrath of Pumpkinhead on one occasion when he should have been cowering under his bed. Pumpkinhead looks about ten feet tall and everything inch of this gruesome ghoul is bone and sinew with spurs sticking out of its shoulders and legs. Happily, Winston shows enough of this dreadful creature so that our imaginations need not run rampant, but he doesn't let Pumpkinhead the monster wear out its welcome any more than this concise 86-minute creeper. After the monster's first but fleeting appearance, Winston and his scribes follow the standard-issue tropes of setting up this revenge-laden saga. A group of twentysomething adults from the city show up at Ed's shop for supplies. The apparent leader of the pack, Steve (Joel Hoffman of "Slumber Party Massacre 2"), takes his dirt bike and careens off into the wilderness with little regard for his cohorts. Inevitably, Steve's younger brother revs up his bike and follows. Meantime, Ed has to deliver some grain to a backwoodsman, Mr. Wallace (George 'Buck' Flower of "They Live"), and he leaves his cute little munchkin son with Coke bottle spectacles, Billy (Matthew Hurley of "Checking Out"), behind at the store and orders him to keep his dog Gypsy in the store and away from the city kids. Gyspy gave them a cold greeting when they pulled up, and you wonder if this scruffy mutt isn't marking time before he bites the dust.Predictably, Gypsy gets loose and charges after Steve and his brother as they leap and lunge around the hills and gullies near Ed's store. Naturally, Bill pursues his enraged dog. Before anybody realizes what has happened, the two dirt bikers collide with Billy, but it is Steve who delivers the mortal blow to the hapless munchkin. As it turns out, Steve is on probation of a similar accident and he has been drinking, too, so he clears out. Everybody else but Steve's well-meaning little brother goes with Steve. You can imagine the inevitable grief that Ed experiences when he comes home to find his son sprawled dead in the dirt. Ed ignores Steve's little brother, carries Billy's corpse to his Ford pick-up truck, and drives off to see Mr. Wallace. Ed wants to find a crone named Haggis (Florence Schauffler of "Bachelor Party"), but Wallace refuses to help him. Nevertheless, one of Wallace's sons, Bunt (Brian Bremer of "Society") lacks his father's discretion and takes Ed to see the enigmatic crone who lives with an owl and chirping mice. Haggis informs Ed that she cannot raise the dead, so Ed inquires about the legendary monster Pumpkinhead. She sends him into a surreal landscape to bring the corpse of Pumpkinhead back and she casts a spell that reanimates the corpse. Of course, Pumpkinhead carries out his duties and commences to kill the city kids one by one until Ed has an attack of his conscience and struggles to save them. As it turns out, the only way that Ed can thwart Pumpkinhead is to commit suicide. "Pumpkinhead" is a riveting horror movie! The special effects and the Pumpkinhead creature are all impeccable. Yugoslavian lenser Bojan Bazelli captures all these supernatural shenanigans from terrific camera angles and Cynthia Kay Charette's production designs as well as Kurt Gauger's set decoration contribute significantly to the overall impact of Winston's freshman directorial effort. If you crave horror thrillers, you'll love "Pumpkinhead!"

Leofwine_draca PUMPKINHEAD is one of those distinctly lacklustre horror films that populated cinemas in the late '80s, marking the end of what I consider to be a boon for the genre in the first half of the decade. Come 1985, horror films just fell apart, with endless cheesy sequels and a reliance on special effects over genuine storytelling. This film is a case of the latter in point – a film hosting a decent monster in search of a decent script. The story involves the kind of rural witchcraft we're familiar with from the likes of CHILDREN OF THE CORN, with a curse revisited on the usual bunch of unlikeable overage teenagers who soon find themselves being offed, one by one, by the menace.Pumpkinhead looks a lot like the alien from ALIEN, but he's still the best thing in the movie – along with Lance Henriksen. The B-movie favourite has a great starring role as a father determined to avenge his son, and it's just a shame that his considerable talents are wasted here (as in so many of his movies). Henriksen and, to a lesser extent, George Buck Flower, are the only interesting actors in the movie. The rest give horrid performances.The first half of the film offers a lengthy set-up which might have paid off had the denouement possessed one ounce of wit, originally or intelligence. It doesn't, ending up as a typical stalk-n-slash outing – without any decent gore to recommend either. The presence of FX supremo Stan Winston as director is a novelty, but he really should have stuck to making monsters rather than trying to direct them; his task is doomed from the outset. It all ends unsurprisingly enough, leaving the viewer wondering why on earth they just wasted an hour and a half of their time on this. Incredibly, three sequels followed.

thefuzzydan I saw Pumpkinhead when I was a teenager and, while impressed by the effects and atmosphere, felt it lacking in any resonance at the time. Recently, I saw it was available on Netflix and, having little to do one evening, watched it. It was like a revelation.Movies sometimes need the proper audience to be appreciated. Most blockbusters cast as wide a net as possible with action, romance, or what have you. Other movies need a very specific type of viewership. While being a horror film with a lot of appeal to that audience, I needed to be a father before the true emotional impact of the movie hit me.This movie isn't about monsters (though one is in it) and not about vengeance (though it is the driving force behind the monster). This is a movie about the love a father has for his child and the uncontrollable, unfathomable grief that comes when the child is taken away. Mr. Henriksen's performance as the grieving father is heartbreaking as his sorrow drives him to vengeance and, shortly afterward, regret.It is a shame Pumpkinhead wasn't given the chance to find its audience in theaters but, like most great stories, it found it regardless. A terrifying, touching film that should not be missed.