Pumpkinhead (1988)

One of the true teen-horror classics, with a good story and where the evil is justified. The visual and creature effects are amazingly realistic and scary. The cast is very good, especially Lance Henrikssen in a very demanding role, which he does brilliantly. The film is tense, thrilling and offers loads of great scares. This is one of my all-time horror favorites.

I looked this movie up so I could applaud all the others who watched it and thought the same as myself. Then I saw a 3 stars average! This crappie movie is some of the worst mess I have ever seen. There are some bad horror movies out there, but Pumpkinhead takes the cake. A cult following? Yeah, you'd have to be in a cult to think this movie was any good. You can never really see the creature because the film maker's made sure to put it in the most dimly lit scenes. Why? So, you couldn't see how terrible the Pumpkinhead costume really was! I know I saw wires. I can't believe there are sequels. Ooooh, I really hate this movie! Lol!

This movie reminds me of The Hollow Watcher episode from the old Thriller TV series, only more fleshed out. The story contains moralistic elements as well as a clear beginning, middle and end. I call it a classic because it isn't easy to date, for example having no tell-tale sound effects or clothing (that I could distinguish at least). Can't really see why it received an 'R' rating.The spoiler part of this review is this, child of widowed man is killed by careless outsiders. Man seeks out a witch for revenge. Witch uses man's blood to resurrect Pumpkinhead, so Pumpkinhead is linked to the man and the only way to destroy Pumpkinhead is to kill the man. I'd like to have seen more of the witch, and though I like the atmospheric quality generally, Pumpkinhead's graveyard looks like a movie set. Also, to earn that 'R' rating there really should have been some gratuitous nudity.

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.