A few months back, I wrote admiringly of Pumpkinhead, a 1999 horror movie staring the great Lance Henriksen. This quick summary of the film is from the Internet Movie Database:
A man conjures up a gigantic vengeance demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy the teenagers who accidentally killed his son.
Since then, I’ve watched three direct-to-video Pumpkinhead sequels: Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1994), Pumpkinhead 3: Ashes to Ashes (2006) and, just this past week, Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud (2007). The latter two were filmed back to back.
The only thing Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings has in common with the other three films is a creature seeking vengeance and an old witch who brings it to life. Here’s the IMDB summary:
Thrill-seeking teenagers resurrect a demon from his grave and a bloody rampage for revenge begins.
I reviewed Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings earlier this month. Because I’ll be discussing plot elements of the other two films, you should assume there are
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SPOILERS AHEAD
A man conjures up a gigantic vengeance demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy the teenagers who accidentally killed his son.
Since then, I’ve watched three direct-to-video Pumpkinhead sequels: Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1994), Pumpkinhead 3: Ashes to Ashes (2006) and, just this past week, Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud (2007). The latter two were filmed back to back.
The only thing Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings has in common with the other three films is a creature seeking vengeance and an old witch who brings it to life. Here’s the IMDB summary:
Thrill-seeking teenagers resurrect a demon from his grave and a bloody rampage for revenge begins.
I reviewed Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings earlier this month. Because I’ll be discussing plot elements of the other two films, you should assume there are
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
Lance Henriksen is in both movies as a ghostly Ed Harley, cursed to forever roam these backwoods, a spirit trapped between Heaven and Hell, never to see his departed son again. Between these two films, we get an actual Pumpkinhead mythology. Those who summon the demon pay an eternal price, those targeted by the demon have, at least, a chance to save their souls.
Once summoned, Pumpkinhead will kill those he was summoned to kill and anyone who gets between him and those he was summoned to kill. It makes no distinction between the two groups.
Though the blind old witch is the gatekeeper between our world and that of Pumpkinhead, she cannot - for unexplained reasons - prevent those seeking revenge from following the same sad path as Ed Harley did. And, once the demon has been summoned and linked to the person seeking vengeance, only that person can stop it.
These are concepts worth exploring further. A reboot of the series is said to be in the works and, if that’s truly the case, I hope it makes use of these elements.
Moving on to Pumpkinhead 3: Ashes to Ashes, here’s the full summary from the IMDb:
A small backwoods community has discovered that the local mortician has been cutting corners by dumping the bodies of their loved ones in a nearby swamp as opposed to cremating them as promised. Infuriated by the horrific desecration endured by the dearly departed, the residents of the town seek out a local witch with the power to resurrect the demon of vengeance. As the demon Pumpkinhead rises to claim the lives of all who took part in the abominable scheme, the eccentric town physician who masterminded an illegal organ donor business makes it his mission to murder any and all who played a part in unleashing the murderous monster.
Doug Bradley is excellent as the sinister Doc Fraser. No one in the town realizes what he’s up to until it’s too late. Ioana Ginghina is just as good as one of the townspeople who summoned Pumpkinhead, only to regret what she has done. Douglas Roberts is interesting as Bunt Wallace, the now-grown kid who led Ed Harley to the old witch in the first movie and who now works for mortician and the doctor. Bunt cowers before his bosses. But he also tries to do the right thing, even knowing he’s on Pumpkinhead’s list. Beyond these three, the action ranges from adequate to not-quite-awful.
The Pumpkinhead suit is pretty much the same one as in the second movie. It looks like a costume. I’m hoping any reboot restores the realistic spookiness of the original design.
I can’t say I loved this movie. It had fine moments, but it dragged in places as well. The dragging is something that also afflicts the next and (to date) final movie in the series. Here’s how IMDb summarizes Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud:
In a Virginia forest village, true love between Ricky McCoy and Jodie Hatfield is sabotaged by their families' long-standing bitter feud. Despite sheriff Dallas Pope's grim warning, actually from bitter experience, it will only eat up his soul, Ricky resorts to vengeance on all standing in his way by appealing to pumpkin-head, a magical forester monster, who unleashes ever greater horror.
I’d have nothing but positive remarks about this movie if it were not for the Hatfield-McCoy stuff. Using the names of the legendary feuding families made Pumpkinhead 4 dated and exploitative. Where the other movies all at least recognized the presence of the modern world outside the back woods, this one was so insular that its setting never rang true.
Henriksen is great as Ed Harley. His cautionary spirit works much better in this movie than in the previous one. Lynne Verrall is on point as the blind old witch and makes the most of her refined role in the Pumpkinhead mythology. Ron Freeman is very good as a sheriff carrying an ancient burden. That’s pretty much it for the acting.
I want to like this movie more than I do. I love the expansions of the Pumpkinhead world. But the dumb stuff is dumb, the killings are by the numbers and the ending is merely a variation on the endings of the first and third movies.
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
I’m looking forward to a Pumpkinhead reboot. I think there’s much to be done with this franchise. And, as I’ve said elsewhere, if any publisher lands the comic-book rights to the series, I’m the writer they should call first. I could write the hell out of Pumpkinhead. Well, maybe not the hell per se, that being such an important part of the story and all, but I could definitely bring some real scary stuff to the party.
I’ll be back soon with more stuff.
© 2015 Tony Isabella
Once summoned, Pumpkinhead will kill those he was summoned to kill and anyone who gets between him and those he was summoned to kill. It makes no distinction between the two groups.
Though the blind old witch is the gatekeeper between our world and that of Pumpkinhead, she cannot - for unexplained reasons - prevent those seeking revenge from following the same sad path as Ed Harley did. And, once the demon has been summoned and linked to the person seeking vengeance, only that person can stop it.
These are concepts worth exploring further. A reboot of the series is said to be in the works and, if that’s truly the case, I hope it makes use of these elements.
Moving on to Pumpkinhead 3: Ashes to Ashes, here’s the full summary from the IMDb:
A small backwoods community has discovered that the local mortician has been cutting corners by dumping the bodies of their loved ones in a nearby swamp as opposed to cremating them as promised. Infuriated by the horrific desecration endured by the dearly departed, the residents of the town seek out a local witch with the power to resurrect the demon of vengeance. As the demon Pumpkinhead rises to claim the lives of all who took part in the abominable scheme, the eccentric town physician who masterminded an illegal organ donor business makes it his mission to murder any and all who played a part in unleashing the murderous monster.
Doug Bradley is excellent as the sinister Doc Fraser. No one in the town realizes what he’s up to until it’s too late. Ioana Ginghina is just as good as one of the townspeople who summoned Pumpkinhead, only to regret what she has done. Douglas Roberts is interesting as Bunt Wallace, the now-grown kid who led Ed Harley to the old witch in the first movie and who now works for mortician and the doctor. Bunt cowers before his bosses. But he also tries to do the right thing, even knowing he’s on Pumpkinhead’s list. Beyond these three, the action ranges from adequate to not-quite-awful.
The Pumpkinhead suit is pretty much the same one as in the second movie. It looks like a costume. I’m hoping any reboot restores the realistic spookiness of the original design.
I can’t say I loved this movie. It had fine moments, but it dragged in places as well. The dragging is something that also afflicts the next and (to date) final movie in the series. Here’s how IMDb summarizes Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud:
In a Virginia forest village, true love between Ricky McCoy and Jodie Hatfield is sabotaged by their families' long-standing bitter feud. Despite sheriff Dallas Pope's grim warning, actually from bitter experience, it will only eat up his soul, Ricky resorts to vengeance on all standing in his way by appealing to pumpkin-head, a magical forester monster, who unleashes ever greater horror.
I’d have nothing but positive remarks about this movie if it were not for the Hatfield-McCoy stuff. Using the names of the legendary feuding families made Pumpkinhead 4 dated and exploitative. Where the other movies all at least recognized the presence of the modern world outside the back woods, this one was so insular that its setting never rang true.
Henriksen is great as Ed Harley. His cautionary spirit works much better in this movie than in the previous one. Lynne Verrall is on point as the blind old witch and makes the most of her refined role in the Pumpkinhead mythology. Ron Freeman is very good as a sheriff carrying an ancient burden. That’s pretty much it for the acting.
I want to like this movie more than I do. I love the expansions of the Pumpkinhead world. But the dumb stuff is dumb, the killings are by the numbers and the ending is merely a variation on the endings of the first and third movies.
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
I’m looking forward to a Pumpkinhead reboot. I think there’s much to be done with this franchise. And, as I’ve said elsewhere, if any publisher lands the comic-book rights to the series, I’m the writer they should call first. I could write the hell out of Pumpkinhead. Well, maybe not the hell per se, that being such an important part of the story and all, but I could definitely bring some real scary stuff to the party.
I’ll be back soon with more stuff.
© 2015 Tony Isabella
nice review tony for pumpkin head is one of those underrated horror films plus also to me one of those guilty pleasures films too that you don't want to admit you watch. and hope the reboot does not wind up wrecking the character.
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