Pumpkinhead (1988)
Pumpkinhead II:
Bloodwings (1994)
The
1988 cult classic, Pumpkinhead, is
one of those films where a decent story idea carries the entire project. Throw
in a fantastically frightening creature and you can excuse the questionable
acting skills and the obviously staged-looking sets. Directed by special
effects master, Stan Winston (Terminator 1-3, Predator, Aliens… yeah, he knows creatures!)
Pumkinhead created its own lore and wisely stuck to it throughout; creating a
film that was effective in the scares department and just plain thrilling from
beginning to end.
The
premise is simple; Ed Harley (Lance Henriksen) is the local store owner whose
son is hit and killed in a motorcycle accident. The driver of the bike is the
requisite “movie-jerk” that leaves the scene of the crime – with his hysterical
friends in tow. Moments after his son dies in his arms, the grief-stricken
Harley goes down the supernatural path in search of Pumpkinhead - a demon who
could be conjured to seek brutal revenge by someone who has been severely
wronged.
Pumpkinhead’s
keeper is “the scary, old Southern witch lady that kind of looks like a man and
lives in a graveyard”. But she warns Harley that what he is asking “comes with
a powerful price”. We come to learn how powerful a price by the end of the
film. But like any good witch, all you have to do is go to her with your
problems, make your sacrifice and voila – Southern demon justice!
And
justice is certainly doled out in spades!
A
guilty pleasure to be sure but nothing to be embarrassed of as Pumpkinhead is a
solid ‘creature feature’ with one hell of a creature, a few good scares and pure,
revenge-fueled mayhem!
But
proving that you can get too much of a good thing…
Pumpkinhead II:
Bloodwings has
none of the scares or originality of the first film. In fact, it is frustrating
to watch since it decimates everything cool that was established in the first
movie. While there was a six year gap between the two films, trust that the
time was not spent on plot development.
The
worst aspect is the fact that the ‘plot’ is not revealed until three-quarters
of the film is over! So while it seems like the monster is just killing poor
country bumpkins at random, there is an actual reason for the carnage. But by
that point – no one cares. But if you do care, it involves the now popular plot
device where they have to “give the monster a backstory” to explain why he
tears heads from their bodies. No surprise that this fails miserably.
Throw
in bad acting, insipid dialog and the creatures’ beyond silly death scene and you
end up with pure cliché-ridden crap that has caused me to de-evolve mentally.
The
most frightening part of all is that somehow, two further sequels were made!
I
made a promise to myself that I won’t be watching them.
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