Pumpkinhead (1988) Review

For each of man's evils a special demon exists...

Pumpkinhead encompasses everything that was awesome about 80's horror . It's a classic creature feature packaged up with loads of atmosphere, fun characters and a fantastically eerie score. The use of strong colors and lighting help to set the mood from the start and there's never really a dull moment throughout the 86 minute runtime.

The movie starts off in 1957 and follows a kid who sees the mythical Pumpkinhead tear some poor bastard a new one. The poor bastard apparently hurt a young girl, although he claimed innocence. Of course Pumpkinhead didn't care, he's a demon who gets conjured up to seek revenge on people who have hurt others, so he had a job to do. Fast-forward to the present day, 1988, and that kid is all grown up raising a kid of his own. He's a single dad raising his son out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. He runs an old gas station for a living, which is where he crosses paths with a group of teens who will eventually find themselves the new target of Pumpkinhead.

Pumpkinhead follows a similar storyline as Pet Sematary, where a distraught dad turns to black magic to resurrect his dead son. Only in Pumpkinhead there's no resurrection, instead black magic is used for revenge. And of course, as expected, no deal with the devil is ever a straightforward one. There's a major catch that's a bit too much for our vengeful dad to handle.

This movie is amazing in so many ways, but it's especially good at building tension. There's far more tension than suspense, which is actually unusual for a creature feature. Of course, Pumpkinhead also benefits from a supernatural angle which lends itself well to tension building. Pumpkinhead has a great cast, an engaging story and is an overall fun ride. It's one of those classics of 80's horror that I've watched before and will definitely be watching again.

Worth Watching?