Pumpkinhead

Name: Pumpkinhead
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Released: October 14, 1988
Duration: 86 min
Rating: 47
Cast: Brian Bremer, Cynthia Bain, Florence Schauffler, George 'Buck' Flower, Jeff East

1988

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 54 Ratings

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8.4

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8.4	User Score Universal acclaim based on 54 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

United Artists | Release Date: October 14, 1988 | R

Starring: Brian Bremer, Cynthia Bain, Florence Schauffler, George 'Buck' Flower, Jeff East, Joel Hoffman, John D'Aquino, Kerry Remsen, Kimberly Ross, Lance Henriksen

Summary: After a tragic accident, a man conjures up a towering, vengeful demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy a group of unsuspecting teenagers.

Director: Stan Winston

Genre(s): Fantasy, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 86 min

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Critic Reviews

The Guardian Paul Howlett

Lance Henriksen's gaunt, anguished features have rarely been put to better use than in this superior horror story...Pumpkinhead would give the Predator nightmares. [23 July 1999]

Scott Tobias

Had Pumpkinhead been made in the silent era, it might now be treated with the reverence granted Nosferatu. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Henriksen is superbly anguished throughout, his pectorals and cheekbones competing for the most exciting on-screen spectacle award. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

It's a by-the-numbers variation on "The Monkey's Paw" coupled with a revenge flick. What makes the film worth seeing is not the story, the production values, or even the work of a truly underappreciated character actors like Henrickson. It's an eight foot tall demon ripping people to spare parts. Read full review

Richard Harrington

Typically hollow and patchy, the script is low par for the course, the acting close behind. Where it's a cut above the rest is in the work of Yugoslavian cinematographer Bojan Bazelli: His outdoor shots, both day and night, are superbly lit and cleanly shot, as if this were an A film. And with Marcus Manton's crisp editing, Pumpkinhead looks three times as good as it is. Read full review

Empire William Thomas

Little atmosphere and no surprises. Read full review

Juan Carlos Cotto

It'll have you wishing the villain was just another maniac with a machete or a chain saw. [30 Jan 1989, p.C6]

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User Reviews

Steven1981

Mar 24, 2020

Ed Harley's (Lance Henriksen) son is killed in an accident involving a motorbike or something so summons this demon monster and resurrects him to take revenge on the group who were responsible for his son's death. Fairly decent horror film that's well made, very dark and entertaining.

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

mbeckford

Oct 17, 2020

80's cult classic by special effects wizard Stand Winston (The Thing, Terminator, Aliens, Iron Man) stands the test of time. A perfect watch for Halloween.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Computey18

Mar 2, 2023

A Great Creature Feature That's about a father getting revenge for his son.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

SMV

Dec 27, 2019

Great 1980s horror flick, scary and campy at nearly the same time. Still a Halloween favorite of mine.

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

HellHoleHorror

Feb 16, 2022

This was very predictable but overall good monster movie with enough shocks and suspense not to disappoint. The pace was a little slow, the story was focused at the beginning and then the story didn’t develop for the rest of the film but the suspense and thrills really did. The ending wasThis was very predictable but overall good monster movie with enough shocks and suspense not to disappoint. The pace was a little slow, the story was focused at the beginning and then the story didn’t develop for the rest of the film but the suspense and thrills really did. The ending was expectedly predictable and tragically too understated. It is worth watching for horror fans especially if they like their monsters big and mean.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

JakesMovieStuff

Jun 15, 2020

"Pumpkinhead" mixes creature feature and slasher horror subgenres rather well. Special effects guru, Stan Winston, directed this film. The effects are pretty good, which should come as little surprise knowing that Stan Winston was involved, but the movie as a whole is not up to par with the"Pumpkinhead" mixes creature feature and slasher horror subgenres rather well. Special effects guru, Stan Winston, directed this film. The effects are pretty good, which should come as little surprise knowing that Stan Winston was involved, but the movie as a whole is not up to par with the effects unfortunately. The story is about Ed Harley, played by Lance Henriksen, who seeks supernatural revenge against a group of teens for accidentally killing his son. Henriksen brings some gravitas to his character, and his acting is the only decent acting in the movie. All of the actors seem to struggle a bit, which is fairly standard for these type of horror films. This movie does diverge from its similar slasher pics by not telling the whole story from the perspective of the teens getting killed, but rather from the perspective of others, namely the person that wants the teens dead. It is a different take and does make this feel a bit more fresh than other slasher-type films. Now, this is also a creature feature to a certain extent, but the titular creature is seen a bit too early and isn't overly scary. It looks like a friendlier Xenomorph really (the similarity between the two should not be surprising since Winston worked on Aliens). The kills aren't very interesting. They are rather mediocre for a film like this. The dialogue is not as campy as I was expecting, so that was a nice surprise. Also, this movie had a creepy vibe to it which is missing from a lot similar movies. It does rely a little too much on noisy jump scares and not enough on building suspense, which it could have done a lot better. At the end of the day, this is a slightly better 80s slasher/creature flick than you might expect, but it is still not great or overly memorable. Overall, I give this movie a 6/10.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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