“Keep away from Pumpkinhead,
Unless you’re tired of living,
His enemies are mostly dead,
He’s mean and unforgiving,
Bolted doors and windows barred,
Guard dogs prowling in the yard,
Won’t protect you in your bed,
Nothing will, from Pumpkinhead.”
The above poem was written by Ed Justin for the movie and nicely sums up the Pumpkinhead story, even though the actual name ‘Pumpkinhead’ is a very un-creepy name for a very creepy monster. It’s kind of like calling Nosferatu ‘Geraldine’, or Freddy Krueger ‘Annie’.
The films theme is simple enough; revenge. So it gets my good vote right away.
I’m all in for that eye for an eye shit, but maybe being thrown 100 feet from atop a giant tree onto the rocks below because your prick of a boyfriend accidentally killed a kid with his motorbike is a bit overkill? No?
I agree, gut the lot of them I say, even just for their taste in clothes they deserve to die.
Lance Henrikson (Aliens) stars as a grief stricken father who calls upon the demon of vengeance to slay a group of city-slicker teenagers after one of them accidentally kills his boy while off-road biking near his garage. He’s then mortified and guilt-ridden when he’s forced to watch the vengeance played out in his own head as the demon dispatches his victims one-by-one.
What the fuck was he expecting an eight foot, spindly, unstoppable vengeance demon to do? Slap the teens around a little and steal their money? Go ‘booga booga booga’ and blow raspberries at them until they go home? Hold them down and piss on their faces? Of course it’s going to kill them! I’m pretty sure that’s part of the vengeance demon’s job description…that and the pissing thing.
The film’s got some great moments and has a creepiness to it that surpasses most other monster movies in the same vein. This is in thanks mostly to Stan Winston’s effective camera work, and the way the monster is kept shrouded in shadow and darkness throughout most of the film.
We also can’t forget Lance Henrikson’s excellent portrayal of the father (damn near brought a tear to my eye at the beginning), who realizes all too late the error of his vengeance-crazy ways. Watch out for the look he throws at the biker kid who stayed behind to look after his child’s body - you’ll know the look I’m talking about when you see it, trust me. It frightened me more than the vengeance demon did for fucksake…
Overall I think this is a great little horror movie that if you haven’t seen already, you really should; even if it’s just to take a peek at one of the most classic, creepy movie monsters of our generation.
OFFICIAL REVIEW
The locals of a small town believe that a demon exists for each of man’s evils. When a young boy is accidentally killed by a group of bikers a revenge attack is called upon by the lad’s grief stricken father. His punishment however is to witness each of the demons vicious attacks in person…
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This post is tagged accidental death, creepy, demon, graveyard, lance henriksen, Monster, revenge
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