Pumpkinhead

Lance Henriksen plays a mighty convincing hillbilly, but unless your reason for watching this is to behold Lance Henriksen playing a mighty convincing hillbilly, you are bound to be sorely disappointed as the scares and kills are few and far between. PROTIP: when the monster in your monster movie is called 'Pumpkinhead,' designing him with a head that is shaped like a pumpkin is a good place to start.

"So then Tom Joad summons a demon after his son is destroyed in a tragic dirtbike accident"

A little guilty pleasure cause it's really not good, but I had a great time. It jumps right into the action and keeps going all the way. Some effective horror is used and Lance Henriksen is awesome. I mean if you like cheesy horror, this might be worth more than a 60.

Not good but surprisingly not terrible. Henriksen is effectively creeptastic. It's pumpkininny!

Don't know why I never watched till now But this is good I don't know who's scarier Pumpkinhead or The Witch ?

Enjoyable enough horror outing indulges in 50s sensibilities in terms of its creature, as well as a comparative lack of tension - this is a campfire story, and if taken in this vein it is modestly enjoyable. Henriksen is always fun to watch (even if his character ultimately feels redundant); the younger cast do little to distinguish themselves, but they're a non-obnoxious bunch. Creature makeup is impressive, but Pumpkinhead's final rampage is weakly delivered, undermining the final impact.

I just wish it were more vicious.

one of the brightest ideas in the history of horror films, hiring a demon to take revenge! the costume is great, the environment is perfect, but: 1- the lack of experience and skill in direction didn't let Pumpkinhead to get what it would have deserved. 2- plot needed more work in order to make it to the top class of horror plots. 3- the film has lost its horrific side through the test of time, and really doesn't get enough frights! that Texas music during chasing scenes :)

Good direction and cinematography, GREAT monster, no boobs, no gore. Overally pretty good horror flick, just too family friendly.

Things happen so fast!

Pumpkinhead stands as one of the scariest monsters ever committed to film, sadly this movie isn't. I just wish that the sequels had been better made, and Lance Henrikson had a bigger role (he's only getting older). I could do with thirty more sequels, if only Pumpkinhead was the scary ass looking puppet that he was in this film.

Average 80s horror, almost feels like a slasher mixed with a monster movie. It has a clear 'Pet Sematary' vibe, although that movie came out a year after this one.

It has originality going for it, and one of the coolest horror creatures maybe ever, but beyond that it's a bland, paint-by-numbers mess. The acting is bad to awful, the pacing & plot feel choppy and rushed, and the characters are as thin as it gets. Ultimately, it's just not very exciting or very fun.

Poor.

The creature's design and the witch's make-up are more successful than the overall movie.I thought it would get wilder.

Watchable

Tame. The critter looks like a cross between Alien, Predator and E.T. Honestly, E.T. is in the mix.

Looks shlockier at first than it is; while not the masterpiece either of those movies are, this is Winston and Henriksen coming right off Terminator, Aliens and Near Dark and trying to bring some of the same weight and drama to the college kids vs rednecks plot. Doesn't quite reach what it aims for, but at least it aims.

Wow for some reason I expected a cutesy pumpkinhead, but this impressive creature looks straight out of Alien. I love the Halloween vibe of this movie. The sound design is terrible though and spoils it in some places.

Pumpkinhead takes the horror movie trope of a group of teens going out to the country to bang, drink, and have a good time in a bit of a different direction. It adds some hillbilly Appalachian style lore on to a story of revenge. I liked this take on the trope because it added just enough for me to want to learn more about Pumpkinhead's origins and how it came to be. I want to learn more about the old lady, his mother. The acting was adequate. Lance Henriksen did some good wild-eyed stuff.

In some hick town, a bunch of city folk accidentally kill a young boy, so his father enlists the help of a local witch woman who summons a demon to exact revenge. Not much in the way of gore, but there's a bunch of creepy hillbillies and some pretty cool monster effects. Short and somewhat predictable, but fun while it lasts. Lance Henriksen looks like a total psycho.

Of course a Stan Winston film would have great special effects, but the characters and plot are by-the-numbers and completely forgettable.

I think the sort of lore behind the spooky thing was spookier and cooler than the thing itself. The link with evil, the way to conjure the thing, and so on. But the creature design was lacking. lot of work on it, but lacking still visually. It was like a mixture of Alien xenomorph and some little smooth-faced grey men aliens

A surprisingly good movie that is much underrated.

Really surprised by this one.

Damn right, Pumpkinhead is the shit. Besides, has Lance Henriksen ever put his name on anything bad? Wait...don't answer that.

Different and I like Lance Henriksen, so above average for a horror.

Lance Henriksen is very good in this surprisingly moral horror film with fine hill country atmosphere.

Lame movie, fantastic creature who needs more recognition in the Horror halls of fame. Could have done with being more violent.

Dire from the log effect fire opening credits to the wooden acting and predictable story line. If you haven't opted for something more interesting (such as picking bits out of a varucca) the monster is quite a star when it arrives but before and after that ... forget it!

B

Nice try, Mr. Winston, but no cigar

Great-looking scary monster, mediocre movie.

Many a childhood nightmare and a perfectly rational fear of pumpkins came from this.

Great special effects!

Pumpkinhead takes awhile to get going and is really just an okay '80s horror movie. There are much better offerings from the '80s.

Quintessential 80s monster movie with a fun mythology and great effects/creature design

Cool looking creature effects and Lance Henricksen are the legit great points. The city folks with their dirt bikes and their bad acting get got in a fun way. I was more entertained than I expected to be.

By-the-numbers creature feature with a shockingly poor monster design, given it's literally a Stan Winston movie.

Even tho its yet another horror movie in the 80;s this one stands out mainly cos of the creature.Borrowed from Aliens(where the director was the fx man),it looks and sounds creepy,realistic and menacing.Combine that with some half gory kills/decent acting and you get a fairly entertaining watch. I can totally imagine some producer going"" need a director for this horror movie, aliens was awesome, lets ask that fx guy stan winston!" amazing how you just float up in hollwood

Lance Henriksen should get more star roles if this is anything to go with, but the rest of the film is not that great, not interesting enough despite its ideas on the dangers of revenge or sufficient enough as a horror film despite the creature effects.

Decent. The monster was real good but the rest of the movie was never much better than just fine. Might have been brought down a bit by my drunk and unfunny friends' commentary

Outside of some excellent creature effects, there's very little memorable about the movie. One or two interesting characters maybe... But it was also surprisingly reserved, with really only one shocking death scene. There's no sexual exploitation, no gore exploitation... Just, again, a vehicle for a really well-crafted creature.

watched: 2016, 2018

Despite the usual 80s horror movie cliches - horny teens, each more annoying than the last - this one has a certain pathos and a fine central performance from Lance Henriksen.

2022'de #IzlediğimFilmler ; 131. Pumpkinhead (1988) Lance Henriksen yine döktürmüş, CGI'sız pratik efektleri göz kamaştırıyor. Canım 80'ler :)

55.250

A wonderfully atmospheric supernatural horror film that also manages to be an upsetting, thought-provoking look at revenge and its potential repercussions. The characters are surprisingly compelling, the performances are strong and the titular monster is unforgettable.

I expected something entirely different from the title, but Henriksen always is entertaining.

Good at mystery, bad at slasher. Underuses Henriksen, overuses the silly monster.

More like "Shithead," amirite?

Garbage

This movie holds a special place in my heart. Special Effects/Atmosphere/Lore/Lance Henriksen all top of their game.

Immensely entertaining and silly. The creature is like a cross between Alien and a velociraptor. Loved it. I felt like I was 13 again and had stayed up past my bedtime to catch this on tv without my parents' knowing.