Pumpkinhead might not be most well made horror movie coming out of the ‘80s but it has gathered somewhat of a cult following and there are some things to be admired from the late and great creature creator Stan Winston marking his directorial debut, one of only two feature films.
Pumpkinhead: Collector’s Edition
(1988)
Genre(s): Horror
Shout Factory | R – 96 min. – $29.93 | September 9, 2014
 |
MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Stan Winston Writer(s): Ed Justin (poem); Mark Patrick Carducci and Stan Winson & Richard C. Winman (story), Mark Patrick Carducci and Gary Gerani (screenplay) Cast: Lance Henriksen, John DiAquino, Kerry Remsen DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) |
PLOT SUMMARY
When a group of teenagers inadvertently kill his only son, Ed Harley (LANCE HENRIKSEN) seeks the powers of a backwoods witch to bring the child back to life. But instead, she invokes “the pumpkinhead” — a monstrously clawed demon which, once reborn, answers only to Ed’s bloodlust. But as the creature wreaks it’s slow, unspeakable tortures on the teens, Ed confronts a horrifying secret about his connection to the beast — and realizes that he must find a way to stop its deadly mission before he becomes one with the creature forever.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.5/5
This release comes with a matted slip cover. The inner cover is reversible with the front being the original poster artwork.
Audio Commentary – Co-Screenwriter Gary Gerani and Creature & FX Creators Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis, with filmmaker Scott Spiegel (director of From Dusk Til Dawn 2 and Hostel: Part 3) moderating, sit down for a lively track looking back on the movie, providing some anecdotal stories and a rundown on various topics within their wheelhouse.
Pumpkinhead Unearthed (1:03:59) is a newly made and extensive retrospective documentary following the genesis of the film and features new interviews with co-screenwriter Gary Gerani, producer Billy Blake, actors Lance Henriksen (Ed Harley), Cynthia Bain (Tracy), Kerry Remsen (Maggie), Brian Bremer (Bunt) and Florence Schauffler (Haggis) amongst others and also has behind-the-scenes footage and photos.
Behind the Scenes (7:11) – This short featurette offers some rare BTS footage including tests with the Pumpkinhead monster.
Night of the Demon (16:29) is a new, and lengthy, interview with producer Richard Weinman.
The Redemption of Joel (14:02) – Actor John D’Aquino chats about his time working on the film as the main d-bag who killed the kid.
The Boy with the Glasses (14:30) – Yep, even the kid who was killed, Matthew Hurley, gets a set of interview footage.
Demonic Toys (4:50) looks at sculpting of the iconic monster made as collectable figurines.
Remembering the Monster Kid (49:11) is a tribute to the late Stan Winston and what he brought as a director to Pumpkinhead.
Also included are a Still Gallery and the Theatrical Trailer (1:32).
VIDEO – 3.5/5
Pumpkinhead is called upon and unleashed onto Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a mostly notable 1080p high-definition transfer. First, the orange and blue hues standout so well but never appearing blown out and while detail levels aren’t bad, there is a heavy dose of noise especially in the darker scenes. That being said, it looks clean enough with only some minor specs here and there and considering what must’ve been a low budget flick in the late 1980s, it looks pretty darn good.
AUDIO – 3.0/5
The lossless audio doesn’t fair quite as well. First, we do get the option of a 2.0 and 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio tracks so purists can have the stereo track while some others might prefer something with a tad more depth, though it seems to only spread the audio out rather than provide anything substantial. Now, although the creature sound effects comes through rather nicely, I did find the dialogue levels to be too quiet to the point I needed to turn up the volume to even understand what was being said.
OVERALL – 3.25/5
Overall, Pumpkinhead might not be most well made horror movie coming out of the ‘80s but it has gathered somewhat of a cult following and there are some things to be admired from the late and great creature creator Stan Winston marking his directorial debut, one of only two feature films. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory, under their Scream Factory line, offers adequate to good audio and video transfers but the highlight is a fine selection of bonus material.
Published: 08/27/2014
pumpkinhead is a great movie.