Let's Discuss This Classic...

[EVILxxx]

pumpkinhead. ive read overtime that the people on this board absolutely love this film or dont see what the big deal is about it. ill start off by saying that it is one of my favorites. first off we get a great story. its not incredibly mind bogglingly intricate but it works great and is pretty original. then we get the characters. ed Harley is probably one of the most sympathetic characters in horror. minor spoilers. i mean this is a guy who you pretty much already like becasue hes played by lance henriksen but he is incredibly developed. his wife has died and the only thing he has left is his son. his son means the world to him but is suddenly taken away from him. at first all he wants is revenge even though hes not even sure if he wants that. the emotional swings ed goes through is dramatic and played well. then we get the teens. but guess what... these teens are not the center of the movie, their not having sex every chance they get, and the are played well. what a change. they act like real people and we definetly feel for these poor bastards. pumpkinhead himself is great as well. this thing has personality by the bowl full. he smirks at his soon to be dead victims and he lets them live alittle before dispatching them. i mean hes not just some slobering beasts whos on a killing rampage. so with that being said give your imput. what takes away from this film. or what else makes it great?

[countchocula]

I guess that you can infer from my avatar that I'm a big fan of Pumpkinhead. A stylish, emotional, and intelligent monster movie. Those adjectives aren't usually associated with monster movies, which only sweetens the pot. Quality horror from start to finish.

[radikill]

*raises hand when EVILxxx mentions those who "dont see what the big deal is about it"*

[Elgyn]

I thought the creature was awesome, and the plot was even somewhat interesting (though thin), but something about this movie seemed so by-the-numbers, or "been there, done that" if you will. I felt like I had already seen the movie before.
So my final anaylsis: great creature design, generic movie.

[frogmonkey]

granted, the teens being chased by a scary thing in the woods is hackneyed but I really dug the "price of vengeance" angle also the cgharacters were much more fleshed out than usual and that makes a hell of a lot of a difference.

[The Claw]

Originally posted by radikill
*raises hand when EVILxxx mentions those who "dont see what the big deal is about it"*

i've got to agree. it's not that good, I havent seen it since I was like 8 but i remember it being rather dull and unintresting.

I did like the sequel however.

[Jason13thh]

I own it and for an american horror movie I can say that the photography is really good.
There is a lot of blue and red.
The red color is used when Pumpkinhead kills because Lance Henriksen is a part of it.
I was really sad for the poor kid who dies at the beginning but he had to die otherwise no story.

[Jewbo]

i still never seen it. i really want to tho and i think ill like it.

[EVILxxx]

i think what i most like about this movie is the fact that it has class. i mean when was the last time you watched a horror..... no let me rephrase that. when was the last time you watched a monster movie that had class? it was probably a pretty old one becasue i cant think of any, any that were in color anyway. also i like how this movie took its own path rather than follow the "muder by numbers" scheme that most horror flicks succumb to. plus i liked that fact that the monster was used to compliment the story rather than become the center of it (like the sequel). none of the deaths are outrageous and there is no obligitory nudity that is needed for this gem. just goes to show that its not needed as long as we get characters, a story, and one kickass monster.

[the night watchman]

I like this movie a lot too, and for the same reason EVILxxx listed. It has a strong storyline, not to be confused with plot, which horror movies don't always need in great excess (think "The Birds," "Alien," and so help me, "Signs"), well-developed characters, and of course and totally kick-as monster. I also appreciate the characters' initial reaction to the situation they find themselves in -- disbelief and panic. I mean, a frickin' demon is after them!

Oh, and monster movies with class (in color):

Alien/Aliens
John Carpenter's The Thing
From Beyond
Jaws
The Birds
Jurassic Park
The Howling/An American Werewolf in London/Ginger Snaps
Quatermass and the Pit
Q
Gremlins
At the Mountains of Madness (when del Toro gets around to making it)
Phantoms (but only because Ben Affleck was the fuckin' BOMB in Phantoms :p)

[bowieee]

[i]
Phantoms (but only because Ben Affleck was the fuckin' BOMB in Phantoms :p) [/B]

:D

[The Delfonics]

The only thing about Pumpkinhead that bothers me is that its suppose to be semi-serious in terms of the emotion of the father. However I think that is so lame how some dumb kid ran in front of a couple of guys who were on bikes and he gets killed. Then the father gets all pissed. They even tried to save him!

[the night watchman]

Ummm... I simply have no response to that.

[crotalus]

I like the movie, definitely worth a rental fee. I tend to like movies about "getting even", and this one fits.

[EVILxxx]

Originally posted by The Delfonics
The only thing about Pumpkinhead that bothers me is that its suppose to be semi-serious in terms of the emotion of the father. However I think that is so lame how some dumb kid ran in front of a couple of guys who were on bikes and he gets killed. Then the father gets all pissed. They even tried to save him!

i think that the father was just so enraged that he had nothing left. his son is dead and thats al that he had. he needed somene to blame. some where to focus his rage. he found it in the teens. and if he could get revenge on him it might put him at peace. but this is only my opinion.

[countchocula]

MINOR SPOILERS

Plus, the twentysomethings weren't so innocent from Ed's perspective. When he arrived, they had all left except for one guy. And Ed didn't care to hear any of his excuses. His fueled emotions were perfectly understandable.

[Dude]

One of the BEST of the monstor movies. 7.5/10

[Quiver]

I have loved this movie for such a long time! The creature effects were awesome, and IMO, it had a very credible story backing it up. Lance Heinrickson played his character very well, and I could feel for him, since if the same thing had happened to one of my kids, I'd definitley look for some Pumpkinhead type revenge!!!

Too bad the sequel crapped out. I was hoping for Ol' Pumpkin-puss to become a major player in the horror genre

[rikimaru187]

I only ever saw this movie once and I wasn't too impressed. I thought it was very poorly directed and the acting was awful. Great special effects but otherwise a shitty horror flick. Wouldn't make my Top 100 List.