Pumpkinhead

1988 Directed by Stan Winston

For each of man's evils a special demon exists...

A man conjures up a gigantic vengeance demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy the teenagers who accidentally killed his son.

Lance Henriksen Jeff East John D'Aquino Cynthia Bain Kerry Remsen Lee de Broux Peggy Walton-Walker Chance Michael Corbitt Dick Warlock Devon Odessa Mayim Bialik Tom Woodruff Jr. George Buck Flower Kimberly Ross Joel Hoffman Florence Schauffler Brian Bremer Matthew Hurley Joseph Piro Jandi Swanson Robert Fredrickson Greg Michaels Madeleine Taylor Holmes Mary Boessow

Alternative Titles

Held der Gnome, Vengeance: The Demon, Pacto de Sangre, Pacto del demonio

horror fantasy

86 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Hollie Horror ★★★★ 13

Pumpkinhead is the directorial debut of the late FX-guru Stan Winston, setting the precedent for other FX-artists to follow suit, with Tom Savini firmly placing himself in the director's chair on the remake of Night of the Living Dead in 1990 (although, Savini did have a bit more experience directing as he did a few television episodes of Tales from the Darkside before NOTLD '90, which was his feature film).
Both films set themselves apart in the fact that everything else in the film takes a backseat to the love and care applied to the special effects.
Besides the obviously amazing creature effects (one of the most arresting scenes had the vengeance demon perched at the top of a tree),…
Review by Ian West ★★★★½ 10

American rural folk jam taking place in nowheresville USA completely shrouded in atmos of the highest order courtesy of thick fog and the glimmering beautiful colors seeping through it—making the setting seem like some backwoods nightmare that’s completely shut off from the rest of the world.
Steeped in dust on the Harley Homestead, an overgrown with plant life shanty house with skulls/owls/rodents owned by an old witch, Buck Flower, the incredible animatronics and creature design of our dark magik vengeance beast who lays in wait in a pumpkin graveyard, and Lance as Ed Harley—giving it all he’s got in a damn fine/touching story of revenge and it’s intertwined consequences. I wish Stan Winston directed more movies because seeing Pumpkinhead illuminated…
Review by Eli Hayes ★★★★ 9

Hoop-Tober 2.0, Film 30 of 31:
guys are you proud of me I watched this movie when I was like nine at my grandparents house because I randomly turned on the SyFy channel and it was on and it literally haunted my dreams for at least four years afterward I kept having this reoccurring nightmare that Pumpkinhead was chasing me down my block and my legs felt like they were wading through tar and Pumpkinhead kept getting closer and closer and anyway I re-watched it tonight for the first time in over a decade and managed not to soil myself are you proud of me
Review by Biscoito18 ★★★★ 8

*Part of HOOPT🎃BER 5.0: “You don’t believe in the Boogeyman? You should.” challenge.
2/33
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"PUMPKINHEAD" looks like a dark fairy tale, which, for my surprise, doesn't happen during Halloween.
During most time, a thick atmosphere engulfs the characters either with constant gales, thunders, heavy fog or indirect lighting forming beautiful godrays in an endless twilight, creating a claustrophobic feeling, as if it were isolated from the rest of the world.
I also liked Lance Henriksen's commitment to the character, Ed Harley, a simple, hard-working man who raised his young son by himself. This little boy and his dog called Gypsy (played by a dog actor called Mushroom, cited in the credits, that also played Barney in "Gremlins") are the…
Review by Coolnilk ★★★★

Solid film about revenge with top notch practical effects on Pumpkinhead himself. I liked the struggle with Lance Henriksen's character and how he wanted to avenge his son's death from some ruthless teenagers who innocently killed his boy and he did that by going over to a witch letting a demon onto himself. It really took a toll on him once the demon Pumpkinhead begins killing those teenagers and taking over Ed's body throughout the film.
The teenagers themselves could've been fleshed out more, but I was glad that some of the likable teenagers from the group survived in the end. The atmosphere here was also impressive especially how the moon shines light onto the woods themselves. Kind of wished…
Review by matt lynch ★★★½ 3

if this is anything, it's gorgeous. what truly lovely photography...golden candlelit backwoods cabins, steel blue nighttime wilderness, captured either in long, fluid crane shots or backlit, smoky tableaux. not to mention the really staggering creature effects (unsurprising given Stan Winston at the helm, but still). and unlike other supernatural revenge horror this strangely doesn't take glee in having a monster wipe out a bunch of teenagers. the deaths here have weight, and everyone is a victim of impulse and anger.

Recent reviews

Review by Rocky Lascio ★★★

A child killed on screen? I'm in.
Review by Alex Munoz

When I was like 12 and was staying home from school sick I saw the title when flipping channels and thought "well, keep that in mind for later" and my whole review is "Well, I've seen it now"
Review by Jace ★★★½

very few actual pumpkins in this one
Review by Cinema Explosion! ★★½

www.metacritic.com/movie/pumpkinhead
Review by franticville ★★★½

I finally checked out this minor classic again and was surprised how well it stood the test of time. Stan Winston was not only a creature effects master, but obviously also capable of directing a decent movie. "Pumpkinhead" still looks great and has some eerie, very atmospheric scenes in it, that make it stand out of the 80s monster crowd. Hopefully someone releases this on Blu-ray in Europe soon!
Review by Joe Lambley ★★★½

I really like this movie, I honestly think it is a must watch. The special effects in this are incredible which isn't too surprising as the legend that is Stan Winston did the effects and directed this movie. Honestly if you haven't seen this movie give it a watch. I think they could do a good remake out of this movie as well with the right director and as long as the effects are practical.
Review by James Milstead ★★★

PUMPKINHEAD (aka VENGEANCE THE DEMON) (18)
D: Stan Winston
United Artists (Howard Smith & Richard C. Weinman)
US 1988
86 mins

Horror

W: Mark Patrick Carducci & Gary Gerani
DP: Bojan Bazelli
Ed: Marcus Manton
Mus: Richard Stone

Lance Henriksen (Ed Harley), Jeff East (Chris), John D'Aquino (Joel), Kimberly Ross (Kim), Kerry Remsen (Maggie)

Visual effects designer Stan Winston, better known for his creations for The Terminator & Predator, turns his focus to directing for this revenge tale creature feature.
Following the death of his son, a farmer summons a demon to kill those responsible. An act which has a greater price than he bargained for.
The first-time director creates an effectively chilling atmosphere, whilst the creature design and visual effects are of the standard you'd expect from Winston himself.
A very underrated piece of horror cinema.
6/10
Review by Udo Fischer ★★★½

Pumpkinhead bietet eine schön klassische, kleine Gruselgeschichte, die mit viel Herzblut und, wenn man von den Effekten und der Ausstattung absieht, wenig Talent umgesetzt wurde.
Stan Winston ist ein großer Effektkünstler, aber wenn es um Regie geht, ist da noch Luft nach oben. Die Kameraarbeit ist durchschnittlich, der Schnitt teilweise ziemlich furchtbar und die Musik anstrengend bis nervtötend. Dennoch bietet die Geschichte viel interessantes und nimmt einen mit. Vor allem auf emotionaler Ebene ist das Skript erstaunlich effektiv. Die schwülstig nebelverhangenen Bilder und die schicke Ausstattung haben ebenfalls ihren Charme und tragen zu guter und kurzweiliger Unterhaltung bei.
So ist der Film zwar technisch nicht unbedingt einwandfrei umgesetzt, bietet durch die gelungene Geschichte und das tolle Monster aber viel Liebenswertes, was einer Sichtung wert ist. Darüber hinaus ist Lance Henriksen natürlich wie immer über jeden Zweifel erhaben.
Ich lande schlussendlich (nach einer Nacht drüber schlafen, in der der Film noch einmal zugelegt hat) bei 7/10.
Review by Carl ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Major props to Lance Henriksen for this. He's absolutely fantastic in this movie and the relationship with his son is incredibly well drawn and tender. A scene of them washing their hands is particularly touching. This serves perfectly to allow what ensues following his son's tragic death to be completely believeable and in character.
Equal praise for the creature design is also a must. With the titular monster being fantastically realised and boasting a genuinely original design.
Some of the supporting cast feel a bit like caricatures but they help establish the world and tone of the film in short order.
A fantastic film with it's own intriguing lore and backstory. Which is probably fleshed out and handled well in the three sequels..... who am I kidding?