Pumpkinhead

"A grim fairy tale."

1988 1h 26m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 572

FantasyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a group of teenagers inadvertently kill his only son, Ed Harley seeks the powers of a backwoods witch to bring the child back to life.

“A grim fairy tale.”

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Cast

Lance Henriksen
Ed Harley
Jeff East
Chris
John D'Aquino
Joel
Cynthia Bain
Tracy
Kerry Remsen
Maggie
Joel Hoffman
Steve
Kimberly Ross
Kim
Florence Schauffler
Haggis

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stan Winston
Writers: Mark Patrick Carducci, Stan Winston, Richard Weinman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Pumpkinhead Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Directed by Stan Winston, shot by Bojan Bazelli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Stone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Marcus Manton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lance Henriksen and Jeff East and John D'Aquino carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stan Winston directs. Bojan Bazelli behind the camera. Richard Stone scores. Marcus Manton cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
338 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Pumpkinhead Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Stan Winston, shot by Bojan Bazelli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Richard Stone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Marcus Manton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Lance Henriksen and Jeff East and John D'Aquino carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A grim fairy tale.".
10IMDB entry: tt0095925 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "witch", "loss of loved one", "halloween", "pumpkin".
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Bojan Bazelli
Original score: Richard Stone
Editing: Marcus Manton
Production design: Cynthia Kay Charette
Costume design: Leslie Peters Ballard
Makeup / hair: Tom Woodruff Jr.
Stunt coordinator: Dick Warlock
Runtime: 86 min · 1h 26m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,500,000
Box office: $4,400,000
Return: 126% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Pumpkinhead (1988)

Part of

Pumpkinhead Collection

Pumpkinhead is a 1988 American dark fantasy horror film about a vengeance demon. It was the directorial debut of special effects artist Stan Winston. The film has built up a cult following in the years since its release. The first in the Pumpkinhead franchise, a sequel, entitled Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, went straight to video in 1994 directed by Jeff Burr. Two additional sequels, titled Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes and Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud, were filmed in 2006 as made for television movies and aired on Syfy. Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes aired in October 2006, and Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud aired on February 10, 2007. There is rumors of a reboot.

Also by

Stan Winston

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2017-11-08
★ 6/10
SFX guru Stan Winston helms this movie, and it is the special effects of Pumpkinhead that most stand out. For those alone, it is worth watching, however, it never reached the heights of horror franchises born of the same era. Still, a shining example of fantasy horror that I was thrilled to revisit. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
Filipe Manuel Neto2022-06-18
★ 5/10
An honest, committed and well-made low-budget film that delivers what it promises and doesn't leave us dissatisfied. I just saw this movie, which is currently considered a cult classic and an example of what you want from a low-budget movie. In fact, I understand the motivations of those who say this: the film is not good, it is not one of those films that I feel I will want to review a lot, however it is effective and gives us what it promises, in an honest way. The script also has its originality, although it is scarce and only sustains a feature film thanks to the ability of the director, the "newbie" Stan Winston, to stretch it, albeit at the expense of a slower pace, which he tried to take advantage of to create Suspense: Set in an isolated rural area, the film is an insane revenge story, in which a man decides to turn to an evil witch after having his young son killed in an accident by a group of unconscious teenagers. The actors are, for me, illustrious strangers. However, I really liked the performance of Lance Henrikssen, who is the only actor here to maintain a dramatic posture, to have charisma and to develop a more professional and mature work. In addition to giving life to the anguished father, he also gave life and body to the monster, who is the true protagonist of this film. The film also has several other actors, most of them quite young and with little experience. On a technical level, I would like to highlight, first of all, the painstaking and time-consuming work of characterizing Henrikssen whenever he brought the monster to life. I can only imagine all the time spent each time the actor had to masquerade like that, and that disguise was excellent in itself, truly frightening and detailed. The filming work and cinematography seemed to be regular, the sets were well executed and the visual, special and sound effects are well done, especially considering the reduced budget of the production. The soundtrack also proved to be effective, albeit forgettable.