Aidan and I were huge fans of the Misfits album Famous Monsters, even if it was about 5 years after it was released. There are many great punk/metal tunes on this record regardless of what Danzig devotees will say. It's a fact that I'm no real fan of either Glenn Danzig or Michale Graves' personalities, so I've no skin in this game. One of the album's more memorable tunes is Pumpkinhead, inspired by the Stan Winston film of the same name, with lyrics pulled straight from the legendary poem that was the spark for the film itself.
Aidan and I would frequent an exchange, Vanguard Video, a nostalgia store that specialized in used DVDs, for sale and rental. This was back in the mid oughts, and sitting on one of the shelves was the disc pictured up top. Being that myself and Aidan (who still shops there, it's still standing.) were also fans of the star of the film, legendary actor Lance Henriksen, we picked up the disc without thinking. And we never regretted it.
It became a favorite of both of ours, and it was a movie we pulled out every September and usually watched at least once throughout Spooky Season. Pumpkinhead, for Aidan and I, felt every bit as much like Halloween as candy corn, creepy masks, the fall bite in the air, scarecrows and corn mazes.
Pumpkinhead was unique unto itself, a fairy-tale styled legend of loss, retribution, witchery and demons. It's directed by Stan Winston, special effects wizard that we lost way too soon who was responsible for masterful effects like those in Jurassic Park, The Terminator films, and Edward Scissorhands, among many others.
This may be the only film Winston directed (leaving the bulk of the effects work to his proteges, Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr.) but you wouldn't know it. There are some beautiful shots, excellent pacing, and reasonable acting, besides that of Henriksen whose brilliant performance can be both frightening and heartbreaking in this film. Much like George Clooney and Michael Caine, he possesses the ability to show dramatic emotional shifts using only his eyes. If you think that's easy, stand in front of a mirror and give that shit a shot.
It may be telling a simple story, adorned with top flight monster effects and really good production design, but it has long since become a Halloween staple. A low budget, monster-kid flight of fancy, I highly recommend Pumpkinhead to any and all looking for a movie that grabs you at the outset and keeps you locked in until the end.
Oh, and watch out for frequent John Carpenter collaborator Buck Flowers, who plays a wizened hillbilly. One who seems like king of the rednecks at the outset, but shows of all involved in Pumpkinhead's tornado of violence, he was the one that knew what was up.
Check out Pumpkinhead. You'll see in short order how its become a cult classic and Halloween rite of passage.
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