PumpkinHead Returns

By: Nuha Abdesslam

Wednesday September 12, 2007

4th Time A Charm?
Time and time again there is a need in us all to get a good scare getting us in the mood for horrors in October. The occasional ghosts & goblins, haunted houses, and chain saw killers are always a good route to start. Let's not forget about the nightmares portrayed by Krueger, a galore of screams when seeing the face of Mike Myers, and a few other favorites. But, since when did the carved pumpkin head sitting by our front doors become scary?

Inherently Stan Winston brought the scary notion of releasing PumpkinHead in 1982. This was by no means your average carved pumpkin for show and tell. No, PumpkinHead was designed as a mixture of a monster and alien in one. In fact, Lance Henrikson (legendary icon of horror flicks) plays Ed Harley, a store owner who essentially learns that not everything you wish for is good. He quickly grows a vengeance for a bunch of trouble teens that were responsible in the loss of his son; little did they know what they had in stored. Ed learns of a witch in the mountains who can help bring his vengeances to life with her demon "PumpkinHead." Ed sees the horrific visions in the PumpkinHead's eyes killing each and every teen, he soon realizes he's made a mistake and vengeance now becomes his problem.

This is ultimately the birth of PumpkinHead. From then on, we have our share of the sequel PumpkinHead II: Blood Wings and PumpkinHead III: Ashes to Ashes. The sequel, to many fans, unfortunately were bad raves. I have read several comments and the majority agreed that the sequel was "God awful"; I couldn't help but think "most sequels are bad, it's inevitable." The sequels didn't seem to touch basis with the original. It could have been the change in directors, different cast members (no Lance Henrikson), or simply the complete loss of continuity. Overall, not a great sequel at all. But.... a new leaf turns and PumpkinHead lovers are introduced to the third film, PumpkinHead III: Ashes to Ashes.

PumpkinHead III, Ashes to Ashes has a much different response. This film approved the likings of many fans. In fact, many think this should have been the sequel. We were introduced to a new director, Jake West, and a cast of new characters. This was exactly what everyone wanted and it touched the basis of the original and carried along the story line with surprisingly new turns. Not so bad, considering the scrutiny it was under by fans after a dismal sequel. The film did what it needed; gaining back fans to anticipate and wanting more PumpkinHead!

And so now comes the real test for all... will the fourth PumpkinHead movie be just as good or will it fail miserably? There is a new director in town, Mike Hurst, who has done several films including Room 6, The Butcher, and The Darkroom. All of which are horror flicks. It's in the works and should be released October 2nd. The title PumpkinHead IV: Blood Feud sounds interesting enough, but most importantly we will be reunited with the legendary Lance Henrikson himself.