Pumpkinhead

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Pumpkinhead

R

1988

1h 26m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

51%

Tomatometer

55 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

After his son dies in a hit-and-run accident, Ed Harley seeks revenge against the teenagers responsible. With the help of a local witch, Ed summons the vengeful demon Pumpkinhead to hunt and kill the group of friends. But when Ed discovers a bond between himself and the creature, he begins to have second thoughts about employing the vicious monster, and he fights to end Pumpkinhead's murderous rampage before it is too late.

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Critics Consensus

With effects work and solid direction from Stan Winston -- and Lance Henriksen adding welcome gravitas -- Pumpkinhead is a creature feature that stands a cut above.

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Henry Mietkiewicz

Toronto Star

Aug 14, 2025

Who could have guessed that, despite its gruesome moments, this low-budget thriller would turn out to be a surprisingly satisfying little morality tale in the best horror tradition.

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Victoria Mather

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Aug 14, 2025

The standard sort of video schlock.

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Harper Barnes

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Aug 14, 2025

If you are looking for gore, you are going to have trouble with Pumpkinhead because almost all the action takes place in very dim light...

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

Dec 17, 2025

3/5

Winston's creature is as awesomely frightening and brilliantly constructed and offers more than enough feral scream-lined chills to thrill along to.

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Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

Aug 14, 2025

3/4

Pumpkinhead is literally about the impossibility of objective violence–every action, no matter how intimate or remote, has a spiritual impact on both victim and perpetrator. It’s a surprisingly rich vein for something like this to mine, and it resonates.

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Michael D. Reid

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

Aug 14, 2025

1/5

A film that ultimately fails to deliver the goods.

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Russell H

@RT85733992 Oct 3, 2026

Other than the creature's head not being a pumpkin, the effects do not age well, the monster was goofy and it didn't make sense to me that it spent so much time in the trees other than to cut down on visuals.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 9, 2026

I love Pumpkinhead movie thus my rating of 2.5 stars

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 7, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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Landon J

@Minxsykitty Jul 25, 2026

Decent late night romp I guess. Has some great effects and interesting progression, but very generic and not very special.

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Shadow R

@GeminiShadowRealm Jul 3, 2026

Pumpkinhead hit me way harder than I expected. If you’re looking for a monster movie that actually has some real soul and peak eerie forest vibes, this is it. The heart of the movie is definitely the dynamic between the father and his little boy. They are just so sweet together, which makes it absolutely devastating when the kid is accidentally killed by those city teenagers. He is so completely broken that he ends up going into the deep backwoods to find a creepy local witch and summon an ancient demon of vengeance. That whole setup is where the movie gets so entertaining. The atmosphere is immaculate. it drips with foggy, blue-and-orange gothic lighting, swampy woods, and classic '80s horror dread. Watching him immediately regret his choice while stuck in this nightmare of his own making adds such a sad, psychological layer to the whole thing. If you want a spooky folklore movie with practical monster effects,and a story that actually makes you feel something, this is for you.

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Joaquin U

@Joaquin1 Jun 16, 2026

Mildly entertaining. The creature is nice to look at, and Lance’s presence is always powerful. The script is terrible, amateurish at best. The direction is poor, and it’s not like some people said the film avoids jump scares — it’s that the jump scares just don’t work. Watchable, but only for midnight snacks.

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Stan Winston

Director

Lance Henriksen

Ed Harley

Jeff East

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John D'Aquino

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Synopsis

After his son dies in a hit-and-run accident, Ed Harley seeks revenge against the teenagers responsible. With the help of a local witch, Ed summons the vengeful demon Pumpkinhead to hunt and kill the group of friends. But when Ed discovers a bond between himself and the creature, he begins to have second thoughts about employing the vicious monster, and he fights to end Pumpkinhead's murderous rampage before it is too late.

Director: Stan Winston
Producer: Howard Smith, Richard Weinman, Bill Blake
Screenwriter: Mark Patrick Carducci, Gary Gerani
Distributor: United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: De Laurentiis
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 13, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.0M
Runtime: 1h 26m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Surround

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