Stan Winston, the special effect dude behind the creatures in Aliens helms his first film. It’s a triumph. This is a grim movie that doesn’t shy away from emotions. We understand Ed’s pain and also understand the teens situation. This flick could have easily fell into the slasher mold but it avoids all the pitfalls. The teens are not horny and the teens do the right thing "they run". The movie feels old fashioned, almost like a children’s tale. The witch in the woods, the nursery rime, the demon buried in the pumpkin patch, all those elements contribute to that. Another thing that elevates the movie a notch higher is "Lance Henriksen". The man is a great actor and his heartfelt, angry, bitter performance hits all the right notes.

The setting of the film is very creepy. A forest never felt scarier. And the demon…wow…Pumpkinhead never looks like an effect. He looks like a breathing 10 foot demon. I love that they gave Pumpkinhead a personality. This demon loves toying with his victims, taunting them and he clearly enjoys his work.

My only complaint is that the movie mostly concentrates on the Ed character. We never get to really know the teens too well. But we still care about them cause we know it was an accident and that they don’t deserve Pumpkinhead, that’s for sure.

Slap in some religious imagery, some fun violence and some suspense (I loved that Pumpkinhead attacks from high places, pulling his victims up into trees with him…effective) and you get a monster movie that should be slapped in the cult classic folder.

The movie was shot in LA and took 36 days to film.

The budget for this film was $3.5 million.

Stan Winston turned down: Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors to direct Pumpkinhead.

The movie’s title went back and forth several times. From Pumpkinhead to Vengeance: The Demon to Pumpkinhead again and so on until Pumpkinhead stayed.

A sequel exists called Pumpkinhead: Bloodwings directed by Jeff Burr (Texas3), I hear it sucks…I’ll let you guys know.