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Film: Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings
Year: 1993
Director: Jeff Burr
Writers: Ivan Chachornia and Constantine Chachornia
Starring: Andrew Robinson, Ami Dolenz and Soleil Moon Frye
Review:
This was a film that I had not seen all the way. I know that in high school, I saw this was on a movie channel. My guess is that I turned it on and it was in the middle. I’d bet I didn’t change it while also not necessarily paying much attention either. I’ve now given this a watch as part of my Halloween episode for Journey with a Cinephile. It didn’t work as well as I’d like, since it doesn’t take place on the holiday. It does have pumpkin in the title at least.
Synopsis: thrill-seeking teenagers resurrect a demon from his grave and a bloody rampage for revenge begins.
We start back in the 1950s. There is a deformed boy named Tommy (J.P. Manoux) playing with a fire truck toy by a mine shaft. A group of teens come to mess with him. They end up getting him caught on a hook and chain secured to his clothes. One of them then pulls a knife, cutting the boy. It ends with him dying and hiding the body down the shaft.
This then shifts to the present. Sean Braddock (Andrew Robinson) lived in this area as a boy and has returned to be the sheriff. His family was living in New York where it got to be too much. The daughter also was hanging out with a rough crowd so they’re trying to protect her. Her name is Jenny (Ami Dolenz).
Moving here didn’t help as well as they wanted though. She catches the eye of Danny Dixon (J. Trevor Edmond). He hangs out with Marcie (Soleil Moon Frye) and she is dating Peter (Hill Harper). There is also Paul (Alexander Polinsky). This group invites Jenny to skip school with them and she agrees.
They get caught though, hanging out where the tragedy with Tommy happened. Sean scolds his daughter, but there isn’t much he can do here. It doesn’t help that Danny’s father is a local judge, played by Steve Kanaly. He is also friends with Mayor Bubba (Roger Clinton Jr.). They introduce themselves at the local doctor’s office, Delilah Pettibone (Gloria Hendry).
At night, the group of teens have a run in with a local witch, Miss Osie (Lilyan Chauvin). They were inside her cottage when she returned. The problem is that she’s blind. Danny takes a scroll with a ritual on it as well as a vial of blood. Miss Osie tries to stop him when he hits her. She tries to get back up but causes a fire in her house. The group goes to an odd circle and digs up a grave there, the one belonging to Tommy. They try the ritual, but it doesn’t seem to work.
That might not be the case. There are people who are attacked by something vicious. They are torn apart. At each attack, there is a mark that looks like ‘blood wings’. Sean investigates who is committing these, but the locals believe it is Pumpkinhead. He knows the old legend, but as a police officer, there has to be a logical explanation. The truth of Tommy’s parents plays into this and why the people are targeted by this supernatural entity.
I think that this is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the story. I’ll then begin my analysis by saying that for the most part, I enjoyed what this movie did. It is a step back from the original and there are reasons why I think that. I’ll pull in the effects here as a place to start. I love the look of this entity. It is done practically by KNB and I come to expect good things from them. If you want a rampaging monster, killing people to get revenge, you get that here. There is a good amount of screentime for Pumpkinhead.
Now I do have to shift over to a negative. I do think that this story is a bit of a mess. We got a good set up. There are these bullies that are messing with Tommy. It is a small area and in the 50s. They’re clean cut, white people so I’m not shocked to learn it was ruled an accident. It then shifts to the present of the 1990s, where again, I do think in an area like this and Danny’s dad being a judge, he could get off lighter while being a criminal. The new girl is getting mixed in, that fits. I even love the idea that Pumpkinhead is getting revenge for different crimes here. That is where I think it loses itself.
What I know from the original and it gets brought up here, this demon is summoned to get revenge. Whoever summons it feels the carnage being done in turn. My problem is that Danny and his friends steal items from Miss Osie to do this ritual. They don’t experience it though, she does. I get what they’re trying to say here, that she’s been harboring wanting to bring the monster to life but hasn’t. This feels like it is borrowing from Hellraiser 2 where the doctor there is trying to get someone else to open the box so he doesn’t get hurt. Things don’t work that way and it hurts the movie for me. Taking that part out, this does feel like it is mirroring quite a bit from the original as well.
Something that doesn't help are the performances. This doesn’t seem to be as polished so I don’t know if it is the actors or the writing. I’ve seen a number of these people in other things. Robinson works as this sheriff who is trying to do the right thing, both professionally, morally and as a father. Dolenz is odd as this ‘troublemaker’ who moved out to the country. She is a teenager so I can roll with it. It is funny that around this same time she was in Witchboard 2. Frye, Harper and Polinsky are good friends to Danny. Edmond isn’t great though. He does overact a bit. I’m also not sure if it is because I’m used to him in more ‘push-over’ roles so it is hard to believe him as this jerk. Mark McCracken brings good size to the role of the monster. Hendry is solid as the doctor and Clinton made me laugh as the mayor. We also have cameos by Kane Hodder, Linnea Quigley and Chauvin. They worked for what was needed.
All that is left then is the rest of filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography and framing were good. I know this was filmed in California but it does feel like it takes place where the first one did in Appalachia. This is a rural community and people just know everyone else’s business. That felt real enough. I’ve already said that I love the look of the creature. The death scenes are solid for the most part. They go brutal, which I appreciate. Other than that, the soundtrack worked. The sound design of the creature was on point. There’s also a Pumpkinhead rap during the credits by Clinton. Props to that.
In conclusion, this isn’t a great film, but I enjoyed my time here. Having this demon as a revenging entity is good. There are slight tweaks that I need to the screenplay for it to work better. The basic setup and premise outside of that are solid. We have a decent cast of characters. They fit for a supernatural creature feature slasher film. The practical effects are great. This is well made outside of that. I’ll be honest, I just turned off my brain after a while and just rolled with what this was presenting.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10