R.L. STINE'S PUMPKINHEAD (2025)
I'm writing this on the 22nd of October, but if all goes according to plan, this review should publish on Halloween. So first of all, Happy Halloween! I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than to take a look at the latest R.L. Stine creation. Oddly, he doesn't seem to have written this one. It's not based on one of his stories, although it's informed by his childhood experiences. Somehow. The story of Pumpkinhead was actually "adapted" for an episode of The Haunting Hour, his anthology series that aired on Discovery Family in the 2010's. Some details were changed for this feature, but apparently, it was always called Pumpkinhead. And that's just not right. Couldn't they come up with a title that wasn't already associated with a well-known intellectual property? I'm digressing. This flick is a Tubi original, and tonally, it will remind you of Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. Having said that, it doesn't pull any gut punches. Yes, death is involved.
13-year-old Sam moves to a quaint municipality that is headlong into a harvest festival. Well, Sam decides to be a prick and steal a pumpkin from the man responsible for saving the town of Redhaven from destitution. It soon becomes obvious that there is something off about this pumpkin. Without spoiling too much, I'll tell you that we get to see an evil scarecrow, which sadly, makes Pumpkinhead the best "killer scarecrow" movie since 1995's Night of the Scarecrow. This is a fun spookshow that will entertain kids and adults alike. There are two major hindrances that hold this hayride back from glory. The main character is aggressively unlikeable to the point that you begin relating to the supposed antagonists. Also, we are asked to suspend disbelief to an improbable degree. I try not to get too fussy when it comes to plot holes, but wow. If you've seen Pumpkinhead, I'm referring to the trick-or-treating scene where the sheriff is hoodwinked into believing that his daughter has stayed in to hand out candy. Again, wow. Why didn't they simply leave instead of switching costumes with a couple of strangers???
Anyway, I dug the autumnal atmosphere. Lots of orange. R.L. Stine's Pumpkinhead should be approached with low expectations, but I was able to chill out and have moderate fun with it. You better believe that I'm deducting a half-Z'Dar for that title, though.
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