6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
A storekeeper leverages a local witch's ability to call upon the mythical beast Pumpkinhead to exact revenge upon the death of his son.
Starring: Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, John D'Aquino, Kimberly Ross, Joel HoffmanHorror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There are only a very few individuals in the annals of film history who have had such a singular impact on their chosen field (or fields) of work as Stan WInston did in the interlinked arenas of visual effects and makeup. Winston arrived on the Hollywood scene with a bang, winning an Emmy for his first official assignment, a 1972 made for television film called Gargoyles. A number of high profile television outings ensued, including such iconic entries as The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (for which WInston won a second Emmy) and Roots, before WInston matriculated to the world of feature films, focusing mostly again on makeup effects for films like W.C. Fields and Me and The Wiz. Even with this ever growing and impressive body of work, including an Academy Award nomination for his makeup in 1982’s Heartbeeps, Winston still wasn’t quite at the top tier of his profession, and he continued to provide uncredited assists for a variety of projects throughout the early 1980s, until Winston began what would turn out to be a long and fruitful collaboration with James Cameron, starting with 1984’s The Terminator. Over the next several years Winston’s star rose inexorably, with seemingly annual Oscar nominations and/or wins for both Cameron films (Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day) and films by directors as disparate as John McTiernan (Predator) and Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns). Perhaps giving into that time honored phrase usually uttered by actors, what Winston evidently really wanted to to do was direct, and in 1988 he helmed his first feature film (of only two), Pumpkinhead. The slasher craze of that era was already showing signs of desanguination (sorry), and Pumpkinhead returned to a more traditional marauding monster approach, albeit one with a more or less clearly defined mythology which tied it to the very human need for vengeance. Winston’s special effects mastery is nicely on display here, even if a lot of the monster sequences take place in shrouded environments, but his directorial hand is a bit more uncertain, leading to an unevenness in the pacing and chills that Pumpkinhead ends up delivering.
Pumpkinhead is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory (an imprint of Shout! Factory) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. It's probably helpful to keep several things in mind when analyzing the image quality of this film. Probably around 4/5 or so of Pumpkinhead is cast in very low light, an aspect further skewed with two primary tints, one kind of orange-red and the other cool blue. All of these tendencies can be seen quite clearly in many if not most of the screenshots accompanying this review. Therefore, it's unrealistic to expect huge amounts of fine detail or even much shadow detail in some of these scenes. That's why the fine detail and shadow detail that are on display here are so generally commendable. When Winston and DP Bojan Bazelli backlight Haggis, for instance, though the entire scene is drenched in that odd orange-red hue, there's still rather remarkable fine detail where virtually every scraggly hair on the witch's head can be clearly seen. The outdoor daylight footage in the film shows off what a nicely saturated and clear image is actually here, with an accurate looking palette and commendable amounts of detail. It's clear Winston didn't really want to show too much of the titular beast, and so it's actually rather difficult to catch more than a passing glimpse throughout the film. While elements have occasional very minor blips like little white flecks, overall things are in great shape. Grain is always evident, and in fact spikes appreciably in some of the tinted sequences especially. But here there's good news again—there's no problematic noise or compression artifacts. Yes, Pumpkinhead is generally a fairly soft looking film and, yes, there's not mindblowing amounts of detail in some of the darkest sequences, but this is a nicely organic looking image that should please most fans.
Pumpkinhead offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix for "purists", and a nicely done DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix for those wanting a more contemporary sounding field. Both tracks offer great fidelity and wide dynamic range, though the 5.1 added low end ups the anxiety level measurably courtesy of well placed sound effects and some rumbly score cues. Dialogue (and all important hysterical screaming) is presented cleanly and clearly, and there are no issues of any kind to warrant concern.
Pumpkinhead has some interesting mythic building blocks, but it never connects the dots fully enough to really burst into the top tier of eighties' horror. Still, it's moody and has a fair amount of chills, even if just about everything here has been seen before, often by the hands of Stan Winston himself (as a special effects wizard if not as a director). Technical merits here are very strong, and the supplementary package is absolutely outstanding. Recommended.
4K Remaster | Limited Edition
1988
Collector's Edition
1988
Collector's Edition | Includes Enamel Pin Set + Poster + Prism Sticker + Lobby Cards
1988
1988
1994
The Woods
2015
2013
2K Restoration
1980
2015
Collector's Edition
1981
2015
1988
Unrated Theatrical and Rated Versions
2013
1982
2015
Limited Edition
1982
1981
2014
1989
2018
Collector's Edition
2003
2019
2019
2018