Like I have said before in my review of the original film, Pumpkinhead is one of my favorite films. 6 years after the release of that one comes the film I have here for review "Pumpkinhead 2: Blood Wings". Now from what I have gathered this film actually started to be made around 1991, but was not released on home video until October of 1994. Now I am not sure if that was the goal to just throw it out onto VHS or if it was intended for theatrical release. Despite seeming like it had a lower budget than the original it did actually have a good look to it and was done on 35mm film. I guess in the end the only thing anyone would wonder is that if this film stands strong aside the original or does it just fail to do so. Let's cut into this sequel and see what it has to offer!
After a group of careless teens run over and accidentally burn an old woman who is known as a witch they unleash a creature known as "Pumpkinhead" who is inhabited by the soul of a deformed boy killed years before. Will the local sheriff be able to figure out who or what is committing a string of murders and stop them before it's too late?! Will the teens be able to survive the horror that has been unleashed upon them or will they succumb to the revenge of Pumpkinhead?!
As far as a sequel goes this one does what alot of them do and it fails to be as good as the original, but to be fair it is an uphill battle to do that when you have such a great film as the original Pumpkinhead was. One of the biggest things that this film lacks is the atmosphere that helped to make the original such a great film. In parts where you'd expect to have atmosphere is killed by poorly placed music or simply horrible acting. That leads me to the other downside and that is the acting which seems to be a little too over the top from almost every single character. There is some decent talent in this film, but it is killed by bad writing and very odd camera angles that disrupt the scene. I have seen this film so many times throughout the years and didn't realize truly how bad it can be. Also this film really only has one thing that ties it to the original film and that is the old lady and pumpkinhead.
With all that being said this film does have some redeeming qualities. First being that the character of Pumpkinhead still does retain his gruesome look with a bit beefier body. The people at KNB Effects were the ones at the helm this time to do the creature effects which I think was a very good choice. The gore effects as well were great and quite brutal. I do want to mention there is one scene that does have some good atmosphere and it is when the character Jenny who is visited face to face by Pumpkinhead in her dreams. Despite finding this film to be lack luster in comparison to it's original I did actually enjoy it for it's campiness and over-the-top feel. If you do decide to give this one a watch then please do not go in expecting a great film, but instead a film that you can have fun with and riff on.
Despite what I think about this film I will say I am glad for it to get better treatment than it did on it's previous DVD release which was in the 1.33:1 fullframe ratio and had no special features at all. The picture quality look absolutely great and is much improved from any other format I have seen this on. The colors are way more bold and the picture just looks way better. The special features include: Audio Commentary with director Jeff Burr, RE-CREATING THE BEAST featuring new interviews with special effects
artists Greg Nicotero, Gino Crognale and actor Mark McCracken
(Pumpkinhead), MAKING MOVIES with director Jeff Burr, and Behind-the-scenes footage. If you like this film in the same odd way I do then I highly suggest you pick up this release!
-Daniel Lee
Director: Jeff Burr
Lead Actor/Actress: Amy Dolenz, Andrew Robinson
Genre: Horror
Blu-ray Release Year: 2014
Home Video Release Year: 1994
Time Length: 88 mins.
Rating: R
Region Code: A
Release Company: Website:
shoutfactory.com
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
