Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings

Pumpkinhead II_720p(480P)

source: Pumpkinhead II

ANDREW ROBINSON is the new sheriff in town who cautions his daughter (AMI DOLENZ) against playing with the wrong trouble-making kids when she enters a new school. Naturally, his daughter has no intention of obeying him, since she's anxious to have friends and not happy with her home environment. This sets up a tale so similar to other horror flicks about kids warned to keep out of harm's way. The prologue sets up the tale too. Seems a nerdy youth has been taunted to death by a team of unruly young men who show no mercy in dealing with someone who is "different". His spirit seeks revenge after the brutal treatment he's subjected to and that too becomes part of the whole revenge motif of the story. The acting is fair, with ANDREW ROBINSON giving the strongest performance as the troubled father and the teens well played by the youngsters--but all in all, it's average as entertainment for anyone looking for a good horror film. Technical aspects are fine with some good photography and a properly menacing background score. Trivia note: Sheriff Bubba is played by none other than George Clinton, Bill Clinton's younger brother, but his role has very little to do with the plot.

The only words I can gather for this movie are "the worst sequel ever made period." I can't find any positives about this movie. Quite seriously, I wish I could because I loved the first Pumpkinhead so much. What happened?! I know sequels normally suck, but they're not supposed to suck THIS much. I'm actually at a loss right now because I don't know if this or Boogeyman is worse. The movie kicks off with a hideously deformed boy being brutally murdered and then hung down a mine shaft. Now he's buried in front of what appears to be a witch's house. 20 mins into the movie and Pumpkinhead is created not this time by the witch but rather by some "thrill seeking teenagers" and I actually believe the group labels themselves as "thrill seekers" before they resurrect Mr. Angry. After Pumpkinhead is resurrected you might as well turn off your DVD player (or if you're old school, VHS player) and turn the movie into a novelty flying disc because then at least you can say that it's a GOOD movie (trust me, it glides real nice and cuts air like a hot knife through butter). The acting is beyond terrible. Remember Saw? Remember how the acting sucked in the beginning but got better as the movie progressed? The acting gets worse and worse as this one goes on. And the ending... oh buddy. If you remember how the first Pumpkinhead ended your gonna be on angry mofo because there's a very special something taken out that made the Pumpkinhead villain so unique. Overall, don't watch this. Rather use it as a clay pigeon, use it as a frisbee golf disc, or use it for self mutilation because you're gonna be wondering why you let this movie finish. Watch the first, but ignore this disgraceful sequel.

A gang of partying teens stumble across an old witch's cabin in rural Southern Cal and foolishly unleash a vengeful demon linked to a dead feral boy. "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings" (1993) was released to video and therefore has noticeably inferior production values to its 1988 predecessor. It was shot in three weeks for less than $1 million and you can tell, but it has a more compelling script and arguably better characters with the exception of the absent Lance Hendriksen, who will return for the next two sequels as a ghost. Without Hendriksen and any references to the original flick, this is more of a standalone reimagining containing all the staples of the first film: a group of teens, rural Southern Cal, a mysterious cabin in the woods, an ugly witch, a revenge-based plot and, of course, Pumpkinhead itself. Speaking of whom, the creature looks formidable despite the low-budget, albeit kinda artificial. Meanwhile, striking blonde Ami Dolenz and petite cutie Soleil Moon Frye are on hand on the feminine front, but not enough is done with them. Bottom line: Despite the low budget, I prefer this one to the original and "Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud" (2007). I can't remember "Ashes to Ashes" (2006) at this particular moment, which isn't a good sign, lol (I think I saw it, but I'm not sure). The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes and was shot in Santa Clarita, California. GRADE: C+/B- (5.5/10)

A group of kids in the 1950s torture and kill a deformed boy. Years later, another group of kids bring him back from the dead. Unknown to them, the people he now wants revenge on happen to be their city elders. This film is so completely poorly rated, and I'm not sure why. Compared to the sequels, it's pretty decent, and in many ways is just as good or better than the original. I thought the film quality and gore, for example, were much improved. As were the cast. I can't knock Lance Henriksen, but Andrew Robinson ("Hellraiser") as Sheriff Sean Braddock? Soleil Moon Frye ("Punky Brewster") as Marcie? And genre favorites Linnea Quigley and Kane Hodder making cameo appearances? Very sweet. The biggest problem with this film is its plot holes, incongruities or just simple confusion when trying to compare it to the first film. At one point they claim the boy is the son of Pumpkinhead. What? And the years seem to line up funny, and the towns may be different. The demons have different motives. How exactly are the two films connected?

I'm really surprised that the low rating this movie is getting here on IMDb. It's really quite good. More entertaining than the original, in my opinion. The acting is above average by b-movie standards and the gore effects are solid. The creature is, quite obviously, a rather badly made puppet, but that's all part of the fun. If you're expecting "Aliens" quality creature effects, you'd probably better look elsewhere. Andrew Robinson delivers a solid, if understated performance as the Sheriff. Fans of Deep Space Nine know Robinson as Garak, the Cardassian tailor and former member of the Obsidian Order. Also of note is Soleil Moon Frye, who's come a long way since the days of "Punky Brewster." Some of the dialogue is forced and, as I stated earlier, the creature effects are sub par, but overall it's a lot of fun. It's worth the five bucks you'll pay for it if you pick it up used from Blockbuster. In summary, if you're looking for some b-movie horror goodness, you can do a lot worse than Pumpkinhead 2.

You would think that a sequel to a half-decent horror flick starring Punky Brewster and Bill Clinton's little brother would be at least bearable, but this proves just how awful a movie can really be. The creature looks more fake than he did in the original, Lance Henriksen isn't in the cast this time and there isn't even any decent breast shots of Soleil Moon-Frye. A waste of time and (dare I say) talent.

This movie was far better than the original. The monster looked far more strong and evil than in the original. There was some pretty good gore effects and it was actually easy to be interested in. The writing was very stylish and well written. The acting was okay.

*****Five Out of Ten Stars***** Considering this film was made in three weeks, it's not all that bad. It's a strange film; there are quality experienced actors combined with unprofessional actors. Robinson and Edmond's acting talents are wasted on this rushed production. The original director bailed out of the project at the last minute and they had a difficult time finding other qualified director's to pick it up. Jeff Burr accepted the directors role reluctantly, I think, at the last minute. The plot just isn't faithful to the original, which is a big let down. The script isn't bad but is totally hammed up by a number of unprofessional actors. You can feel Robinson's frustration in some scenes as he contends with acting counterparts with no talent. The special effects are decent enough, if not slightly behind, considering this was made in 1993 and 1994. Even though I was thoroughly disappointed in the handling of this sequel, I do own it on DVD. My love for the original PH keeps me faithful to this one and the third segment, but definitely not the fourth installment, "Blood Feud". It's a shame one of the major movie studios didn't try to do more with this franchise. The pumpkin head monster could've been used more effectively than it was used in the sequels. Perhaps one of the main studios could've picked the pumpkin head idea up and released several sequels around Halloween. Why Sci-Fi got involved in this franchise, I'll never know? But once Sci-Fi gets involved in any project, the project is destined for the "straight to DVD" category. P.H. II is a brainless ride that should be taken for what it's worth: A rushed production, made for under $1,000,000, that no one really seemed to care a whole lot about. A better plot more faithful to the original, better acting, and a slower production pace would've gone a long way in producing a sequel worthy of the original. Take a whirl on "Blood Wings" if you're a die hard PH fan, if your not, you'll have issues with it.