Dundead Halloween: Pumpkinhead

Legendary effects artist Stan Winston (Jurassic Park, Aliens, Terminator and Terminator 2) made his directorial debut with this under-sung 1988 gem about vengeance, Faustian bargains and a giant rampaging monster called Pumpkinhead.

Dripping with 80s style (the good kind), this is pulp entertainment of the highest order. Winston not only brings show-stopping effects work to the titular monster/demon/immortal nuisance but makes consistently interesting artistic choices throughout, shooting exteriors cloaked in dry ice in spooky blue (including a spectacular pumpkin patch graveyard), and interiors in glowing, infernal red, where sweat drips onto dust-covered and skull-strewn floorboards. 

Genre legend Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Near Dark) is perfectly cast as a father in rural America who dares to invoke Pumpkinhead to exact bloody revenge on some obnoxious, hard-drinking, dirt-bike-riding teenagers (if you came to our Slumber Party Massacre double-bill in May you may recognise a familiar face). The film, a mainstay in video rental stores, has gained a cult following over the years, but still feels under-appreciated. For fun, spooky, 80s Halloween thrills, this is as good as it gets. 

Get yourself a pass and see all of our Dundead Halloween films for £38.40.