Pumpkinhead II: la revancha

*****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.

Right, well five years after the original 1988 original "Pumpkinhead", the world was given "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings" from writers Ivan Chachornia and Constantine Chachornia. Oddly enough, I never actually got around to watching this 1993 sequel before now in 2021.

And as sequels usually have a tendency of turning out, so was it also with "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings". This was not up to the standards set by the predecessor from 1988, not even by a long shot. Sure, "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings" was watchable, but it just felt like a movie with a script and storyline that was written in haste, as to not let the audience forget about the Pumpkinhead creature and cash in on the success of the previous movie.

The storyline told in "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings" was bland and mediocre, and didn't have the appeal or the impact that the first movie had. Sure, it can be watched and enjoyed for what it was, but it was generic and rather mundane. So the writers didn't really manage all that well here.

The cast in "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings" was adequate, but again, it wasn't matching the previous movie, and while lead actor Andrew Robinson was okay here, he was no Lance Henriksen. But I will say that the actors and actresses managed well enough, taking into consideration the limitations of a subpar script and some dubious dialogue.

Visually then "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings" was good, definitely up to the previous movie, and the Pumpkinhead creature is actually sort of the main attraction of the movie, thanks to the amount of on-screen time it is given. And truth be told, of course I watched this sequel because of the creature.

All in all then "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings" is a watchable, albeit mundane horror experience. The movie doesn't offer things to the horror genre that movies before it hadn't already delivered.

My rating of "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings" from director Jeff Burr lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars.

I'm going to preface this by saying, I enjoyed Pumpkinhead I. It was a good story about backwoods lore. Though the camera found the monster a little too often (Stan Winston can be forgiven for falling in love with his creation, though) it was a good 80's popcorn horror flick.

Having said that, the people who made Pumpkinhead 2: Bloodwings, should be skinned alive, strapped to a chair with their eyelids peeled open and forced to watch this ridiculous piece of garbage again and again. Did Andrew Robinson even read the script before he showed up to shoot this train-wreck?

You were in Hellraiser for God's sake, have some pride!

Did these idiots even watch the first film? Was that old woman supposed to be the same witch that stole Lance Henricksen's soul? I hope not--because otherwise, it's quite an accomplishment that she was suddenly good, and that her name was changed.

The fifties flashback? The mullet-ed mayor with the guitar? The annoying medical examiner who--for some strange reason is ALWAYS at the sheriff's house? And the idea that this new Pumpkinhead was the hell-spawn of the old Pumpkinhead and some "not so special woman" is idiotic. What? Are you trying to tell me they slept together? Did you see the first movie? If you look closely, you'll notice that ol' Pumpkinhead isn't exactly anatomically correct.

The absolute most horrendous part of this movie came in the character of Paul--otherwise known as the friend who didn't get any throughout the whole film. I want to say something to Paul right now, are you listening? You had no point at all in this film. You deserved to get killed for those stupid clothes you had on. Your one job was to go and get the car from around front--you couldn't even do that right. May God have mercy on your soul.

I don't know why God let this movie get made. My buddy Marc told me I had to watch it because it was so stupid. I believed him beforehand, but--in a Twilight Zone-ian sense, I had no idea HOW RIGHT he was. I want to conjure Pumpkinhead to come get him for having brought it home from the video store.

I feel like having watched this movie, I've somehow been exposed to some great and terrible contagion that will make me incapable of appreciating a good movie ever again.

Crazy high school kids get into something they don't understand and release the soul of Tommy, a boy killed in 1958. Of course, we know who the monster is after, but the Sheriff (Andrew Robinson) is going crazy trying to figure it out.

And, does the town doctor (blaxploitation star Gloria Hendry) rent a room in the sheriff's house? She sure seems to be there a lot.

I have to say that the monster was certainly creatively done and provided some gory action. I find the fact that he can respond to the sheriff's pleas to be stretching it a bit.

Ami Dolenz and Soleil Moon Frye provided enough eye candy to keep viewer interest.

while easily falling into the category of b-horror, this isn't nearly as horrible as i expected. after reading MANY reviews on IMDb and elsewhere that were scathingly negative about this sequel, i figured i'd try it out since i enjoy the original (and lance henriksen) and of course...i had to see if the bad reviews were accurate.

very fortunately (and heres the upside to going in with low expectations) this film pleasantly surprised me...not as good as the original, not incredibly connected to the original, however, it does what it sets out to do quite well. as far as the pumpkinhead sequels go..this is the one to check out.

i wish i had anything complimentary to say about volume III in this series...however...that's pure crap, stay away..and what a waste of both lance henriksen and doug bradley... but i digress.

blood wings isn't a great movie my any means, but fan of horror know that you must judge horror movies far differently from films outside the genre... and as far as horror movies go, i find this to be extremely underrated.

but tastes are like ***holes so... give it a whirl and post your own