Black Pumpkin

This film begins with a man watching television at night when he hears a knock on the door. Upon opening it he finds a black jack-o-lantern on his porch and nobody else around. Since its Halloween he simply discards it as a prank. Minutes later he is stabbed in the head with an ice pick. Not only that, but when his daughter returns from work that night she is also killed by a shotgun rigged to go off when she opens the door. Ten years later another family has moved in with a pre-teen by the name of "Elliott Peterson" (Dogen Eyeler) and his best friend "Pork Chop" (Grayson Thorne Kilpatrick) doing some research for a school project about a supposedly haunted area near their town known as Diablo's Den. They are then warned by a man named "Alex Griffin" (Curt Clendenin) about a mysterious creature known as "Bloody Bobby" (Jo Osmond) who comes from out of nowhere and murders everyone he targets. Unfortunately, the warning comes too late as Bloody Bobby already has his sights set on certain victims. Now rather than reveal any more I kept wondering who specifically this film had as its intended audience. On the one hand it seemed geared toward a younger crowd but if so then some of the more violent scenes went a little too far. On the other hand, if it was geared toward an adult audience some of the scenes of a sexual nature were quite tame and rather uninteresting. That being said, I liked the manner in which the director (Ryan McGonagle) used suspense to sharpen the horror aspect from time to time. I also liked the addition of Ellie Patrikios (as "Laurie Peterson") who enhanced every scene she was in with her sexy demeanor. On the flip side, however, this film was plagued by slow parts and the lack of a consistent theme hampered the overall effect to a great degree. Perhaps if it had been less inconsistent I would have rated it higher.

Yes it is a cheesy Halloween movie, yes it is made in the style of eighties movies, but it is a fun watch. The majority of the characters you like and root for. So sit back and enjoy a good popcorn flick for halloween.

While filming a small documentary, a kid and his friends uncover the legend of the spirit of a young kid haunting their small town and inadvertently release it on Halloween night starting a bloody rampage throughout the town, forcing them to find a way to stop it before it strikes everyone.

This one was a pretty enjoyable effort. One of the strongest elements is the impressive setup that generates a lotto like about the small-town myth this one goes on. Offering up the local legend of the murderous kid who haunts the fabled part around the outskirts of town with a series of clues about his identity, the cause of the condition and his past antics in the opening attack that spells everything out. Given the actual documentary the kids produce and the later video report that gives the information needed for the pieces to fit together and fill in the story about the individual, this all works quite nicely. As well, the film has quite a lot to like with the actual ambush and attack scenes of the figure running around the town killing everyone. After the opening attack, nothing comes up until the massacre at the party on the grounds where he was resurrected, featuring a series of impressive attacks to knock them off one-by-one. The later scenes finishing off the friends in their home are really fun while the finale contains the massive assault on their home where everything comes to play in a series of fun stalking scenes, graphic kills and some wholly enjoyable stalking taking place. Combined with the stellar look of the killer, these offer up quite a lot to like while there are a few problems with this one. The main issue is the films' slow beginning that manages to hold off all the horror for so much of the beginning that it doesn't really register as one until it's quite a ways in. with the beginning half focused on the exploits of the kids filming their documentary and getting chased by the bullies, the backstory of the older sister and her friends with the other classmates and the general friendship between everyone, this series is quite enjoyable at immersing the viewer into their setup but otherwise not providing much else to bolster the genre feel here. The other issue to be had here is the rather overdone series of cliches and general familiarity that's featured here. The idea of the bullies tormenting the geeky kid brother, the local crazy person who spends the entire time telling crazy stories who's written off but is proven right, the dynamics between the family and the antics in the finale where it purposefully sets itself up for a sequel for no reason are all woven together into a story that's quite familiar and overdone. On top of that, the film's kills are wholly unrealistic with the graphic effects looking fake due to the bright red and unnatural blood used, rendering the effects comical as a result. These are what drag the film down as a whole.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and a clothed sex scene.

Well, I tried but I know from past experiences with the filming and the cheesy background music this was most likely a dud. And it was, at least what I made myself sit through. Okay, I know I didn't see it to the end but for what? I can tell a badly made flick from a good one. This one wasn't even worth the effort to watch part of it IMO. Some may like it or find it entertaining. I did not. Honestly, wth is this supposed to be? Some 80's type style? Either way....no thanks.

Take it for what it is: a low-budget Halloween-style horror movie. With an unevent script, too many loose ends, story lines that lead nowhere, and dialogue that much of the time does little to help the actors.

But you know what? I give it a lot of points for making the best of its budget, for the obvious love of the genre and the 80s' horror,. And for Pork Chop who is definitely an 80s throwback and does some pretty good acting as well.

It won't win any Oscars, but I enjoyed watching it for what it is, not for what it isn't. And for that, it is above average.

I don't know if I was looking too hard for references to 80s horror, but I found quite a few. I just hope they were intentional and not me reading too much into it.