Pumpkinhead II : Les Ailes du sang

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.

Good in its own right, but not as a sequel. Instead, it plays more like a prequel. This film is more of a slasher, although justified since the murders are not random and well explained. The plot is not that great either, but the film was nevertheless still enjoyable.

I just wanted to clarify that this film WAS IN THEATERS!!! It was not direct to video!!! IMDb IS WRONG!!! (as usual I have VHS of the TV ads for this film!

It received a large amount of free media attention due to the current president's brother Roger Clinton appearing in the film.

Once again, this was in theaters, it was NOT direct to video.

As proof I can break out my complete VHS of 'All My Children' for 1993 and show you the ads for this film! It was in theaters!

This film is in fact a very poor follow up to Stan Winston's cult classic.

It does not contain any of the characters from the first film. The story is merely a rehash of the original. A woman in run over by city slicker teens and a witch conjures the demonic monster Pumpkinhead to kill them.

So it's just like the first film sans the good FX and photography.

Sean Braddock takes up residence as sheriff in Ferren Woods, the town he grew up in, along with his wife and rebellious daughter Jenny. Straight away she gets in with the wrong crowd, where the group cause trouble one night when they accidentally cause the fire of an old witch's house and for fun unknowingly resurrect the demon known as "Pumpkinhead". The soul of the deformed orphan who lived in the woods returns to this deranged monster. It sweeps the countryside seeking revenge against those who were behind his death three decades ago and plus those teenagers who brought him back. Grisly death mount up, and Sheriff Broddock learns that the legend of the "Pumpkinhead" might have its foot in reality.

Do I care about its bad reputation? I guess not. Since I took the time to watch it. The low-budget, straight-to-video sequel is an okay addition that had its moments and sound performances to cater for its blaring shortcomings. However it's the monster we're waiting for, and director Jeff Burr (a sequel journeyman you could say) serves up the beast and bloody mayhem on a silver plateau. The ominously atmospheric first one (with a sublime lead performance by Lance Henriksen) is certainly superior in every department, but as for sequels go. You could do a lot worse. Well, it does seem like a pointless exercise, but just like the first sequel to "Candyman", the story plays the usual trumps (basic retread of first), but it also wants to overfeed the history of "Pumpkinhead". Burr knows there's nothing to surprise us anymore with a frail plot with an promising premise, so there's more of the monster shown on screen and what it dishes out is far more nastier, violent and more imaginative in its carnage. There's just something creepy and cruel about the deaths.

The make-up effects have some juicy inclusions, despite some cheap and corny looking aspects, but the imposing monster design still looks fair enough, even with some rubbery shades. Burr's junky direction is cheerful and plucky, but he demonstrates few striking visuals with well-filtered lighting (like strobe) that come across as foreboding in their set-up. Sometimes it can get laughable with too many hapless victims just standing there in front of "Pumpkinhead" waiting to get killed off, when there's an actual chance to do something or RUN! However the atmosphere is very patchy, which makes sure it doesn't have the same impact the original created.

Streaming from the production is a cheap TV feel, but the swiftly compact camera-work manages some inventive tilt frames, wild movements and trippy red "Pumpkinhead" vision lensing. The thrills and pace were kind of a stop and go affair, as you really felt it because the tepidly cardboard script lead to many silly (and contrived) avenues working there way in and the lack of an strong lead performance really showed it up immensely. There's nothing wrong with Andrew Robinson's sincerely hearty performance as Sheriff Braddock, but intensity was lacking, instead there seemed to be a lighter tone to everything about it. Except for the violence, of course. Thinking more about it actually, he looked rather flustered. The gorgeous Ami Dolenz makes for a wonderful performance as Jenny and Gloria Hendry kicks up some interest. The rest of the hysterical cast aren't so memorable, while the teens weren't particularly that good with the stereotypical traits. With Steve Kanaly, Hill Harper, Soleil Moon Frye and J. Trevor Edmond. Appearing in small and amusing parts are a familiar Linnea Quigley and Kane Hodder. Yep the trivia is right, Bill Clinton's brother Roger Clinton shows up as the Town's mayor.

Formulaic, cheesy b-fun emerges from this earnest sequel that doesn't try to outdo its original, but more so complement it. Maybe it's bad, but I kinda enjoyed it.

This is a worthy sequel to the cult classic from the 80's "Pumpkinhead". Sadly, the movie improves in little aspects in comparison to the original. This time, the f/x is very cheesy but it's okay for B-movie standards. The Pumpkinhead demon looks extremely cheesy and scary it's the lesser thing about it. But surprisingly, it works for the movie.

The plot is actually interesting and has potential but it's just not executed correctly. The invocation, the ritual are good scenes and may be the best feature about the movie. When the snob guys whacks the head of the witch is also a good scene in the movie.

Anyways, if you are an avid lover (like me) of the 90's un necessary sequels, watch "Blood Wings" and buy popcorn. This is cheesy entertainment in Horror.