Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings

Pumpkinhead II is interesting because it succeeds where its predecessor failed and where that one succeeded, this one fails. Pumpkinhead II , contains better acting, a more interesting back story, while at the same time, it is noisier, less stylish and unconvincing in special effects. As a result Pumpkinhead II is no better or worse than Stan Winston's film. It is just another low budget horror which offers some charms for the monster fans.

Getting a little carried away one night, a group of kids resurrect a body which is buried on the property of the town's fabled witch. As it happens, the body they dig up is deformed boy who in the 1950s was killed by a group of town ruffians. Now with the boy's soul inside him, Pumpkinhead goes after his killers (now middle aged) and his awakeners. As the killings start to occur, Sheriff Braddock tries to piece this whole mystery together amidst an agitated and highly superstitious town. Both Pumpkinhead and the town want to kill each other, whose gonna live?

I'll give this movie credit for one thing, it increases the monstrosity from the first. Although still far from scary, this monster is far more aggressive than his predecessor, and he kills with great ferocity, clawing, gnawing dismembering his victims. On the negative side, the special effects have fallen a bit. The first Pumpkinhead may have been a slow mover, but his movements were rather fluid, and muscular and like a creature. This one moves like a guy in a suit and is shot from too many bad angles which ruins the scale of the creature.

If you liked Pumpkinhead, then I don't think you will be too disappointed in this. Maybe as a whole, it is slightly less accomplished than the original. but it's sufficient for a sequel.

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.

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.

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.

*****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.