Black Pumpkin

Well, first of all I must say that I found the movie's cover to be interesting and somewhat offbeat and funny, and that was initially what lured me in to watch this 2018 movie from writer and director Ryan McGonagle.

Granted, I had never even heard about this 2018 movie prior to sitting down to watch it late in 2020, so I wasn't really sure what I was in for, nor what I should expect from the movie. So in that aspect, director Ryan McGonagle had every opportunity to impress and entertainment.

But that he failed to do.

"Black Pumpkin" was driven by a rather slow and rather pointless storyline; one that had mundane characters and offered nothing enjoyable to me. And I must admit that I didn't even finish the movie, as there was just simply nothing entertaining enough here to keep me interested in watching.

The characters in "Black Pumpkin" were flaccid and one-dimensional, and the actors and actresses were clearly struggling with a lack of proper script and dialogue, which ultimately reflected poorly on the movie as a whole.

While "Black Pumpkin" is not among the worst of horror movies that I have seen, it is surely not a noteworthy movie, nor is it a movie that I would recommend you spend your time, money or effort on. For a horror movie, "Black Pumpkin" just failed to deliver and impress.

My rating of "Black Pumpkin" shows a generous three out of ten once the innards of the pumpkin have been carved out and peeled away.

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.

Obviously it's a low budget movie. That aside the movie itself was really good. Not a lot of depth as far as characters. But it's the kind of movie you could see yourself in as a kid. Not quite Stand By Me, but the kids were likeable. You've got nothing to lose but a little time.

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.

And that's about the best thing about the movie. That little tidbit of advice. Not really a good story. Not any good dialogue but that last line. Was pretty boring and uninteresting. Easily a pass. 3/10.