R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 review.
Scratches a very specific Spooky Season itch.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2
Directed by Jem Garrard
Written by Jem Garrard
Staring Bean Reid, Adeline Lo, Matty Finochio and Cassandra Peterson
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 Review
The first thing that comes to my mind about R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 is that Jem Garrard just doesn’t miss. Since beginning her ever lengthening Tubi Original filmography…Garrard has been delivering “better than you expected” movies over and over again. Last year’s R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is probably the most notable of her outputs…and just a year later its sequel is out on the ad supported streaming service. Guess what? It’s good too.
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 scratches a very specific itch. It’s the spooky season family movie everyone wants. Even if you don’t have a family. It’s just a fun watch that feels like October through and through. There’s a lot of internal lore, but it’s handled well enough that it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Someone can just mention a curse and then you basically get what’s going on.
The movie does give a brief refresher on what happened during the first film. The key thing to know is that Sam (Bean Reid) has been forgotten by his family after saving the town from the curse in the first film. He is being cared for by Rusty (Matty Finochio) who lost his sister to a similar curse years earlier. Becka (Adeline Lo) remembers Sam…and they’ve been working together to find a missing book that might help them fix this whole mess.
The cost of fixing things was a main point of interest in the first film…Sam is only forgotten because he saves his brother…and that came at a cost. So, right from the beginning you can assume that if Sam and Becka can manage to change things…it will come with a cost. That dark cloud hanging over the films is what helps them scratch that itch so well. These are like movies straight out of the dark Disney period. Where things are a little more dangerous than you’d think…and there’s a little more weight to actions than you’d expect.
The story here isn’t as simple as “two kids try to find a book” either. The pumpkinhead(s) are back, obviously. This time, they arrive because of a bullied kid who finds the book. Suddenly, he has a legion of pumpkinheads to do his bidding…weather he truly means it or not. Ok…by legion I mean a few…but that’s still more than one. The kid is an orphan being raised by a mean, drunken uncle. It’s easy to sympathize with him…and to understand how he would be seduced by the arrival of a “family” of pumpkinheads. He’s not a bad kid…but bad things happen when evil can prey upon his emotions. That’s another thing that separates R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 from the more dismissible family horror fair.
But the best thing about R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 is how cozy it all feels. If you’re an older viewer…it might evoke how much you enjoyed watching gateway horror movies as a kid. If you’re a younger viewer…well…there’s a reason that gateway horror works. It’s not a perfect movie…it’s not even a great movie. But it’s a good one. And it fills a hole that the season demands be filled. A good-natured trip into darkness where you can practically smell the pumpkin seeds.
Jem Garrard has the secret sauce when it comes to Tubi Originals. And she’s delivering a perfectly suited for spooky season fun for the whole family romp as an annual occurrence now. This story ends…with a cost, of course…and a new one is immediately teased. There’s an in-universe teaser for a clown horror movie coming to Tubi in 2027. It looks like a new cast of characters will take over…but Jem Garrard will return to write and direct. Which means Spooky Season 2027 likely already has its gateway family horror event film lined up. It’ll be streaming for free (with ads) on Tubi. Just like the last two years. Bring on R.L. Stine’s Afraid of Clowns.
Scare Value
The thing about Tubi releases is that recommending them is kind of a pass/fail situation. All that it costs you to watch this new release is your time. It’s made giving a passing grade to some Tubi Originals kind of a meaningless gesture. If you’re at all interested in the movie…there’s no reason to not click play. But Jem Garrard has kind of changed the game in space. Her Tubi movies range from pretty good to really good. R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 is a good movie that I would recommend watching no matter where it you could find it. It scratches a particular spooky season itch and can fit into anyone’s viewing schedule. Bring on the clowns in 2027.
3/5
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 Link
Streaming on Tubi
