R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead review
Tubi offers up a gateway horror movie that feels right at home in Spooky Season.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead
Directed by Jem Garrard
Written by Jem Garrard
Starring Bean Reid, Adeline Lo and Kevin McNulty
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead Review
With other streaming services focused on releasing slow burn depressing horror movies this Spooky Season…Tubi turned to the reliable R.L. Stine bibliography for something more traditional. Based on a short story from roughly a quarter century ago…R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead scratches that family horror itch that every October needs. To bring the latest Stine adaptation to life…Tubi enlists a familiar face in the director’s chair. Jem Garrard has emerged as Tubi’s go to name for original horror…and the result is another movie worth sitting through a few ad breaks for.
The story is classic Stine. A family moves to a small town from the big city. Spooky events occur…which only the children are equipped to deal with. A creature gives chase. The ending is dark enough to stick with younger viewers. Basically, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is what you both expect and want from a Spooky Season release.
To put those broad strokes into specifics…R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead tells the story of a mother and her two sons Sam (Bean Reid) and Finn (Seth Isaac Johnson) as they move from big city New York to small rural town Red Haven. Finn is about to turn 18 and is ready to make a go at this life change…Sam is kind of a dick. When Sam steals a local man’s prized pumpkin he sets off a chain of events that leads to his brother’s abduction by…pumpkin roots…I guess? Whatever the cause…Sam has roughly a day to figure out how to free his brother from turning into a pumpkin(head) or lose him forever. Among the many problems facing him…the adults of Red Haven don’t remember Finn (or any previous missing child) having existed at all.
There’s more to it than that, of course. Sam finds an investigative partner in the sheriff’s daughter (Adeline Lo). They find an adult who does retain his memories and knows what’s going on. A pretty great scarecrow creature makes Sam’s job more difficult than simple information gathering. R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead has that feeling that you expect from releases this time of year. Something that the whole family can watch together. Something that never gets scary but has some dark stakes to contend with.
Of course that comes with some caveats. R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead doesn’t offer much for horror fanatics. There’s nothing here that you haven’t seen before…and less of what probably attracted you to being a horror fan to begin with. As a gateway horror story…this has a lot of positive qualities. A solid pick if there’s a younger viewer in your life you’d like to get on board with your favorite genre. Though, again, the most effective darkness involved in the story is aimed directly at them…which is fun but could also turn the off fully if they aren’t ready for it.
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is probably exactly what you think it is. Which is a good thing in a way. If you click play on it looking for what you think it has to offer…you’re going to find it. Performances are a bit all over the map…ranging from actors who know how to play the B-movie beats and ones who think they’re in a Hallmark movie. But there are a few good characters and some laughs and decent effects. The story moves at a solid pace…enough to keep the attention of younger viewers. Don’t expect a remake of Stan Winston’s Pumpkinhead…this is something entirely different.
What we end up with is another Tubi winner for writer/director Jem Garrard. It’s only been a few weeks since Garrard’s last film, Takeout, hit the service. Best known for breakout Tubi Original Slay…Garrard has become a reliable source of quality Tubi horror. Something the service can always use more of given its chaotic up and down quality. R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is one of the ones worth checking out. Especially given the time of year. It looks and feels like it belongs in your October playlist. Which puts it ahead of more of this season’s offerings than you’d expect.
Scare Value
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it understands the kind of wheel this season needs to move forward. It’s bright and dark in equal measure. Something that the family can watch together that can lead to more interest in the horror genre for first time viewers. Seasoned vets will find a pretty good movie here too.
3/5
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead Link
Streaming on Tubi
