In a way, this is the first and possibly best adaptation of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary”. 

From horror films to sex comedies – rich city kids were always finding themselves the antagonists of 1980s movies, and PUMPKINHEAD is no exception. 

After our salt-of-the-earth protagonist, Ed Harley, has his son accidentally killed by some preppy motocross jagoffs already on probation for pulling this same kind of shit a few months earlier, the grieving father begs a reclusive sorceress to avenge his boy’s death. This ends up being a deal with the devil as his revenge comes in the form of an eight-foot demon, Pumpkinhead, a local legend that turns out to be all too true. 

Four-time Oscar winner Stan Winston moves from special effects to directing, showing off enough visual pizzazz to enliven a routine tale of violent retribution. Here, he favors a high-contrast tableau of misty mountain fog, chattering cicadas, and twisted tree branches, while additionally demonstrating the good sense to keep his sneering goliath mostly in the shadows for the first half of the film. 

In retrospect, it’s tough to think the mix of gory vengeance, creature effects, and rising genre actor Lance Henriksen wasn’t enough to entice audiences. That is, until you know the movie’s troubled history. PUMPKINHEAD shuffled through multiple studios and titles (including the terrible early moniker, VENGEANCE: THE DEMON) for more than a year before landing at United Artists, who unceremoniously dropped it into a couple limited runs around the same time as other unsung genre offerings like THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM and HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS. 

Its lack of box office impact undoubtedly stunted Winston’s directorial career, but the story has a happy ending. PUMPKINHEAD’s disappointing theatrical run allowed Winston to move on to some of his greatest career successes, overseeing effects for such mega-blockbusters as TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991), INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (1994), and AVATAR (2009).

It may have a slasher mentality at its core, and the story achieves a lowest-common-denominator kind of pathos, but there’s a perverse thrill watching a towering, bony monstrosity stomp the fuck out of these guilty city kids. Maybe that’s why PUMPKINHEAD has ultimately inspired multiple sequels, a video game, and even a comic series over the years. Reboot plans via Paramount floundered during the COVID-19 pandemic, but hopefully we’ll get an update in the coming months as to the franchise’s next step. For now, enjoy the original.

#unclean&unseen #pumpkinhead #lancehenriksen #stanwinston #oscarwinners #unitedartists #paramount #vengeancethedemon #petsematary #thelairofthewhiteworm #halloween4thereturnofmichaelmyers #terminator2judgmentday #interviewwiththevampire #avatar

Released six years ago this week in 2019, Jordan Peele’s US was a creative, though somewhat divisive, entry in the psychological horror sweepstakes. Bolstered by Peele’s newfound fame from his critically-acclaimed 2017 thriller, GET OUT, US was able to score more than a quarter billion dollars in worldwide box office receipts.

Today, we have an interesting piece of promo for the film. Taking a 180-degree turn from the widely-known and emotionally-charged theatrical poster, it’s a rather unassuming shot for what was intended as a horror film. US seemed to usher in Peele’s now standard use of mysterious marketing materials, which exploded with the release of his following picture, NOPE, in 2022.

#fearflashbacks #us #jordanpeele #getout #nope

What’s better than a new folk horror film? The very first Irish-language folk horror film, that’s what!

To help get over your post-St. Patrick’s Day blues (greens? hangover?…whatever!), the fab folks at Fangoria have let us know that Aislinn Clarke, director of CHILDER and THE DEVIL’S DOORWAY, will be releasing her latest feature via Shudder on April 25th. The new trailer gives off super creepy vibes that recall films like THE TAKING OF DEBORAH LOGAN, ENYS MEN, THE LODGE, and BARBARIAN to name a few.

The plot finds Shoo, a home health aide, caring for a elderly woman who seems to have some major mental health issues. As her client’s paranoia begins to rub off on her, Shoo falls into a terrifying downward spiral that forces her to face the demons of her past.

You can check out the original article, as well as the trailer, right here!

#horrorhappenings #frewaka #aislinnclarke #childer #thedevilsdoorway #folkhorror #thetakingofdeborahlogan #enysmen #thelodge #barbarian #ireland #irishlanguage

Ah, 1997. The sound of dial-up hurt our ears. Meredith Brooks was a bitch. And Tamagotchis gave new meaning to the term ‘passive-aggressive pet’.

I don’t need to relive ’97 in any way, shape, or form, but for those of you who can’t get enough of the Clinton years, here’s an advert for I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER from the very day it opened wide around the L.A. area–October 17, 1997.

#fearflashbacks #iknowwhatyoudidlastsummer #meredithbrooks #tamagotchis #billclinton

The rumor mill went into overdrive again last week as Babak Anvari, the director brought onboard to direct the first true sequel to CLOVERFIELD, gave just a few scraps of development details regarding the long-delayed project. Nothing much in the way of new info was offered, but I guess fans should just be happy that the goddamn thing is actually still being considered at this point.

This got me thinking about the very first poster I saw for CLOVERFIELD, way back circa late 2007. Though I love the theatrical poster we ended up with (featuring a headless Statue of Liberty and replete with a number of details and Easter eggs), Paramount’s teaser poster was horrifying in its simplicity. Showing a herculean shadow over a cramped and murky Manhattan, it offered only one word of advice: HIDE.

#onesheetwonders #cloverfield #babakanvari #paramount #teaserposters

DARKROOM seemingly had a simple, easily-attainable mission: have the charismatic James Coburn introduce two to three short tales of mystery, suspense, and horror each week during prime time. Rod Serling’s NIGHT GALLERY had already been off the air for almost a decade, so audiences were surely in the mood for a new anthology show, right? How could it go wrong?

Well, it did. Spectacularly. 

Right off the bat, ABC stuck DARKROOM with a 9pm Friday night showing. In the biz, this is commonly known as the “death slot”, where good shows (or shows that used to be good) go to die. This is because working stiffs historically opt to go out on Friday nights to celebrate the coming weekend rather than sit at home in front of the squawk box. 

For those who didn’t party or who were too young to do so (like me), there was DARKROOM…at least for the scant two months it ran during the holiday season of 1981-1982. Like any other horror anthology offering, some of the scripts were unfocused, rushed, or had their content watered down for television. In the face of these usual obstacles, DARKROOM was curiously able to jump out the gate with a unique tale that, more than 40 years later, has become prescient and downright disturbing. 

In a segment entitled “Closed Circuit”, Greg Conway, an aging new anchor, suspects his colleague has been replaced with a look-alike. Digging deeper into the mire of network politics, Conway discovers that his friend’s broadcasts have indeed been usurped by an electronic doppelganger and, even worse, he is next on the list for replacement. Alluding to such topics as computer-manipulated pixels and the constant threat of ageism for those growing older in the public eye, Alan Brennert’s teleplay plays out like some kind of prototype for David Cronenberg’s VIDEODROME. It’s an astonishingly astute commentary on the disposability of celebrities, the power of their fickle viewers, and the encroachment of the digital revolution. 

Despite solid storytelling like “Closed Circuit” and some other entertaining tales, DARKROOM never stood a chance against CBS hits like “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Dallas”. The series was unceremoniously yanked after its first seven episodes sank to the bottom of the Nielsens. However, its failure did help pave the way for a wave of horror anthology successes later in 1980s, including TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, THE HITCHHIKER, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, FRIDAY THE 13th: THE SERIES, and respectable reboots of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS and Serling’s own TWILIGHT ZONE.

Though the series never got a proper release in most territories, I urge you to catch “Closed Circuit”, as well as other DARKROOM episodes, over at the Internet Archive.    

#smallscreenscreams #darkroom #closedcircuit #jamescoburn #alanbrennert #ABC #CBS #dallas #thedukesofhazzard #anthology #rodserling #nightgallery #thetwilightzone #alfredhitchcockpresents #talesfromthecrypt #talesfromthedarkside #fridaythe13ththeseries #thehitchhiker #davidcronenberg #videodrome #ageism 

Those wily folks at New Line Cinema and RCA/Columbia Pictures teamed up to bring CRITTERS home to all of us.

Of all the high-profile GREMLINS rip-offs, this was probably the best received. Sure, GHOULIES had that poster with the big toilet and HOBGOBLINS was so bad it made it onto “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, but only CRITTERS had those roly-poly Krites, as well as Dee Wallace and Billy Zane!

#fearflashbacks #critters #krites #newlinecinema #rca #columbiapictures #gremlins #ghoulies #hobgoblins #mysterysciencetheater3000 #deewallace #billyzane

I fell ass-backwards into this little number just the other day and decided it was perfect for my St. Patrick’s Day post.

This one is courtesy of the folks at Tom Spina Creations, who were hired to build a custom mannequin to display the actual costume worn by Warwick Davis in LEPRECHAUN (1993). You gotta admit they did an awesome job here. After 30 years, the outfit is still in beautiful condition, and the workers at TSC crafted a perfect way to show it off.

Check out the full details over at Tom Spina Creations!

#horrorhappenings #leprechaun #stpatricksday #warwickdavis #tomspinacreations

We haven’t had any deadites for a bit, so let’s send you into the weekend with a little bit of evil Ed Getley from EVIL DEAD II, courtesy of the Fangoria Poster Magazine #2 (1988).

#onesheetwonders #evildead2deadbydawn #deadites #edgetley #fangoria

LOL! It’s true, it’s true!

And let me tell ya, folks, there are places in the Pacific Northwest where these goddamn trucks are EVERYWHERE. Therefore, if you were totally traumatized by this scene, don’t even think of visiting anything close to the state of Oregon anytime soon.

#killermemes&comics #finaldestination2 #loggingtrucks #pacificnorthwest #oregon