YMMV / Pumpkinhead

• Anvilicious: In an example of Tropes Are Tools, vengeance can corrupt even the best of men, as Ed Harley’s journey beautifully illustrates.
• Awesome Music: The score by Richard Stone is positively oozing with gothic atmosphere mixed with southern charm, but "A Witch In the Woods" is a particular standout that perfectly sets up the overall feel of the film.
• Fan Nickname: Due to having a similar body structure (which is more than likely a byproduct of its creator), several people affectionately call him "Hillbilly Xenomorph."
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • Bunt telling his sister Hessie that he's going out to look for Pumpkinhead and her saying to be careful.
  • Ed's relationship with his son.
  • The fact that except for Joel the campers are concerned about what happened and hopeful Billy is ok, with Steve even staying to help him.
  • Tracy defending Jimmy Joe from his siblings teasing him with the Pumpkinhead chant at Ed's fruit stand.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Haggis usually warns the would-be avengers that they're about to cross it. And she knows that she has crossed it long ago, as when Harley says "Goddamn you" her answer is a cynical smile and the retort He already has.
  • Joel is one of the only of the kids who can be adequately described as a Asshole Victim. After all causing an accident is one thing but deliberately abandoning the victim, a little boy, to save your skin and sabotage your friends' attempts to help by knocking one out and locking both in a closet is something else.
• The Problem with Licensed Games: Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead's Revenge, an unfairly difficult hybrid between a First-Person Shooter and Full Motion Video game with some Adventure Game elements and many Guide Dang It! moments.
• Sequelitis: The second film, Blood Wings ignored the first and was hilariously terrible. The next two sequels, however, while nowhere near the first one's quality, were a bit better and at least had something to do with the original.
• Slow-Paced Beginning: A better example than most in the first film, showing Ed's journey to find Haggis, as well as a glimpse of Pumpkinhead in the intro, but Ed doesn't summon Pumpkinhead until 45 minutes into the movie.
• Tearjerker:
  • Harley's last moments with his son Billy are agonizing to watch.
  • Ed Harley is fundamentally a good man who makes a terrible decision in his grief, only to realize the horror of what he's unleashed. Even his Heroic Sacrifice to stop Pumpkinhead does not change his fate, and he is buried in the pumpkin patch to become the next Pumpkinhead. We get the sense that the old witch was right: Harley is irrevocably damned.
  • Maggie's death is also rather hard to stomach, as she was completely innocent, tried desperately to stop Billy Harley from getting in the way of the bikes, and has a total emotional breakdown after he is hit. She is not spared a bit of wrath from Pumpkinhead, and even has a cross carved into her forehead simply because she's a religious person, possibly making Pumpkinhead the most petty Jerkass demon around.
• Took the Bad Film Seriously: While not a particularly bad film, the first film mostly is considered on the lower tier of B-grade horror, though still the best installment in the franchise. Despite this, Lance Henriksen's performance as Ed Harley is so humanizing and emotional that even detractors will say the scenes focusing on him are at least worth watching.
• Vindicated by History: At the time of its release, the film was largely forgotten with overall mixed to mediocre reviews. Nowadays, Pumpkinhead is viewed very highly by the horror community as one the most quintessential horror films of the 80’s.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: Pumpkinhead itself in the first film, along with the Synchronization of Ed Harley in a few scenes.

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