There’s something off about Red Haven.
In R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead, the new Tubi original written and directed by Jem Garrard (Slay), it’s pretty evident that there’s more to the bountiful harvest and cheerful farmer’s market than meets the eye. Of course, this is par for the course for a Stine text, which typically wastes no time throwing its middle grade protagonists into the creepy/supernatural deep end.
That’s how Pumpkinhead works: 13 year old Sam (Bean Reid) moves to Red Haven the day before Halloween with his 17 year old brother Finn (Seth Isaac Johnson) and single mother Cassie (Kendra Anderson). Sullen and withdrawn, Sam feels excluded from decisions made by his family, who have moved to the small town for a fresh start in the wake of a tragedy.
Within hours, however, Sam has been creeped out by the town’s cheerfully demeanour and its benevolent benefactor Farmer Palmer (Kevin McNulty), who grows a prized pumpkin in his barn each year. It’s part of a tradition that the townspeople claim saved the crops and, by extension, the town, “at the turn of the century” (ie: 2003).
The history lesson is imparted to Sam by Becka (Adeline Lo), the daughter of the Sheriff (Bob Frazer) and Sam’s immediate confidant. When Finn goes missing while trying to fix a prank Sam pulled and all of the town’s adults, including Cassie, forget he ever existed, it falls on Sam and Becka to figure out the mystery and rescue Finn before it’s too late.
It should be noted that unlike Garrard’s last film, which pitted drag queens against vampires, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is very much gateway horror for the tween crowd. The plot is fast paced and straightforward and the comedy, principally povided by town recluse Rusty (Matty Finochio), is extremely broad. Themes involve untrustworthy adults and kids being forced to look after themselves, both benchmarks of genre middle grade fiction, while the penchant for creepy monsters and violent threats are classic Stine.
In this case, the principal antagonist is a Scarecrow (Troy James) who protects Palmer’s property and a key text that holds the power to unravel the whole scheme. The creature design is a little underwhelming for the body as it’s basically a burlap outfit, but the mouth opens unnaturally wide to emit black smoke tendrils that suck the life out of victims if the monster lays hands on you. Then there’s the acrobatic way the Scarecrow moves, which involves loping, back bending and racing around on all fours. It’s a good physical performance despite clearly being “a man in a suit.”
As for the human actors, Reid and Lo are fully capable leads. The former negotiates the shift from petulant sulker to reluctant hero when Sam is forced to step up and save his brother. Lo is the MVP, though; in addition to managing the early exposition dump, Becka is both the brains of the group and its protector (she carries a slingshot and her targeting accuracy is spot-on).
The third member of the group is stunted adult Rusty, who fills in the backstory of the town while also acting as the film’s main source of comedy. Audience mileage may vary with this character, however; Rusty has a tendency to deliver self-aware exposition, such as when he admonishes Sam for interrupting his tale because rushing it ruins “the world-building.” These kinds of on the nose references are relatively infrequent. Becka’s acknowledgement that splitting up “isn’t very Final Girls of us” is a bit more egregious, but Finochio’s performance is much showier. What he’s doing is much bigger than everyone else in the film, so he’s likely to be a fan favourite or a grating distraction (my money’s on the former for the target audience).
Overall, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is a solid gateway film for pre-teens. Audiences hoping for the same campy execution and social commentary as Garrard’s last film will undoubtedly find this a little cheap and simple, but it’s clearly aimed at a younger audience for whom a daytime chase by a Scarecrow through an empty field is equal parts scary and exciting.
With that said, everyone is apt to be affected by the truly horrifying spectacle of the screaming titular character, which looks amazing. Add to this two delightful animated sequences and a finale that employs a spell, a ticking clock, and a surprisingly dark coda, and it all feels appropriately R.L. Stine.
For those who love The Haunted Hour and Goosebumps, this is perfect seasonal fare.
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is now streaming on Tubi.
The post ‘R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead’ Review – Tubi Original Is Prime Gateway Horror for Halloween appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
