Pumpkinhead

Back in 1988, a new Boogeyman of sorts came to fruition thanks to a poem. Its name was "Pumpkinhead," and the film based on said poem spawned the inevitable two sequels. The original can now be purchased on Blu-ray in a special Collector's Edition that can only come from the great Shout Factory.

Lance Henriksen ("Aliens") plays Ed Harley and gets to deal with a different alien of sorts when his son is accidentally killed by a group of motor biking teenagers. As he tries to bring his young son back to life, a local witch (Florence Schauffler) helps him conjure up the demon known as Pumpkinhead. The demon takes revenge on the guilty teenagers; meanwhile, Ed Harley fights his own inner demons in this rare horror film morality tale.

"Pumpkinhead" gets lumped in with those '80s films featuring real makeup effects, nowadays replaced with dreadful CGI. This and many, many other topics get discussed in "Pumpkinhead Unearthed," a 6-part documentary on the making of the film that clocks in at over an hour. The filmmakers reveal that this horror film was influenced by both "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and "Aliens." Even the witch herself, Florence Schauffler, gets interviewed, and she's still alive and kicking.

The late Stan Winston gets a lot of praise in the featurette "Remembering the Monster Kid: A Tribute to Stan Winston." If this weren't enough, Scream Factory gives fans eight more bonus features, including new interviews with producer Richard Weinman and actors John D'Aquino and Matthew Hurley. "Demonic Toys" examines the making of the rubbery and gooey Pumpkinhead creature and some behind-the-scenes footage shows how the backwoods scenes were created. An audio commentary with screenwriters and the special effects team offers up even more info than the hour-long documentary.

"Pumpkinhead"
Blu-ray
www.shoutfactory.com