Pumpkinhead – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Pumpkinhead

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie1988

18%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Stan Winston's 1988 creature-feature debut: a grieving dad summons a revenge demon. Practical effects shine, everything else is pretty grim.

6.2/10

50%

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Pumpkinhead

movie

R, 1988

18%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Stan Winston's 1988 creature-feature debut: a grieving dad summons a revenge demon. Practical effects shine, everything else is pretty grim.

6.2

50%

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6.2/10

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Screenwise Verdict

Look, if you're a horror completist or Stan Winston superfan, Pumpkinhead has its place in the canon. The practical effects are genuinely impressive, and there's a thin thread of 'revenge destroys everyone' morality buried in there.

But let's be real: this is a 1988 slasher about a demon murdering teenagers, with all the graphic violence that entails. The pacing is glacial by modern standards, the acting is wooden, and the 'lesson' about vengeance is drowned in blood and screaming. Common Sense Media says 17+ and they're not being conservative.

For families? This is a hard pass unless you've got a high schooler who's specifically into horror history and creature effects. Even then, you're watching it for the craft, not the content. It's not enriching, it's not safe, and it's definitely not wholesome. It's just... horror. Old, slow, gory horror that most modern kids would find boring between the scary parts.

Age Fit

This is strictly for older teens (17+) and adults who enjoy classic horror. The violence is graphic, the tone is relentlessly dark, and the 80s production style makes it a tough watch for anyone expecting modern pacing. Not remotely appropriate for younger viewers.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Revenge-driven horror film where a grieving father summons a demon to murder teenagers. The entire premise centers on vengeance and violence, with no redemptive arc or positive modeling. The emotional core is rage and retribution, not exactly the kind of processing we want kids learning.

Imaginative

Stan Winston's directorial debut brings practical creature effects that were genuinely creative for 1988. The folklore-based demon concept (summoning an ancient vengeful spirit from a pumpkin patch graveyard) has some mythological imagination to it. The creature design itself is memorable and showed real craft in the pre-CGI era. But the story is pretty straightforward slasher territory without much narrative innovation.

Safe

This is a horror movie about a demon systematically killing teenagers with graphic violence. Common Sense Media rates it 17+. Expect blood, gore, jump scares, and sustained terror. There's nothing 'safe' about watching a vengeful creature hunt and murder people, even if it's all practical effects. The entire point is to be scary and violent.

Enriching

There's a thin morality tale buried here about the cost of revenge—the father suffers as much as his victims—but it's wrapped in so much genre violence that any lesson is hard to extract. Might spark conversations about grief, justice vs. vengeance, and consequences, but you'd need to really dig for it. The practical effects work could interest budding filmmakers curious about pre-digital creature creation. Otherwise, it's mostly just 80s horror entertainment.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Stan Winston's practical creature effects are genuinely impressive and a masterclass in pre-CGI horror filmmaking
The folklore angle (summoning an ancient demon from a pumpkin patch) has some mythological weight to it
Could spark discussions about grief, revenge, and moral consequences if you're willing to excavate them from the gore
Cult classic status among 80s horror fans means it's a cultural touchstone for that era

⚠

What to Watch For

Graphic violence and gore—this is a demon systematically killing teenagers, not a metaphor
The entire plot is driven by revenge with no real redemption or positive resolution
Jump scares and sustained horror atmosphere designed to terrify
Dated 80s pacing and production values make it genuinely hard to sit through for anyone under 30
Zero humor or levity to break the tension—this is grim start to finish

Conversation Starters

"The dad thinks revenge will make him feel better—does it? What happens to him as Pumpkinhead kills people?"
"How do you think they made that creature look so real without computers? What would that job be like?"
"If someone you loved was hurt, what would actually help you feel better? Does hurting someone else ever fix grief?"

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