R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead (2025) Review

This scary tale is sure to give you Goosebumps! 13-year-old Sam (Bean Reid) thinks moving to Redhaven is as bad as it gets – until his brother Finn (Seth Isaac Johnson) vanishes and no one, not even their mom, remembers he existed. As Halloween approaches, Sam must team up with an eccentric local and the Sheriff’s daughter to save Finn before he is lost forever to a harvest curse.

Starring Bean Reid, Adeline Lo, Kevin McNulty (Snakes on a Plane), Bob Frazer (Safehaven), Matty Finochio (Love Hard), Seth Isaac Johnson (My Old Ass), Kendra Anderson (Horns) Directed by Jem Garrard (Slay, Invasive).

Not to be confused with the excellent 1988 horror film simply titled Pumpkinhead, R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is written and directed by Jem Garrard and offers up a decidedly more family-friendly take on supernatural horror. While it may never quite reach must-see status, this is nevertheless a cut above average when it comes to kid-friendly scares.

The film gets the balance of horror and accessibility about right for its intended audience. Younger viewers will find a few suitably creepy moments, but there is little here likely to keep them awake at night. That’s quite an achievement considering the story involves black magic, missing children and the rather unsettling prospect of children being sacrificed to a demon. For adults watching alongside their kids, there is enough going on beneath the surface to maintain interest, even if the film occasionally struggles with muddled execution and some decidedly weak dialogue.

The central premise provides the film with its strongest hook. Children are being forgotten by the adults around them, to the extent that it is almost as though they never existed in the first place. There is an intriguing mystery surrounding what is happening and why, which helps to paper over some of the film’s narrative shortcomings and keeps the story moving forward.

It is also refreshing to see the filmmakers embracing practical effects rather than relying entirely on CGI. The Scarecrow, in particular, is a suitably creepy creation and one of the film’s more memorable elements. There is a pleasing Nineties aesthetic running throughout the production, which gives the film a nostalgic quality that should appeal to viewers who grew up on that era of children’s horror.

Adapted from a short story from R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour anthology series, R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead perhaps inevitably feels as though its source material has been stretched to fill a feature-length running time. At around ninety minutes, the film isn’t exactly overlong, but the later stages begin to feel increasingly jumbled, as though the story is struggling to sustain the momentum established earlier.

There is plenty here to recommend for younger horror fans, and the filmmakers deserve credit for understanding that children’s horror doesn’t need to be completely sanitised to be effective. The scares are appropriately judged, the practical effects are welcome, and there is enough substance to keep accompanying adults reasonably entertained.

Ultimately, R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead lacks the charm and spark required to really dazzle, but as a piece of family-friendly Halloween entertainment, it does the job perfectly well. An adequate time-filler for younger horror fans, even if adults may find themselves wishing the material had been developed a little further.

R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is available on Digital HD and DVD from 17 August. Distributed by Signature Entertainment

UK Trailer

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Monster Summer (2024) Review

When a great evil threatens a group of teens’ never-ending summer, they must band together with a grizzly detective in this 80s adventure throwback. When a mysterious force begins to disrupt their big summer fun, Noah and his friends team up with a retired police detective to embark on a monstrous adventure to save their island.

Starring Lorraine Bracco (THE SOPRANOS), Mel Gibson (BRAVEHEART), Mason Thames (THE BLACK PHONE), Kevin James (PAUL BLART: MALL COP), Nora Zehetner (THE RIGHT STUFF) and Abby James Witherspoon (HOT PURSUIT), Monster Summer is written by Bryan Schulz & Cornelius Uliano (THE PEANUTS MOVIE) and directed by David Henrie (THIS IS THIS YEAR).

Originally entitled BOYS OF SUMMER, MONSTER SUMMER plays out like a classic Eighties family movie. It has a whiff of THE GOONIES and THE MONSTER SQUAD about it, and a vibe that feels like it came straight out of Spielberg’s Amblin Studios. It makes for a pleasant surprise and is the perfect anecdote to those bloated Hollywood studio Christmas blockbusters poised for release that always spectacularly fail to hit the grade as decent entertainment.

Whilst perhaps lacking the budget of Spielberg’s family friendly, light-hearted action-adventure movies of the mid-Eighties, it makes up for any such limitations by boasting an excellent cast of youngsters and witnessing a return to form from Mel Gibson, who adds gravitas to his supporting role as a gnarly, grizzled neighbour whom the kids suspect of foul-play.

It’s by no means perfect – it could have been just that little bit scarier – but it does make for one of the more pleasant surprises that has been sent my way to review in a long while. Child-actor-turned-director David Henrie proves that he has the goods, and I look forward to seeing what he turns his hand to next.

Monster Summer is available on Digital Platforms 25 November. Distributed by Signature Entertainment

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The Canterville Ghost (2023) Review

This classic Oscar Wilde adaptation reunites Fry and Laurie alongside a fantastic voice cast in a spooky animated adventure. The poor ghost of Sir Simon Canterville has been roaming his castle searching in vain for a brave descendant who will release him from the Canterville curse by performing a brave deed. An American family moves in and finds the ghost amusing, but a young girl in the family can release him – if she dares.

Starring Freddie Highmore (CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY), Toby Jones (INDIANA JONES 5), Hugh Laurie (HOUSE M.D), Imelda Staunton (VERA DRAKE), Stephen Fry (V FOR VENDETTA), Miranda Hart (SPY) and Emily Carey (HOUSE OF THE DRAGON), THE CANTERVILLE GHOST is directed by Kim Burdon & Robert Chandler (THE AMAZING MAURICE) from a script written by Giles New (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL) and Keiron Self (MY FAMILY).

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST kicks off promisingly, establishing a spooky vibe as the titular ghost does his best to scare the hell out of his victim. The animation is colourful and vibrant and the score is both playful and eerie when necessary. Unfortunately it doesn’t take long for the welcome gothic vibe to break with the introduction of a rambunctious American family complete with annoying offspring.

From that point on I found it all rather shrill and irritating as if it was determined that by having aggravating American caricatures this would endear itself to a much younger viewer than myself. Children may indeed lap it up, but unfortunately, as an older viewing, outside of the intended demographic it’s undoubtedly aimed at, I found it got the better of my tolerance threshold.

Fortunately, once the dynamic and main characters have been introduced things settle down, with the film’s second half proving more satisfying and appealing as we get to grips with the backstory to the ghost. THE CANTERVILLE GHOST will appeal to very young children but may leave accompanying adults wishing they were somewhere else.

Signature Entertainment presents The Canterville Ghost only in cinemas 22nd September

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The Amazing Mr Blunden (1972) Limited Edition Blu-Ray

The mysterious but kindly solicitor Mr Blunden (Laurence Naismith, his final film) visits Mrs Allen (Lynne Frederick) and her young children, offering her the position of caretaker at a derelict country mansion. More surprises are in store when the children encounter the ghosts of two former young residents and find themselves transported back in time to help their new friends right a 100-year-old wrong.

Written and directed by Lionel Jeffries (THE RAILWAY CHILDREN), THE AMAZING MR BLUNDEN has been described by Starburst as ‘Like a family friendly Hammer horror…atmospheric, interesting and well-made’. With such a description how could one refuse the opportunity to review it when the opportunity arose, especially as it was one of those rare movies that had managed to pass me by over the many years since its original release.

Adapted from Antonia Barber’s 1969 novel The Ghosts, THE AMAZING MR BLUNDEN makes for a perfect Sunday afternoon’s viewing, one that leaves you feeling fuzzy with nostalgia if a little underwhelmed by it all. I initially warmed to the film but started to lose interest when it veered away from the notion of ghosts and into the realm of time travel. I can only imagine that the reason that this sits in the hearts of so many is purely nostalgia-related as there’s nothing else here to explain why it remains a solid favourite for many.  

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Brand new Second Sight scan and restoration
• A new audio commentary with actors Madeline Smith, Rosalyn Landor and Stuart Lock moderated by film critic and author Kim Newman
• A new interview with Madeline Smith
• A new interview with Rosalyn Landor
• Mark Gatiss on The Amazing Mr Blunden – a new interview
• 2014 archive BFI Q&A with Madeline Smith, Rosalyn Landor and Stuart Lock
• Reversible sleeve with artwork by Rich Davies and original artwork
• ‘The Ghosts’ – the original out-of-print source novel by Antonia Barber exclusively reproduced for this release
• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Rich Davies
• Soft cover book with new essays by Kevin Lyons and Kim Newman
• Reversible poster with new and original artwork

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