Editor’s Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on December 9, 2005, and we’re proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.
So how come the original Pumpkinhead got an extras-less DVD release while the sequel receives the full supplemental treatment? I guess the latter speaks of director Jeff Burr’s commitment to getting his entire back catalog out on disc with plenty of bonuses. The exception was the recent DVD of his debut feature From a Whisper to a Scream (a.k.a. The Offspring)—but hey, that one was issued by MGM, which also put out that bare-bones Pumpkinhead disc.
In any case, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, out on DVD from Lions Gate, is a typical direct-to-video sequel: slickly made on a low budget, it lacks the depth of the original’s vengeance-and-its-consequences themes, and the revelation of the meaning of the titular symbols is disappointingly literal and simplistic. Listen to Burr’s commentary and watch the making-of featurette, however, and you may be impressed that the movie turned out as well as it did. The movie was put together in just 90 days once producer Brad Krevoy agreed to make it; the script was penned by a couple of TV writers who used pseudonyms for their screen credits; Burr took the helm at the 11th hour after original director Tony Randel departed, juggled the shoot with postproduction chores on Puppetmaster 4 and wound up casting Andrew Robinson (originally intended for a supporting role) in the lead at the last minute after Timothy Bottoms dropped out.
The result has a slick and bold look and sound (Dolby 2.0 Surround) in Lions Gate’s transfer, which is fullscreen, though this is evidently an open-matte presentation and nothing seems unduly cropped on the sides. In fact, there’s a bit too much visual information at the bottom; on the commentary, Burr points out a couple of moments where you can glimpse the tennis shoes worn by Pumpkinhead performer Mark McCracken. The director points out such gaffes and airs his regrets about the rushed project with good humor, and shares a number of fun behind-the-scenes stories, including a few that explain onscreen inconsistencies. Actress Soleil Moon Frye’s nose ring appears and disappears, for example, because the producers insisted she lose it after the first day of shooting, since it might have led to the film being banned in certain countries!
Pumpkinhead II: Earning Your Blood Wings is a surprisingly extensive featurette, interviewing not only Burr and Krevoy but many of the film’s other actors and filmmakers as well. Veteran actress Gloria Hendry praises Robinson, R.A. Mihailoff (from Burr’s Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III) recalls baring his “hairy ass” for a love scene with Linnea Quigley and actor Will Huston explains the finer points of being pecked to death by chicken puppets. The most burning question associated with Pumpkinhead II, however, is answered when Krevoy discusses casting his high-powered friends, including Roger Clinton, in bit roles: Yes, Roger’s brother Bill has seen the movie—more than once, if Krevoy is to be believed. This overall package will fit nicely into a homemade three-disc set with the equally well-appointed discs of Burr’s Leatherface and Stepfather 2.
Lions Gate, meanwhile, issued a couple of new sequels around the same time, of which GhostWatcher II is easily the better. I haven’t seen the original, which impressed many reviewers, but its heroine Laura Kove (returning Jillian Byrnes) has clearly gotten over the agoraphobia that afflicted her in that film and is now a sort of freelance ghostbuster without the fancy scientific equipment. She’s called upon to help teenager Tracy Cain (Julia Pickens), who lost her mother in a car accident, after which she herself was attacked by a mysterious someone. Now she’s being afflicted by scary voices in her head and worse, and as Laura and her partner Glen (Steve Polites) investigate, they not only have to contend with a malevolent spirit but signs that a major tragedy may be about to occur.
Director/writer David A. Cross, also returning from the first GhostWatcher, doesn’t make Tracy the typical young-bimbo-in-distress (in fact, he spoofs that trend with the briefly seen movie-within-the-movie The Last Halloween Part 2). Tracy is depressed and sullen and a bit of a pain in the butt—and doesn’t seem terribly distressed about the death of a loved one at a certain point in the story—yet Cross manages to maintain sympathy for her plight. His character-oriented approach to low-budget horror is commendable—the byplay between Laura and Glen is especially nicely done—and while the horror material breaks no new ground, there are a couple of well-timed jolts. He also deserves credit not only for attempting a big catastrophic setpiece toward the movie’s end, but for pulling it off surprisingly well on his limited means.
Shot on what appears to be hi-def video, the image has a sometimes soft but overall pleasing and colorful look in the DVD’s 1.85:1 transfer, backed by decent 2.0 stereo. As opposed to the well-stocked disc of its predecessor, GhostWatcher II is skimpy on the extras, though what’s there is choice. A brief behind-the-scenes piece packs in plenty of entertainment per minute, combining spirited interviews with the cast and crew and snippets of on-set footage, along with an extended version of Last Halloween Part 2. There’s also a gag reel that, unlike such features on many discs, is actually pretty damn funny.
There’s no joy to be had with Dark Harvest 2, which neither has anything to do with the first Dark Harvest nor contains the evil scarecrow depicted in the cover art. Subtitled (and originally titled) The Maize, it’s centered on the titular real-life attraction, a cornfield labyrinth that even has its own official website. Given this location to use, writer/director Bill Cowell deserves some small credit for not going with the most obvious plotline (Six teenagers decide to spend Halloween night in the Maize, where an evil presence waits to etc.); instead, he himself takes the starring role of a man who receives psychic flashes that his two young daughters are facing grave peril during their visit to the attraction. He sets off to rescue them, and wanders the Maize calling their names, and it’s intercut with the two girls squabbling through the paths, and soon the terrible realization sets in that the entire movie is going to proceed in much the same way. Oh yes, a pair of ghostly twin girls right out of The Shining also pop up now and then, but their synchronized dialogue delivery induces giggles rather than shivers.
As if aware of his own material’s redundancy, Cowell unloads a bushel of visual gimmicks—split-second images, oddball (handheld) camera angles, digital ripple FX, multiple panels within the frame—which do nothing to add excitement to a story that literally runs around in circles for 104 minutes (at least 20 too long). The tension is supposed to stem from the fact that an evil villain is stalking the father and kids, though the movie can’t seem to make up its mind whether the malefactor is supernatural or not, and from their inability to escape the Maize, even though several other characters—a costumed worker on hand for a cheap fake scare, a group of kids who inexplicably turn up in the heretofore deserted Maize—find their way to the exit with no problem.
Also shot on (apparently lower-end) video, Dark Harvest 2 has little of GhostWatcher II’s visual polish; the 1.85:1 transfer’s colors are wan, the picture sometimes overexposed or out of focus. This is the only movie of this trio to be given a 5.1 mix—not that the audio is terribly compelling. The only significant disc extra is a making-of featurette that’s about as short as GhostWatcher II’s but not nearly as much fun; it consists of unexciting on-set footage, barely amusing bloopers and, inexplicably, a couple of scenes played backwards. Sit through any of Dark Harvest 2, and you’ll want to rewind and get that time back yourself.
