There are a staggering amount of reboots, long awaited sequels and the sometimes confusing requel being made right now.Horror movieshave always been a big moneymaker for studios, so it isn’t at all surprising that some classic horror icons are in the process of being brought back to the big screen. The latest of these icons is none other than the cult classicPumpkinhead, which is being revived bySawproducerPeter Block.
Entertainment Weeklyis reporting thatBlockhas obtained the rights to the classic horror franchise, which was originally brought to life by visual effects legendStan Winston, his directorial debut in 1988. The originalPumpkinheadtells the story of a grieving father who loses his son in a tragic accident, who then conjures up a vengeful, terrifying demon to punish the teenagers responsible. According to the report, the reboot is set to start shooting in 2017, but no director is attached as of yet. Here is whatBlockhad to say about his new take onPumpkinhead.
“There is a similarity of theme and a similarity of story. There’s a lot ofEaster eggsfor people who know the original - iconic shots and iconic lines that we’re going to use. But we’ve enhanced the setting, and we’ve expanded the characters somewhat, to give it a different kind of experience.”
Blockwrote the script for thePumpkinheadreboot with a writer namedNate Atkins, who doesn’t have any other major credits to speak of. The originalPumpkinheadused a lot ofpractical effects, a product ofStan Winston, and that is a large part of what has helped the movie keep a following for so many years.Blockintends to find a director who loves the horror genre, and is also looking to keep the focus on practical effects in this new take.
“I am a big proponent of practical effects. That was the great thing about the original. A lot of the films I still respond to most today, it’s because of the practical effects. We think that it’s going to be a nice slow reveal, lots of scares and lots of action in the beginning, and a great creature in the end, which everybody should be able to look at and say, ‘Oh, that’s Pumpkinhead!’ It’s not like you’re all of a sudden going to find that it’s some amorphous, nebulous, CGI wispy thing. You’re going to know it came from the Pumpkinhead family lineage.”
Peter Blockhas a long, and largely positive history with the horror genre. He has produced on theSaw moviessince the very beginning of the franchise, and has also worked with some of the biggest names in the horror genre over the years. He was an executive producer onRob Zombie’sThe Devil’s Rejects, and he producedThe Wardfor horror legendJohn Carpenter. Other credits of note in the genre forBlockincludeDaybreakers,Fidoand theFear Itselfhorror anthology series.
The originalPumpkinheadhit theaters in 1988 and starred genre-movie legendLance Henriksen, most famous for his role as Bishop inAliens. The movie was given a limited release and found very modest success, grossing less than $5 million at the box office. The movie eventually found a cult following and spawned a direct-to-video sequel, as well as two TV movies. The series has been dormant sincePumpkinhead 4: Blood Feudin 2007, which aired on SyFy. There is no word yet on a targeted release date for the newPumpkinhead, but we will be sure to keep you updated as more information becomes available.
