10 Most Underappreciated '80s Horror Movies

2. Pumpkinhead

Pumpkinhead 1988
United Artists

Those who know, know - Pumpkinhead is an utter delight!

Unfortunately, not enough people know this fact, for this 1988 Stan Winston feature is often overlooked by the masses when delving into the world of '80s horror. Granted, some simply presume that with a name like Pumpkinhead, the film has to be a piece of mindless trash. Alas, that is far from the case, though.

Here, Lance Henriksen devours plenty of scenery as Ed Harley, a widow whose young son ends up accidentally killed by some dirtbike-riding young adults. Seeking revenge, Ed locates an eerie witch in the woods, with our grieving father desperate for this maniacal sort to resurrect a creature he once saw as a boy; a creature known as Pumpkinhead.

Of course, after a quick spot of grave-digging and magic, Pumpkinhead is resurrected and does indeed carry out Ed's mission of vengeance, but at the cost of Ed's own physical well-being and dwindling sanity.

So impressed by the film's script, SFX legend Stan Winston decided to make his directorial debut with Pumpkinhead, having previously impressed with his effects work on the likes of Gargoyles, The Thing, The Entity, The Terminator, and Aliens - work which, amongst other accolades, nabbed Winston an Academy Award.

In this post: 
Pumpkinhead
 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.