Pumpkinhead II: Bloodwings (1994)

A deformed orphan boy named Tommy (J.P. Manoux) is badly tormented to death by a bunch of teenaged delinquents back in the 1960's and then falls into a well.
Thirty years have passed and a teenage girl named Jenny Braddock (Ami Dolenz) moves into a country with her parents as her father named Sean (Andrew Robinson) is the head county sherrif.
Jenny falls into the wrong crowd lead by a guy named Danny Dixon (J. Trevor Edmund) who's on parole for causing trouble whom is also the son of an obnoxius Judge (Steve Kanaly) whom is ignorant about the legend of Pumpkinhead and the terrors of what could happen if a local witch named Miss Osie (Lilyan Chauvin) is ever crossed with.
Jenny also seems to be attacted to Trevor and then they hang out at the well where Tommy was killed as well as going on a cruise at night accidentally hitting Miss Osie causing to dent Travor's car.
They also go to Miss Osie's old shack where she resides and takes some of her medicine that is very powerful and then goes to an old burial ground where Tommy's corpse resides then does a chant to see if the spell works to revive this boy as Miss Osie curses Pumkinhead's wrath on them all.
Suddenly Osies shack is on fire and she is sent to a hospital and Tommy becomes Pumpkinhead and rises from the grave and wreaks havoc on the locals whom once tormented him and then goes after the teenager too in which both Sean and his assistant detective named Delilah Pettibone (Gloriah Hendry) tries to solve the missing pieces of the murders going on in their town and to rescue Jenny as Sean has a secret of his own that involved Tommy.

This sequel really lacked the story on the first film yet it is fun, campy and exciting too with the creature attacking and the dark feel to it along with moments at a burial ground too.
It's cheesy for sure but a nice party flick for everyone who wants to get together and watch it for the fun of it and the special effects too.
The film like the first one shows your typical ttenage troublemakers doing things they shouldn't be doing and a good girl who's the daughter of a Sherrif wanting to tag along with them which is common in lots of these kinds of films too.
However, the story doesn't do a heck of alot in most spots with people dropping dead and the county police looking in on it and what is causing this with the townspeople talking about the legendary Pumpkinhead in which I kinda wondered if this one had anything to do with the first one.
They try to make the story disturbing and at times hard to watch but it fails a bit due to the cheesy writing in the film but yet, it looks like this one influenced some elements to the flick I Know What You Did Last Summer too.
The film was made by the same makers of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III.

The acting is not too bad but however lead actor Andrew Robinson seemed to just be saying his lines and very little getting into character as the head sherrif of the county. He did show some energy now and then with his aggressions and intensity here and there.
Ami Dolenz has the good girl looks but can she act? Well.... she's passable and does well when she gets aggressive along with her frights too and screams well to top it off. Yes, I could say she gets into character without a problem.
Gloria Hendry portrays her job well as a detective with a good serious attitude to her role and seems powerful with her words too.
Soleil Moon Frye always had that perfect charm since her childhood days in her TV series Punky Brewster and really pulls her part off well as a rebellious teen and really knew how to act sleazy too with her words and actions.
J. Trevor Edmund was perfect in his part as a bad ass teen with his nasty behavior and aggressions towards others in the film and is probably the best actor in this film and can really go places with future acting gigs.
Steve Kanaly does his job well as a jack ass judge in the film in which his part reminds me of many other overly opinionated dickheads I had to deal with in my life and really brings his character right to the point.
Caren Kaye seemed about right playing a sympathetic and calm housewife in the film really playing the passive role just right.
We have a key supporting role by Lilyan Chauvin whom I enjoyed as the wicked and cold Mother Superioir in Silent Night Deadly Night in which she's covered in make-up to look like an old hag witch in the film and proves to be versatile in her role with her deep speaking and ghost like features. What a treat to see her in another horror film and pulling off this type of a role but it kinda made her look bad too playing this kind of a creature type of role as I found her to be a character actress who can pull off other parts in shows.

There's been a number of cameo's by b-horror film celebrities. Let's take a look.

Joe Unger from Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III I will always remember his part in as a redneck crazed farmer in which he brings the odd humor in and quite a character too.
His co-star from that movie R.A. Mihailoff who played Leatherface stood out too as a sleazy burly man cheating on his wife in a warehouse who brought character too and knew how to get scared while being attacked by Pumpkinhead. It was nice to see what he looked like from that leather mask and hear him talk too.
Speaking of that Kane Hodder does a good job playing another redneck and tough guy too and showed his stuff whom we all remembered as Jason Voorhees in many of the recent Friday the 13th sequels.
*Gasp!* Who do we also have??? Yes, Linnea Quigley who played Trash in Return of the Living Dead as well as numerous cheesy b-horror films who plays a sleazy one in the film but often played these types of roles and showed a different character too as well as showing terrific frights and lots of screams after encountering the terrors of Pumpkinhead. She will always be one of my favourite scream queens.

Sexpot/b-film scream queen Linnea Quigley exposes her breasts while fornicating with a burly man at his warehouse.

Pumpkinhead does more people in by slicing off a farmers arms and legs.
Clawing a burly man
Some blood splatterings
Two teens impaled on a sharp object
A head pulled off and thrown

Jeff Burr is quite cheesy with his directing but has some interesting moments in which he shows good camera shots on a prologue with bit part actors played by people like Jason Stanford as a 50's teen running, attacking and tormenting bit part actor J.P. Manoux and tying him up dropping him in a well with good shots on supporting actress Lilyan Chauvin suffering on the ground in which Burr tried to make this setting disturbing but really doesn't go too far with it.
There's a real cheesy dialogue between Andrew Robinson and Caren Kaye trying to have a serious discussion and making it seem touching but it is not convincing at all.
There's some interesting shots on the well with people like Soleil Moon Frye, J. Trevor Edmund, Hill Harper with Ami Dolenz tagging along with him causing trouble and hanging out.
We also have a good confrontation on Robinson with Dolenz in his police vehicle telling her she doesn't want her hanging out with that crowd and her griping.
We spots some good camera shots on Frye, Dolenz, Harper and Edmund driving their vehicle at night goofing around looking like natural party crazed teenagers with Dolenz freaking out at Edmund for driving crazily on the road which looked natural for teenage behavior along with them hitting someone and then they all freak out on what to do since it reminds me of a similar direction in I Know What You Did Last Summer.
There's also good shots on the four of them walking through a graveyard and other parts in the dark with mist showing giving the film a nice feel to it.
There's a nice presence by Chauvin looking blind with her deep words when the others were goofing around in her shack along with a good struggle between her and Edmund along with a perfect shot on her lying on the floor with her evil words that Pumpkinhead will get all of them.
There's some good shots on the cast walking up to a burial ground along with Edmund digging up a grave and then trying to do that chant.
We also spot a good shot on Chauvin acting like she's having a seizure on the floor with candles falling down and her shack catching on fire with Dolenz screaming and telling the others she's in the shack.
There's also a perfect shot with a clawed hand rising up from the grave with smoke and flames from the hole of the grave.
We have a nice dialogue between Robinson and Gloria Hendry at the burned down shack along with some evidence on what was the cause of it.
Burr directed a great dream sequences between Dolenz and Edmund in a bed outside in the woods making out and then a great shot on Mark McCracken as Pumkinhead luring over Dolenz with her screaming.
There's some perfect night time camera shots with supporting actor Joe Unger at his farm with the wind and lightning happening along with shots on McCracken attacking and throwing him around in his barn.
We have a cheesy dialogue between Robinson and Edmund when he talks to him about what happened with the old lady and the burned down shack.
There's a good dispute between Robinson and Steve Kanaly about a death of a resident and Kanaly being overly opinionated towards him as it looked believeably directed by having an ignorant behavior.
There's a good shot on two bit supporting actors performed by Linnea Quigley and R.A. Mihailoff by having a sex scene in a wooded warehouse and later on a good presence by McCracken about to attack with Mihailoff screaming and then being thrown around.
There's a good shot on Quigley looking shocked after seeing his corpse thrown outside and a nice close up shot on her face screaming in fear.
Once again a nice dialogue between both Robinson and Hendry at the warehouse with a good presence by Quigley running out freaked out of her mind with Robinson trying to calm her down.
Many good shots on Chauvin acting like having a seizure in the hospital bed.
The best direction of all was with both Robinson and Hendry in the hospital room with Chauvin rising up with her deep ghostly voice in what to do to stop Pumpkinhead with a terrific close up shot on her which looked eerie.
We have a good moment with Kanaly lying on the floor while about to be attacked by McCracken not believeing who it once was.
We have perfect aggressions by Edmund pointing a gun at the rest of the cast and demanding them to stay put along with a good shot on him punching out Alexander Polinsky.
We see a great shot on McCracken crashing through a window which almost makes you jump.
There's a nice shot closing in on Frye with her screaming.
We have a good shot on McCracken grabbing Edmund by the neck and holding him off the ground along with a good shot on Dolenz screaming in terror.
We have a perfect speech by Robinson towards McCracken convincing him that his daughter wasn't responsible to what happened to him in the past which looked very powerfully directed.
Many good camera shots on the bit part actors played by people like Ed Anders, Monte Rex Perlin and Lon Sunders shooting their rifles with McCracken slowly being shot to death.

Some awesome backwoods hillbilly southern guitar playing in the necessary scene's as well as some terrific piano playing and synthesizer music too. Some of the other synthesizer playing sounds quite cheesy here and there but not overly terrible. Just a little annoying at times. The music was composed by Jim Manzie.

There's some terrific songtracks used in the film especially during the closing credits with Roger Clinton performing "Just Like You" as well as a brief tune when the credts are about to finish by a rockabilly type group called Jymmi Briggajanos performing "You Don't Want to See (Pumpkinhead)" which these songs kicked ass big time along with many other artists performing some of their songs throughout certain scene's.

Miss. Osie: You will die! You all will die! Miss Osie curses every one of you to the vengeance of Pumpkinhead!