PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS
They should've called it "Tommy's Revenge"

  And here they go, descending way into camp by sequel one; at least the Freddy Krueger movies waited for a couple of installments before doing this, but here, I guess the temptation to make everything silly was just too great, the potential for cheesiness irresistible.  After all, the villain's name is Pumpkinhead.

Andrew "Garak" Robinson plays a New York cop who returns to the small town where he was raised (you can tell it's a small town because all the houses have wood paneling on the inside) to be their sheriff.  Regarding his gun, he says "With the exception of target practice, I won't be needing it much."  Hmm.  (actually, he never does use his gun in this movie, but with a line like that, you know he's gonna want to)  His daughter (Ami Dolenz) has started hanging out with the bad crowd - the same bad crowd which hits a backwoods witch with their car and then accidentally burns down her house.  Then they try raising the dead body she's got in her back yard back from the dead with a magic spell.  Then Pumpkinhead comes along and kills just about everybody in town.

The leader of this group must be one heck of a charmer - after knowing this girl for about one day, he's able to melt her heart with "You know I'd never hurt anyone, don't you?"  And when they first meet, he forces a kiss on her (which, yes, she struggles against), and naturally, she can't wait to go out with him again.  Now that's what I call a way with women!

Poor Andy Robinson.  He's been so good in any number of roles, but here, he finds out that's it's much, much better to be in a great supporting role (Garak on Deep Space 9, or in a more scenery-chewing capacity, Scorpio from Dirty Harry) than a lousy lead.  He looks thoroughly embarrassed to be here, giving off the same "please kill me now" vibes I got from Michael Ansara in Day Of The Animals.  Ami Dolenz gives us what you'd expect, showing off all the depth and intensity she showed in Witchboard 2 (rolls eyes).  And Pumpkinhead himself...what have they done to you, Pumpkinhead?

What was a very cool monster in the first film is now just a man in a suit; close inspection suggests that the prosthetics and suit are still of high quality but director Jeff Burr (a specialist in bad sequels) frames and lights everything horribly.  Poor Pumpkinhead isn't convincing for half a moment.

The story here is totally inane, trying to tie in the Pumpkinhead thing with the late-1950's murder of a backwoods mutant at the hands of a gang of refugees from Happy Days.  It turns out that Pumpkinhead's name is Tommy.  (quick, what's a less scary name: Pumpkinhead, or Tommy?) The dialogue is a hoot, but not always intentionally, like when Robinson is asked just what Pumpkinhead is.  He ominously answers "There's a legend around these parts..." Adding to the ridiculous is that hilariously lame rhyme that inspired the first film; Robinson gets to recite it this time, accompanied by a slow zoom with a fish-eye lens.

But credit has to be given where it's due, and Soleil Moon-Frye (yes, that's Punky Brewster to you) is totally hot these days and fabulously built - and this is AFTER her breast reduction!  (a dead-on resemblance to Jennifer Aniston, so obvious the first time I saw this silly movie, seems absent this time) Ah, I think I'm in love.  And that scene where one guy's head is shoved into a chicken coop (to be relentlessly pecked by its denizens) is good for a laugh.

Pumpkinhead 2 inspired a video game, for some reason (never played it), and the IMDb insists on the existence of a Pumpkinhead 3, which I doubt. Watch for Bill Clinton's brother playing "Mayor Bubba" (I kid you not).

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