Night of the Pumpkin

Review of Nick Peron

I like guys that have a pumpkin in place of their head. I think it goes back to watching that old Disney cartoon about the Headless Horseman, one of Disney's more frightening cartoons (they sure don't make them like that anymore, gone are the days where Mickey is walking around his house with a double barreled shot gun because there's a strangler on the loose.) Everything from the horrid Jack-O to the down right creepy Return to Oz, I have had a fascination with characters like this. So when Bill Zebub released his latest offering, Night of the Pumpkin, and was screening it at Cinema Wasteland, I couldn't resist going to check it out.

This is Bill's first foray into making a monster film, but fans of Bill's work do not fret: It's got the same twisted mind behind it, and has all the usual Bill Zebub signatures.

The story follows a circle of friends: Bill (played by, you guessed it, Bill Zebub himself), his opera loving girlfriend Jen (Shoshana McCallum), the devoutly religious Elizabeth (Chelsea O'Toole), and the agnostic Elsye (Kellyn Lindsay) who are throwing a themselves party on Halloween. When a angry call from the unlikable Fred (George Stiso) about a supposed prank involving a killer in a pumpkin mask comes in, the group learns that the story is all too true, when they are hunted down and killed by a menacing pumpkin monster.

As usual, Bill's film takes a genre and uses it as a tapestry to make a social commentary on all sorts of subjects and this movie is no different, but we'll get into that a little later let's talk about the pumpkin man. The pumpkin head character is one of the most downright creepy masks I have ever seen, the addition of leaves. The character itself is decked out in a blue hunting jacket, black gloves and pants. The entire notion of such a character outside of a horror film would be ridiculous to consider, which I believe is the point of the film when observing the monster and considering the message Bill was trying to convey.

It's not your average horror film, so if you're looking for another mindless slasher film, you are going to have to look elsewhere. The movie is very cerebral film that is a commentary on the human need for rationalization, a point that I don't think most movie watchers (at least my friends who I have since shown the film) picked up on because they were looking for just another schlocky horror film. The film is very dialogue driven and makes a point to flush out who the characters are by their exchanges rather than any sort of action, and the monster is not the central focus of the film.

What makes this movie so profound is the fact that it's more about the characters trying to rationalize what the monster is, what is it's motivations are, and how to stop it. The silent killer that stalks our characters, nor the film narrative provide any explanation as to what the monster is. It just is. The characters in the movie however spend their time trying to rationalize what the hell it could be. Between the group there is Bill's wild theory that it's an alien from outer space, Jen's notion that it's a creature bent on revenge for the damage humanity has done to the world, Elizabeth's assertion that it's the work of the witch next door, and lastly Elsye's attempts to rationalize it in a logical fashion. All these attempts to figure out what this creature is clearly illustrates how, when the shit hits the fan and you're witness to something horrible, we spend most of our time wracking our brains trying to figure out the why of the situation rather than driving forward and finding a proactive solution.

Tell me we don't do that. Flip on the news and watch any report or interview about someone who has been victimized in any capacity (terrorism, rape, having to watch a Rob Schneider film, take your pick) and they will undoubtedly say something along the lines of "how could something like this have happened?" or "why did they/it do this?" This is doubly true if it's an anniversary of some tragic event and those effected by it have not learned to move beyond the events that happened. When it comes to things that will snuff you out, usually the last thing they provide is an explanation, or at least one that provides peace of mind or satisfaction to the inquisitive mind.

Bill takes a lot of interesting narrative directions to get to the point of his film, including a very lengthy scene wherein the character Jen is attempting to figure out what the monster is by writing all the facts she knows on paper. If the audience doesn't get this beating-the-point-into-your-head scene then I don't think people are smart enough to get what this movie is about.

As with his other works, Bill infuses this film with his usual sense of humor and social commentary, which are both intriguing and funny. Hamming things up a little with Bill himself, who is the perpetuator of a lot of the films humor -- most of the movie he is wearing a viking helmet which is the subject of a lot of sight gags. Wait for the scene where he is listening to a girl pee, and you will know what I am talking about. It's gold (and so was the pee I would assume.)

Naturally, there is Bill's token inclusion of exploitation and rape into the plot inserted into the film, so for those of you who are hoping for it, not to worry it's all there. Early on in the film there is a long and drawn out scene of the pumpkin monster chasing a girl -- wearing nothing but heels and a pair of stockings -- across a field. Moral of the story: Running in heels on grass doesn't work. Especially if you're trying to avoid getting raped by a pumpkin monster. This scene is lengthy and spliced into the beginning setup of the film, and it's an expurgation of the typical horror film wherein the monster is stalking the girl. Also stick around for Playboy's Angelina Leigh who makes a mostly nude appearance in the film as Barbara, one of the pumpkins first victims. It is short and sweet, which is a shame because Angelina is a incredibly witty, charismatic and funny person, it would have been great to see some dialogue Make this my only complaint about the movie.

Blood and gore are minimal in this film, as it is not the films central focus, but when it's there it's simply amazing. Check out the severed head, that is quite the work of art my hat is off to the effects person.

It is also interesting to note that a number of the outdoor night time scenes were filmed during the daylight and later color corrected in post to make it look dark. It reminds me of the old days of film and television where they would put filters on the camera to make it appear as though it was night even though it was broad daylight (old reruns of the "Green Hornet" did this a lot) The filtering effect in the video makes for an eerie, if not convincing, appearance as the characters are illuminated in a blue nimbus. For those of you who like to imbibe in things other than alcohol, prepare to be tripped out.

All in all, Night of the Pumpkin, in my mind, is a very smart and entertaining horror film. Certainly not one for those who just want tits, gore and action. If you want that go out and watch some Micheal Bay horror remake disasterpiece. For those who are more intellectually inclined and also don't mind a bit of poetry in their horror films, then check out Night of the Pumpkin.