Set in a small country town, a group of teenagers inadvertently burn down the house of
a strange old woman, who the locals jokingly refer to as "the old witch". Unfortunately in doing so, they unleash the vengeful demon "Pumkinhead" and shortly afterwards, the bodies
of several members of the group, and various other townsfolk, start turning up horribly mangled.
The local Sheriff, played by Andrew Robinson (better known as the psycho guy from Dirty Harry), is baffled by the killings, as he's certain the mangled remains are not the work of a wild animal, but finds it hard to believe it's the work of a mythical demon. However, the town Magistrate, Judge Dixon (Steve Kanaly, or "That bloke out of Dallas" as he's also known as), seems to know a lot more about what's happening than he is letting on.
But as the Sheriff's daughter and the Judges son were both present when the old woman's house burned down, it becomes a race against time to try and find a way of stopping the creature before their kids become the next victims.
Directed by Jeff Burr (Leatherface : Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3), this might not be a cinematic masterpiece, but I found this to be a highly enjoyable enough popcorn flick. This one of those films that's fun for mostly the wrong reasons, such as the cheesy acting and the creature being all too obviously a guy in a suit. The scene where the couple in the barn are massacred to the sound of sweet country music was hilariously good fun to say the least.
The film does at least feature a relatively strong supporting cast of horror B-movie actors. So as long as you view this for what it is, you can't really go wrong. Look out for horror veteran Kane Hodder and Scream Queen Linnea Quigley who both have minor roles.
