According to Entertainment Weekly, producer Peter Block (the Saw franchise, John Carpenter’s The Ward) has purchased the remake rights to Stan Winston’s 1988 cult horror film Pumpkinhead. Nate Atkins (S. Darko, Deadly Descent: The Abominable Snowman) will provide the screenplay for the Pumpkinhead remake, which is scheduled to begin shooting early next year and is currently going out to potential directors.
“[We need] somebody who really understands why the first one is terrific, the emotional beats of ‘Is the revenge you seek worse than whatever befell you in the first place?’” said Block of his ideal director. “But it’s also somebody that wants to embrace what I think audiences really want these days — a really scary, fun thrill-ride. You get a lot of people who want to be in this genre because they see the commercial opportunities. I’m looking for a director who has a love for the genre and knows how to get those beats for the audience.”
The directorial debut of practical effects man Winston (Aliens, Jurassic Park) starred Lance Henriksen and was followed by 1994’s DTV sequel Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, as well as two Syfy movies, Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes and Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud. Block, who insists practical effects will play a big part in the production, gave a few clues as far as what to expect from the redo, which will be titled simply “Pumpkinhead.”
“There is a similarity of theme and a similarity of story. There’s a lot of Easter eggs for people who know the original — iconic shots and iconic lines that we’re going to use. But we’ve enhanced the setting, and we’ve expanded the characters somewhat, to give it a different kind of experience.”
Brad Krevoy, producer of the last three films in the franchise, was previously considering a reboot as recently as 2014. Check back for more updates as we learn more about the Pumpkinhead remake.
