Episode 239: Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1993)
Rundown
Brian finally faced his fears and picked a movie he actually likes, even though he's terrified of defending it against Matt and Scott… The hill he chose to die on this week? PUMPKINHEAD ll: BLOOD WINGS, which really wasn't too bad anyway, but if you listen to the show, you understand how Brian's mind works. While the plot is a bit of a departure from the original, they show off the awesome practical effects and Pumpkinhead suit as often as they can, so it was definitely worth the watch (and discussion)!
Film Trailer
Quote of the Episode:
"I was too young to genuinely process pain and grief" - Brian
More Creature Features
Another week, another questionable sequel, but at least we get some sick special effects from Chris Walas in the form of his directorial debut, THE FLY 2 (1989)! We are joined by another Chris this week, Chris Fafalios of the band Punchline and new podcast ONE HIT THUNDERS. You may remember Chris from our Ice Cream Man episode, so he knew what to expect this time around, and he got it in the form of body horror, mutated golden retrievers, and a nice serving of head trauma. It's no Gremlins, but this one gets way too much hate for what it is, and we're here to tell you all about it on Horror Movie Night!
What's big and green and will kill you with hand grenades? No guesses? It's Swamp Thing, the hero this wildly-inaccurate comic book adaption/sequel, RETURN OF SWAMP THING (1989)! While we love Jim Wynorski on the show, this one is a hard one to swallow, at least for Scott, who is an absolute Swamp Thing superfan. If you want explosions, we got em. If you want sex jokes, we got em! If you want rubber-suit monsters, well, baby, we got em! Get reborn the bayou this week on Horror Movie Night!
We see a lot of amazing creature designs and practical effects on HMN, so sometimes it's nice to take a step back and see our SFX heroes' humble beginnings...like the ridiculously dumb Rick Baker monstrosity, OCTAMAN (1971)! More or less a lower-budget, less skilled retelling of the Creature From the Black Lagoon (written by the same guy), this one is 100% due to its moment of glory in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, so thanks for that, Brian. Between the three of us, we only have 6 arms to fight Octaman's 8, wish us luck!