R.L. Stine's Pumpkinhead to be Unleashed on Tubi on October 17th

R.L. Stine is on a roll here. After pretty much adapting Stephen King’s oeuvre, it is now time to dig into our favorite horror author’s stories. 

Most millennial kids have grown up with R.L. Stine books, so for us his stories are akin to that nostalgic feeling when everything was nice and simple. Or what we thought was nice and simple anyway. 

Over the years, several of R.L. Stine’s stories have made it to the screen, be it in the Goosebumps TV series, or the trilogy based on his Fear Street books. 

Unfortunately, the Goosebumps reboot TV show was cancelled but the author’s most recent book series STINETINGLERS, is reportedly getting an animated series adaptation. While we wait for more details to emerge, we have a new movie dropping soon. It’s called R.L. STINE'S PUMPKINHEAD!

The story is reportedly based on R.L. Stine’s short stories from THE HAUNTING HOUR.

What is the movie about? 

Pumpkinhead is about Sam whose brother Finn disappears. What is shocking though is that no one knows he even existed! As Halloween approaches, Sam and his friends uncover a harvest curse tied to the town’s dark past. To break it, they must confront supernatural forces before time runs out.

A trailer for the movie has been released.

In the trailer we see Sam being grouchy as he and his brother Finn, and their mother drive into a new town. Sam notices some of the locals offering prayers in the fields and is told that they are being thankful for the harvest. 

Later, Sam wanders into a shed where he sees a weird pumpkin in the centre. As he approaches it, an old man practically threatens him. But a local girl comes to his aid and takes him away, warning him to stay away from Palmer. 

However, Sam goes back one day and retrieves the pumpkinhead. The town kids are surprised, but he lies that Palmer gave it to him. Clearly, he is lying and under peer pressure. 

At night, Finn goes to Palmer’s shed to return the pumpkin. At this point, Palmer is furious that someone took his pumpkin, which has awakened a scarecrow-like creature. It attacks Finn by using vines to trap him. So, the creature is more like a pumpkin stalk or something. 

Sam tries to find his brother but discovers to his horror that no one remembers him, not even his mother. Finn’s face in the photo has disappeared as well. 

An adult town local tells them about the curse and a ritual that may help Sam get his brother back. Cue a lot of running around, being chased by the creature, getting dragged into the field, and kids reading spells from a book. 

This is no doubt a classic R.L. Stine tale. 

R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is directed and written by Jem Garrard, based on a story from R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour. The cast includes Bean Reid, Adeline Lo, Kevin McNulty, Bob Frazer, Matty Finochio, and Seth Isaac Johnson. Executive producers are James Mattagne, Joan Waricha, Harvey Kahn, Yvonne Bernard, Dan Bernard, Allen Lewis, and Rama Diallo

PUMPKINHEAD releases on Tubi on October 17th.