Pumpkinhead / The Boogens / Monster Dog
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
I wasn't able to make it on Friday night because of the Styx concert, but
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
I wasn't able to make it on Friday night because of the Styx concert, but
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| Show banner designed by Andrew Kern |
I'm kinda bummed to have missed seeing Blue Money and Incubus, but to be honest, I could never really get into the Hellraiser franchise too much. I don't dislike them or anything, but they're not in my list of favorites either.
Tom brought some monster-themed pumpkin lager to share, which was the perfect beverage for watching Pumpkinhead.
The first movie to hit the big screen was the 1988 horror film Pumpkinhead, although that wasn't the name that was used on the title card that Exhumed Films brought to be screened.
Pumpkinhead was originally called Vengeance: The Demon, and this was still the title that was being used for the film when the original 35mm prints were struck. The title was changed to Pumpkinhead before it premiered nationwide, at which point they struck new prints of the film with an updated title card. We got to see a rare print that had the film's original title before it was changed.
I'm honestly not sure if I've seen this before last night. I think that I have, but it might have been one of those things that some friends and I rented and put in the VCR, and then barely paid any attention to it as it played in the background while we were drinking or doing whatever else. It's a solid horror flick; not one of my all time favorites, but it tells a good story and has excellent special effects, so it's definitely worth watching if you love 80's horror films.
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| 1988 Topps Fright Flicks - Card #72 |
Another fun fact about the Vengeance: The Demon / Pumpkinhead name change situation is that some promotional material for the film that refers to it by its original name was sent out, including its representation in the 1988 Topps set of Fright Flicks trading cards.
My reaction to the 1981 monster flick The Boogens is pretty much the same as my thoughts on the first film of the night. It's an enjoyable horror movie. If you're having a marathon of 80's horror films outside of the tentpole franchises that the decade is known for, it would definitely fit your vibe. However, it's not an all-time classic that's going to find its way into most people's top ten lists. That probably sounds more critical of the film than I intended it to sound. This was my first time seeing it. It's not bad, and I'm glad I got to see it on 35mm on the big screen, but it's the kind of movie that's going to come up in conversation five years from now and I'll ask myself "did I see that?", if that makes sense.
If this movie does manage to stick in my memory, it's because it features a white poodle named Tiger who looks very much like my little Harvey. Come to think of it, the chair that he's sitting on looks a little bit like the ones my grandparents has in their kitchen.
The third movie was my favorite of the night; the 1984 werewolf film Monster Dog. Rock legend Alice Cooper stars in this film as a rock musician who is returns to his hometown to film a music video, but finds that the town has been terrorized by a pack of monster dogs. It tells a good story, and Cooper delivers a damn good performance. This is the one movie out of the three that I'd recommend horror fans go out of their way to see.
My reaction to the 1981 monster flick The Boogens is pretty much the same as my thoughts on the first film of the night. It's an enjoyable horror movie. If you're having a marathon of 80's horror films outside of the tentpole franchises that the decade is known for, it would definitely fit your vibe. However, it's not an all-time classic that's going to find its way into most people's top ten lists. That probably sounds more critical of the film than I intended it to sound. This was my first time seeing it. It's not bad, and I'm glad I got to see it on 35mm on the big screen, but it's the kind of movie that's going to come up in conversation five years from now and I'll ask myself "did I see that?", if that makes sense.
If this movie does manage to stick in my memory, it's because it features a white poodle named Tiger who looks very much like my little Harvey. Come to think of it, the chair that he's sitting on looks a little bit like the ones my grandparents has in their kitchen.
The third movie was my favorite of the night; the 1984 werewolf film Monster Dog. Rock legend Alice Cooper stars in this film as a rock musician who is returns to his hometown to film a music video, but finds that the town has been terrorized by a pack of monster dogs. It tells a good story, and Cooper delivers a damn good performance. This is the one movie out of the three that I'd recommend horror fans go out of their way to see.
If nothing else, Monster Dog is worth seeing for the Identity Crisises music video which plays at the beginning and the end of the film.
