‘Saw’ Producer Reviving ‘Pumpkinhead’
Another sign that reboot-happy Hollywood is showing no signs of slowing down: EW broke the scoop that Saw franchise executive producer Peter Block has acquired the rights to the Pumpkinhead franchise with the intent of shooting a reboot in 2017. With the hopes of landing a theatrical release, he’s currently in pursuit of a director for the reboot. Of the project, Block states:
“Pumpkinhead is one of my favorite horror films of the late ’80s, early ’90s,” says Block whose credits also include producing John Carpenter’s 2010 film The Ward. “Stan Winston sits on that Mount Rushmore of iconic filmmakers because of his creature designs, and that was his first directing effort. The creature’s great but the emotional story is wonderful as well. I got the rights to Pumpkinhead, and hooked up with a great young writer called Nate Atkins, and we developed our script, which is really solid.”
Block’s admiration of both the original film and horror master Stan Winston’s work bodes well for the reboot. While the idea of yet another reboot doesn’t quite sound so appealing, let’s face it; some films just don’t age so well. There are definite elements of the original that feel every bit of its 1988 time period. To that end, Block answers:
“I am a big proponent of practical effects,” he enthuses. “That was the great thing about the original. A lot of the films I still respond to most today, it’s because of the practical effects. We think that it’s going to be a nice slow reveal, lots of scares and lots of action in the beginning, and a great creature in the end, which everybody should be able to look at and say, ‘Oh, that’s Pumpkinhead!’ It’s not like you’re all of a sudden going to find that it’s some amorphous, nebulous, CGI wispy thing. You’re going toknow it came from the Pumpkinhead family lineage.”
A modernized story with practical effects, stemming from an original fan? If we’re going to get a reboot, it could definitely be in worse hands. My only current reservation remains with the possibility of the reboot altering the iconic creature design. If you need a refresher on the original, check out the original trailer below. What do you think?
