R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead (2025) Review

R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead promises to bring back that warm Halloween nostalgia of being sat round a campfire telling spooky stories.

The film is directed and Written by Jem Garrard, previously known for other Tubi Originals such as Slay (2024) and Takeout (2025). Based on R.L Stine’s short story from 1999’s Nightmare Hour which was then adapted into an episode of R.L Stine’s The Haunting Hour. Mr Stine was an avid fan of this short, claiming it to be one of his very best of all his Halloween tales. Teaming up with Tubi, a vision that R.L Stine had which simply started as just its title, is now having a fresh makeover with this new adaptation.

As the film starts we are immediately thrust into the story with a cold opening, with someone being chased through a corn maze at night. We then meet our protagonists Sam (Bean Reid) , his older brother Finn (Seth Issac Johnson) and their mother Cassie (Kendra Anderson). The family unit has recently moved to Redhaven, a town where the harvest is peculiarly worshipped. Sam immediately seems to feel uneasy, finding something odd about people praying for the harvest with almost cult-like conviction. His acting out takes things too far when he steals a pumpkin, unlocking a whole world of horror.

Rapidly, things descend into madness in ways you can hardly imagine. Sam teams up with Becka (Adeline Lo), a girl his age, who is also aware there’s something dark about Redhaven. Together they team up to solve the mystery of this curious place. Best of all, the film has a dark twist and emotional ending that packs a punch, meaning you can never tell where this film is going next – in the best way.

One really nice feature of R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead was the music. The score was equal parts unsettling and building on that nostalgic feeling you get from watching the old Goosebumps episodes. Unfortunately, for the most part, the tones of the film were a little at odds to that nostalgic feel. I times I wished that the palette wasn’t so fresh and bright, and could have instead accentuated more of the warm, autumn feels. In some scenes they get it right – when they mix the harsh cold of blues with orange it’s brilliant.

Another pig positive was the use of practical effects in the film which really feed into the dark, whimsical world of it all. Although there was no doubt some CGI trickery used, they get the balance right and manage to make the scarecrow figure genuinely creepy.

The performances were strong, especially in regards to the child actors, who carry a lot of this film as they are the main focus. Their delivery is so good that when they are on-screen with the adult actors they end up out-acting them. With a nice detective element adding a Scooby Doo-like sleuthing angle, this is definitely a teen-friendly horror movie. In fact, it would work as a nice gateway into the world of horror for some of the younger viewers, in addition to bringing R.L Stine’s classic tales to a new generation.

R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead is a film that isn’t to be taken seriously; it’s not a horror that wishes to be profound, or terrifying. It’s a fun time that has some scares, creepy moments and grizzly deaths. The creature design is so unsettling in the best way, and the twisted scarecrow is sure to get audiences squirming in their seats. I highly recommend this film to those wanting to introduce their children to some spooky movies, or just as a fun campy film to add to the annual Halloween watchlist.

Movie Rating:

R. L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead trailer