A new horror movie aimed at kids is terrifying youngsters and adults alike, thanks to its incredibly bleak ending.
The movie, titled Pumpkinhead, is based on a short story from Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine. Jem Garrard wrote and directed the adaptation.
It follows a boy, Sam, whose brother Finn disappears when Sam steals a pumpkin. Everyone forgets Finn ever existed, so Sam must save his brother from the curse.
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But, the twist comes at the end. Now, we're getting into spoiler territory here, so skip this paragraph if you don't want specifics. In the movie, Sam ends up swapping with his brother, so his family forget Sam and leave him behind instead.
"I've watched a lot of really dark horror movies this year. I don't think any of them had an ending as downright BLEAK as the new for-kids horror movie R.L. STINE'S PUMPKINHEAD, now streaming on Tubi," Bloody Disgusting's editor in chief John Squires tweeted. "The STINE TWIST is alive & well in '25."
A concerned father also took to Reddit to share his children's reaction to the movie. "My kids were fine with the horror aspect but the ending left them disturbed in a way Jason or Freddy never did so I wanted to take a second to warn you dads out there," he wrote.
"Just finished it and my kids both hated the end for the reason you said, but they still liked the movie. They're more upset there's no sequel planned. It does provide a good opportunity to have a talk about how not all stories have a happy ending," says another viewer.
"I'm 30 years old and the ending of this movie left me deeply unsettled. I hate that it ended that way. It wasn't 'scary' or shocking, just depressing and unnecessary. Not the way I expect to feel when I walk away from a PG movie," says someone else.
"Most whiplashed ending I’ve seen in a while. Especially considering I’d call this more more Goosebumps type movie. In one way I’m glad it wasn’t wrapped up in a pretty bow with the rainbows shining and butterflies fluttering but Jesus man. I sat through the credits mouth opened pretty dumbfounded it ended as bleak as it did," says another person.
Pumpkinhead is streaming free on Tubi now. You can fill out your Halloween watchlist with our guide to the best horror movies of all time.
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