RL Stine’s Pumpkinhead review – horror from Goosebumps writer has kid confined inside large fruit

What happened

According to The Guardian’s linked report, RL Stine’s Pumpkinhead review – horror from Goosebumps writer has kid confined inside large fruit, Based on a short story by the Goosebumps author, this derivative but tautly plotted tale over-relies on Scooby-Doo-style sleuthery, and its truly unsettling turn comes too late Adapted from a 1999 short story by Goosebumps’ RL Stine, this kid-proofed piece of midwestern folk horror borrows merrily from The Wicker Man, Stephen King and Tim Burton. Rattling those influences around in its horn of plenty, it rigs up a taut enough plotline about a New York family arriving in the suspiciously fecund farming outpost of Redhaven. But, even given the horror-lite nature of the enterprise, it doesn’t stake out sufficient fresh territory of its own – until it’s too late. Snotty skate rat Sam (Bean Reid) moves to Redhaven with his mum, Cassie, (Kendra Anderson) and older brother Finn (Seth Isaac Johnson) where, hitting the local harvest festival, they learn that ornery Farmer Palmer (Kevin McNulty) i

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Culture coverage for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked report is dated 2026-08-10T10:00:41+00:00.

What to watch

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Source

Primary source: RL Stine’s Pumpkinhead review – horror from Goosebumps writer has kid confined inside large fruit via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.