Okay, up front let me just say, that the (completly random) shots of the pumpkin monster weren't half bad (at least until you hear in the special features that it took the director MONTHS to make it...) The film itself has no semblance of a cohesive plot, with utterly inexplicable and random threads thrown around with reckless abandon. The characters are all two dimensional and seem to have come right out of any bargain basement screen writing guide. There is the token black guy, the token asshole, the token bitch, token religious figure (who may have been the worst actor to ever grace a c-list horror film) etc etc etc. The movie ends as abruptly as possible, for apparently no reason other than the sun coming up, and goes onto one of the most half assed "hope someone wants a sequel" moments I've ever seen. Words cannot describe how tacked on, and utterly ridiculous the last few minutes are. This one isn't even worth it for the kitsch value. I fully support and love indie cinema, and always encourage folks to follow their dreams, but this time, it just produced a heaping pile of pumpkin innards.
18 Reviews
Not even a movie, one of the worst, I mean it!
HEFILM23 September 2005
The IMDb is full, overfull, with people who claim they have seen the worst film ever made. So you might treat this bad review with a certain grain of salt and go rent this film. Well be my guest, but you really shouldn't. What's more LIONS GATE which released this has shown that they will release anything in the past so the fact that this is barely a movie also might not scare you away. Though it should, unless you just want to be amazed. Ultimately it's the fault of distributors with clout like Lion's Gate for forcing things like this onto shelves when it belongs in the basement of the novice filmmakers and save them and the audience from watching their mistakes on a large scale. A failed attempt at a movie should be a learning experience for those who made it, not something you might rent of buy and expect to be a film.
The director of this film has no idea how to tell a story edit a movie direct actors, you name it. The monster in the film is like a reject Halloween mask you find on the floor being stepping on two days after Halloween is over at a Halloween store and it costs a dollar and you still don't buy it. They try various Hellraiser and Jacob's Ladder motion effects on it to try to make it scary. These are perhaps the most fun awful moments in this mess.
Really the editing is maybe the worst thing or there was nothing but bad takes to use. Frequent use of shots that pan roughly or jerk in the middle of a take seem to be his preference. It it also like an out take reel. What's most bad shots linger and linger at the end of scenes sometimes ever getting cut back to repeatedly. There is just no clue how to get from one scene to another or end a scene.
There are some nice "B" roll shots of sunsets and some exteriors of buildings. These moments are the only ones that show any degree of competence. Truly. Perhaps someone else shot these for them, though of course shooting pretty sunsets should be the easiest thing to achieve. Shame on Lion's Gate for letting this one loose.
The director of this film has no idea how to tell a story edit a movie direct actors, you name it. The monster in the film is like a reject Halloween mask you find on the floor being stepping on two days after Halloween is over at a Halloween store and it costs a dollar and you still don't buy it. They try various Hellraiser and Jacob's Ladder motion effects on it to try to make it scary. These are perhaps the most fun awful moments in this mess.
Really the editing is maybe the worst thing or there was nothing but bad takes to use. Frequent use of shots that pan roughly or jerk in the middle of a take seem to be his preference. It it also like an out take reel. What's most bad shots linger and linger at the end of scenes sometimes ever getting cut back to repeatedly. There is just no clue how to get from one scene to another or end a scene.
There are some nice "B" roll shots of sunsets and some exteriors of buildings. These moments are the only ones that show any degree of competence. Truly. Perhaps someone else shot these for them, though of course shooting pretty sunsets should be the easiest thing to achieve. Shame on Lion's Gate for letting this one loose.
Jack O'Boring
CHUDtheBUD4 March 2006
Tiresome, done a million times before boring direct-to-video horror yarn, from Lions Gate endless vaults of crappy fright flicks. This one takes place on Halloween and tells some sort of revenge story with a supernatural twist. Blah! Before you can say "I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), because that's when you guys blatantly ripped off Pumkinhead's (1989) plot line!" you'll also notice they stole from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Halloween (1978) as well. Not in a good way I might add: A snooze-inducing patchwork wanna-be terror tale that is neither scary, entertaining and far from being original. The badness of this movie simply sucks, leaving no room for making fun of it. Jack O'Lantern is just another sad example of cheese gone sour, with no redeeming whatsoever. Do yourself a favor and look for cheese with flavor. This one won't deliver.
Not worth the buck to rent it.
chanemza21 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Horribly bad acting, ridiculous scene set-up, obscenely amateurish camera angles and some blatant plagiarism in a couple of scenes make this film not worth the box it came in. Anyone who says otherwise is obviously either brain-dead or stoned.
There is one scene in particular (near the opening of the film) in which a young blonde girl comes running toward a stalled truck crying and telling the two men stranded there: "Let's go, we've got to get out of here now!" ...and then: "They'll be coming, they'll be coming! They killed all of my friends - they've been after me for the past two days!" Um... just a thought here, but has anyone seen "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" lately?? Not that it was Academy Award-winning either, but this is almost word for word and action for action. Even the scene was set up similarly. Pathetic.
The gore and blood is there, sure. But then you'd have to be willing to sit through character make-up and line recitals that looked like they were pulled off by a high school drama club. I could almost hear the theme to "Deliverance" playing...
This has got to be the worst film I have ever seen, and I am an indie film and horror movie fanatic. I have seen some crap come out of production, but this one takes the cake.
Save your money.
There is one scene in particular (near the opening of the film) in which a young blonde girl comes running toward a stalled truck crying and telling the two men stranded there: "Let's go, we've got to get out of here now!" ...and then: "They'll be coming, they'll be coming! They killed all of my friends - they've been after me for the past two days!" Um... just a thought here, but has anyone seen "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" lately?? Not that it was Academy Award-winning either, but this is almost word for word and action for action. Even the scene was set up similarly. Pathetic.
The gore and blood is there, sure. But then you'd have to be willing to sit through character make-up and line recitals that looked like they were pulled off by a high school drama club. I could almost hear the theme to "Deliverance" playing...
This has got to be the worst film I have ever seen, and I am an indie film and horror movie fanatic. I have seen some crap come out of production, but this one takes the cake.
Save your money.
Awful
afamouspetty9 February 2006
I sat through the entire movie and it was very very painful. This movie was awful.
I enjoy horror movies and like many "low budget" films. But this has to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. It is awful. The acting was terrible, the fade between scenes was so lame it was as if using a home video camera.
For a lower budget horror movie I would recommend Mother's Day. Even the Sleepaway camp trilogy movies.
But for anyone who likes this garbage, I would recommend another LOW Budget piece of crap- Hunting Humans (at least it has a good story with an excellent plot twist but the acting sucked) or one of those lame slumber party massacre movies where they use the same EXACT killing scene in several movies.
I am learning real fast if it comes from Lion's Gate, it is going to be CRAP! (just like those paragon pictures from the 80's!)
I enjoy horror movies and like many "low budget" films. But this has to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. It is awful. The acting was terrible, the fade between scenes was so lame it was as if using a home video camera.
For a lower budget horror movie I would recommend Mother's Day. Even the Sleepaway camp trilogy movies.
But for anyone who likes this garbage, I would recommend another LOW Budget piece of crap- Hunting Humans (at least it has a good story with an excellent plot twist but the acting sucked) or one of those lame slumber party massacre movies where they use the same EXACT killing scene in several movies.
I am learning real fast if it comes from Lion's Gate, it is going to be CRAP! (just like those paragon pictures from the 80's!)
Like Stale Halloween Candy
ghoulieguru27 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Don't worry, I'm not really going to spoil anything for you. This old pumpkin movie is already pretty rotten and spoiled.
A bunch of kids are drunk and then kill somebody on the road. Years later, there's a stalker going around with a pumpkin on his head killing all the kids that were involved. It's like I Know What You Did Last Summer with a pumpkin man. This shoddy production is shot on somebody's home video camera with a bunch of actors who have been recruited from the local shopping mall. It's not really worth spending any more time on it. It's a waste of time for me to write, and a waste of time for you to read. Go ahead and pass this one by, trick or treaters, this movie is like the stale candy that somebody had left over from three years ago.
A bunch of kids are drunk and then kill somebody on the road. Years later, there's a stalker going around with a pumpkin on his head killing all the kids that were involved. It's like I Know What You Did Last Summer with a pumpkin man. This shoddy production is shot on somebody's home video camera with a bunch of actors who have been recruited from the local shopping mall. It's not really worth spending any more time on it. It's a waste of time for me to write, and a waste of time for you to read. Go ahead and pass this one by, trick or treaters, this movie is like the stale candy that somebody had left over from three years ago.
Crap O'Lantern
vegeta398628 October 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Sadly i can no longer say that this is the worst horror movie of all time. That is only because i've seen Dark Harvest 2. What i CAN tell you, is that it still is in my top five.
Jack O'lantern is one of the most nonsensical quickly forgotten movies that has ever hit a DVD shelf. Looking at the back i knew i was in trouble. it was released by Lionsgate (for whom i have no more respect for) and had photoshopped graphics. Even so, we figured it might be worth a laugh, so we popped it in.
What we got was a weird combination of I know what you did last summer and freddy. only crappier. and with a pumpkin. We learn that at one point about a year ago a bunch of drunk kids drive a father and son off the road where they fall into a corn field ditch by gently rolling offscreen where you hear a crash sound effect despite the fact the car's fine and they just went into a corn field. seriously, i have to stop for a minute to state that this was the WORST visual of a car crash i have EVER seen. The movie was so cheap they couldn't afford to crash a car? oh lord. so since the father is made of tissue paper and matches, he dies from his car gently rolling off the road at ten miles an hour. After that the boy lives but his subconscious creates a pumpkin man who goes around killing the people who did this to him and his father. For half the movie he seems like he's retarded and acts accordingly, but halfway through i guess the actor forgot this and became normal (shrugs).
The only amusing kill in the movie was the girl when she gets her head crushed by a car against a tree. that was pretty amusing. But it was not worth the hour and a half wasted on this. And it turns out the only way to stop this evil pumpkin is to...keep the main character awake. Awesome. He is then defeated by the sun shining on him, which is retarded, weird, and... didn't he kill the farmer on his tractor during the day? i dunno. i gave up a while ago.
This movie is bad. it's bad because it's confusing, it's confusing because it's boring, and it's boring because it's bad. don't watch this movie. save your four bucks and do something better with it. like make paper airplanes. or give money to needy children or abused pets. just don't use it on this movie like i did. I don't even think they used 4 dollars on the special effects. I would rather write a documentary on halloween 3 declaring it a movie for the ages than watch this again.
Jack O' Lantern is full of pumpkin guts, with a 1, out of 10
Jack O'lantern is one of the most nonsensical quickly forgotten movies that has ever hit a DVD shelf. Looking at the back i knew i was in trouble. it was released by Lionsgate (for whom i have no more respect for) and had photoshopped graphics. Even so, we figured it might be worth a laugh, so we popped it in.
What we got was a weird combination of I know what you did last summer and freddy. only crappier. and with a pumpkin. We learn that at one point about a year ago a bunch of drunk kids drive a father and son off the road where they fall into a corn field ditch by gently rolling offscreen where you hear a crash sound effect despite the fact the car's fine and they just went into a corn field. seriously, i have to stop for a minute to state that this was the WORST visual of a car crash i have EVER seen. The movie was so cheap they couldn't afford to crash a car? oh lord. so since the father is made of tissue paper and matches, he dies from his car gently rolling off the road at ten miles an hour. After that the boy lives but his subconscious creates a pumpkin man who goes around killing the people who did this to him and his father. For half the movie he seems like he's retarded and acts accordingly, but halfway through i guess the actor forgot this and became normal (shrugs).
The only amusing kill in the movie was the girl when she gets her head crushed by a car against a tree. that was pretty amusing. But it was not worth the hour and a half wasted on this. And it turns out the only way to stop this evil pumpkin is to...keep the main character awake. Awesome. He is then defeated by the sun shining on him, which is retarded, weird, and... didn't he kill the farmer on his tractor during the day? i dunno. i gave up a while ago.
This movie is bad. it's bad because it's confusing, it's confusing because it's boring, and it's boring because it's bad. don't watch this movie. save your four bucks and do something better with it. like make paper airplanes. or give money to needy children or abused pets. just don't use it on this movie like i did. I don't even think they used 4 dollars on the special effects. I would rather write a documentary on halloween 3 declaring it a movie for the ages than watch this again.
Jack O' Lantern is full of pumpkin guts, with a 1, out of 10
what the F.....
LAS_KJS17 February 2006
OK, I've seen some pretty cheesy acting, lame stunts and pathetic plots but this movie was a joke. I could make a better movie with video camera than this. You can see TONS of camera mistakes through out this movie, hear numerous upon numerous sound/audio errors like people breathing heavily into the microphones and chairs slidding accoss the floor. Almost like one of those movies you see in school or have to watch for training when starting a new job. Just horrible. It's not even one of those, so bad it's good movies. Where you could be "under the influence" of something and half enjoy this movie... You can't even laugh about this movie that's how bad it is. I got a headache just trying to get myself to watch the entire movie, that's how bad this one was. Please, save yourself some time and get a different movie.
Abysmal
andymaule19 November 2005
I notice some people have given this movie good reviews? Well, in my opinion Lions Gate should be sued under the Trades Description act. What a waste of money. The acting is pathetic, the camera work amateurish, the plot dull and the dialogue stinks. Any good reviews of this movie can only have been submitted by the director or so called actors. I cannot see how anyone who enjoys a good horror movie could sit through this, and before you ask, no I didn't. About 20 minutes was all I could take. On the plus side, the cover art does look quite good. If you need to watch this type of movie then go for something like Wrong Turn or House of 1000 Corpses. Watching this trash is a complete waste of time and you should demand your money back from the rental store.
EVIL LIVES IN EVERYTHING
nogodnomasters2 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The movie starts out with a lot of promise. A truck runs out of gas and one guy goes to get help, while his two buds stay behind and get stone. While they are enjoying their buzz, a blond girl named Angel, wearing a top two sizes too small, frantically attempts to start their truck. When she finds out there is no gas she warns them to stay away from the house down the road, and all her friends were dead. The guys do the math and go after their missing friend in one direction, while the girl takes off in another only to end up at the place she was running away from. How does that happen?
Meanwhile, the killers are bashing people with a hammer while an unseen creature is killing the killers. The movie starts to get good when all of a sudden you realize all the actors are killed off and they flash a sign "one year later."
In that year's time a town has grown up around this place and they now have cell phone capability. At this point the movie gets cheap. We do get to see the monster, which uses high tech 1910 special effects known as " big cheap rubber mask." How cheap were they? They wouldn't spend the extra $500 to have a woman do the token topless shower scene, so they had a guy do it. The high school girls are well into their 20's. They got such a good deal on the "one year later" sign they used it again at the end in hopes of a sequel.
Meanwhile, the killers are bashing people with a hammer while an unseen creature is killing the killers. The movie starts to get good when all of a sudden you realize all the actors are killed off and they flash a sign "one year later."
In that year's time a town has grown up around this place and they now have cell phone capability. At this point the movie gets cheap. We do get to see the monster, which uses high tech 1910 special effects known as " big cheap rubber mask." How cheap were they? They wouldn't spend the extra $500 to have a woman do the token topless shower scene, so they had a guy do it. The high school girls are well into their 20's. They got such a good deal on the "one year later" sign they used it again at the end in hopes of a sequel.
Very scary new movie just in time for Halloween
razorwire20 September 2005
I rented Jack O Lantern today after reading the comments on IMDb and I am inclined to agree with the guy who said the film is good. I have no idea what could be going through that other persons head. This film is obviously low budget, but they made the most of what they had. Lions Gate would not have grabbed it if it had been as bad as stated in the negative comment. Well that guy is full of hog wash, this movie was very clever and a lot of fun to watch. I really liked the make ya jump death scenes. I will not give it away but there is one scene that will absolutely knock your socks off. How anyone could think this movie is awful is mind blowing. My opinion is that for a low budget film it is very good, much better than most indie horror films that come out. Good production quality, and really scary too. Well that's my jist on it. Dale
Very good death scenes, and an original plot...A+
dasfilmmaker20 September 2005
Well I have seen two reviews on IMDb for this film one good and one bad. I am wondering if the guy who wrote the bad comment even watched the film, or maybe he is confused because the movie he recommends "SLEEPY HOLLOW" is pure garbage to be thrown out the window at 60 miles an hour. I was curious so I went out this morning and rented a copy from Blockbuster. I have just screened the film and find it to be several notches up the food chain from SLEEPY HOLLOW. The death scenes were shocking, especially one in particular, and the plot is very original. As far as indie horror films go, I think this one is pretty darn good. There are a couple of quirks that I found odd but nothing distracting or terrible. The films monster is much better than the monster in Jack O, and especially better than the one in Sleepy Hollow, which is just a joke. I really like the way the film was shot, it gave it a real creepy element. Well that's my take on it. I guess I could give it 2 1/2 to 3 stars. It is much better than previously depicted in the bad review. But opinions are like...well you know. HAPPY HALLOWEEN James
Not bad for a horror movie
arron_39200123 September 2005
I seen it,it just came out on DVD, how can you, I mean the person who said it was one of the worst movies ever, say that. It's not the best movie,but,its not the worst movie, the acting is a little over the top,but the story line is good,and the director angles,lighting,and all the other things that the director has to do was pretty good. The mask did look like it was made in a hurry,but the special effects was good, they did not have a lot of money for it,so hopefully the next movie ill be better. The music is better then the average horror flick.The killings are bloody. It has a feel like Friday The 13th,mHalloween put-together,like I said it is not the worst movie ever made.
Never watch again list
justiceforall2725 September 2019
Saw it once and that's about all I needed for the next 10,000 years. Really really bad. Maybe if it had some female nudity it would be worth the one star I had to give it. Think I paid about 8 bucks for this which was probably the same amount of money needed for the movies budget. I could have acted better than the people in the film! Just awful.
So if you see this dvd at the store do yourself a favor and keep on walking. Do the world a favor and destroy it!
So if you see this dvd at the store do yourself a favor and keep on walking. Do the world a favor and destroy it!
I'd rather be throat f**cked by a donkey
hendrixy61 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Who in their right mind could recommend this festering pile of monkey dung? This is the worst directed, written, acted, and edited film I've ever seen. It starts off leading you to believe that it is going to be a roadside abduction-torture movie. Then you think it is going to be about cannibalism. Then it finds itself mired in plot development. It never finds it's way out. In the end it becomes a revenge movie? Apparently the villain can fly, see in night vision, and is controlled by a retarded ill-willed car crash victim. The gore occurs five minutes into the movie and then nothing happens for an entire hour. There are so many characters and the director rots so much that you hardly know who is who and why they are doing what they are doing. You truly could care less about the villain and the victims. I'd drink a gallon of rancid semen than ever experience this pretentious and self indulgent tripe ever again.
There's something really creepy about this 2B cult classic!
horrorween3128 June 2006
This film has a lot more going for it than most people think. I watched it for the 2nd time now, and I have added it to my collection of cult classics and films I feel are destined to become cult classics. This is one I believe will become a cult favorite. People who talk trash about low budget horror films need to stick to Hollywood mainstream and not even waist there time trying to fit in with us B movie fanatics. Yes sometimes the acting is shallow, and sometimes the effects aren't George Lucas, or Tom Savini, but these film still have an appeal that TRUE horror buffs understand. Look at such films as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there wasn't a single fabulous performance by any actor in that film, with the exception of Gunnar. Many other old school horror films that are considered great classics have all of the same ear marks as this film. This film had one of the best scares I have seen in a long time. Not to spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it but something horrible happens to a poor unfortunate female jogger. I commend the people who made this film. All in all it had some very creepy, and scary moments. So if you did not like this movie go back to your Jedi flicks and leave the horror films to those who really appreciate them. Thanks for an old school type horror flick, there should be more.
TRick or TReat
kairingler13 November 2007
i was really impressed with this one,, now i know that i am going to get huge amounts of flack over this one,, you know what i don't care,, i enjoyed this movie,, so what if they're wasn't a million special effects shots, or CGI, or Oscar winning performances, a. the movie was funny . B. the movie was interesting, had a good storyline,, revenge is always a good storyline,, only part of movie i didn't understand was how the spirit manifested itself while Jack was sleeping, but other than that,, i loved the whole entire movie. This movie does not deserve that bashing that it is getting on this site. The monster,, with the pumkin on his face was original, i loved the idea, never seen that before in all of the horror movies that I've seen and i've seen over 500 horror films, easy, so folks give this one a chance, it will make you laugh,, it's scary at times, decent plot, and good looking monster, and it's NOT as bad a everybody claims it to be on here, take my word from it, i own over 1600 movies, and seen over 2,000 this is NOT CRAP, there are many movies out there that deserve that title.
Jack O'Lantern Jacked my Lantern
RABiggs824 June 2006
Jack O' Lantern was one of the best movies I've seen in ages. It has all the wonderful characteristics of a slasher/horror movie: the dumb blonde, the religious freak, the HOT lead actor, the ghoulish antagonist...the list goes on and on. Jack's emotions are so raw and real, I really felt like I was getting inside his head and heart. The two token potheads were hilarious; their added comedy relief almost had me wetting my pants because I was laughing so hard. The plot is well written; it moves along at a fast pace, rapidly rising to a climax at the end. I don't want to spoil the movie for you, but if you like Friday the 13th, Freddy Kreuger, and the rest in the line of slasher/horror movies, you'll really enjoy the ending of Jack O'lantern...it simply leaves you begging for more. I really hope the director, Ron McClellen, decides to do a sequel. And this time, it should hit the silver screen. Trust me, when I say I loved Jack O'Lantern...I mean it really JACKED MY LANTERN!
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