Hack-O-Lantern (1988) — Triskaidekafiles

HACK-O-LANTERN

WRITERS: Story by Burford Hauser

Screenplay by Carla Robinson

DIRECTOR: Jag Mundhra

STARRING: Hy Pyke as Grandpa

Gregory Scott Cummins as Tommy

Katina Garner as Amanda

Carla Baron as Vera

Jeff Brown as Roger

Patricia Christie as Beth

Michel Potts as Bill

Larry Coven as Brian

QUICK CUT: A young man spends time with his grandfather on Halloween, while the rest of the family adjust to the loss of his father.

THE MORGUE

Tommy - A troubled young man who is into the devil music and fallen in with the wrong crowd…his grandfather’s cult.

Grandpa - A seemingly kind older man, who is very protective of his family, but especially Tommy.

Vera - Tommy’s sister, and your average young adult. Loving, caring, boy crazy.

Roger - The other brother, and who has joined up with the nearby sheriff’s office.

TRISK ANALYSIS: Happy Halloween, Triskelions! We are wrapping up the month with a movie I've wanted to circle around to for a good number of years, and things just kept getting in the way, Hack-O-Lantern. Things finally aligned, and this is the year. Let's get to it before something else interrupts me.

The movie opens up as Tommy rushes out to meet his grandpa, who is stopping by to deliver pumpkins, and a "very special" something for the kid. Whoa careful, that’s a little too close to a ‘bad touch, Gramps.

After Gramps leaves, Tommy gets to work carving the pumpkin, and tormenting his sister by throwing the guts at her.

Benicio Del Toro retires to live the quiet life of a pumpkin farmer

Tommy ends up slipping and cutting himself. Mom is worried, but Tommy says he likes the taste of blood and that Grandpa says it's good for him.

His mom freaks out hearing about gramps coming by, and giving him the pumpkin, and sets about smashing pumpkins in her anger.

Once, there was this mom who, couldn't handle when her dad came by, and so she told her husband and he went to settle things the way only men could.

Bill tracks down Gramps, to tell him enough is enough, he's been told to stay away, and wouldn't you know it? Bill finds Gramps in an old barn with some old friends holding Satanic rituals.

Gramps knocks Bill out with a snap of his Satanic fingers, drags him back to his car, and sets the whole thing on fire. As one does.

Meanwhile, Tommy reveals the special gift was a pendant, and as he swings it back and forth, we match cut into the future, jumping ahead ten years in time.

He meets Gramps once again, and he tells Tommy that tonight is his night, and a ceremony will be held where he will come into his power. Geeze, all my grandfather ever gave me was a savings bond, not Satanic power.

Gramps drives off and runs into Tommy's mom, and the movie does everything it can short of outright saying Gramps is Tommy's real father, with a flashback dancing around the subject. It's as confirmed as it's gonna get, in my opinion.

He tells his daughter that there's nothing she can do, Tommy is his, blah blah blah, and that the force of nature will conquer all.

As he drives off, mom shouts that this isn't nautre, THIS ISN'T NATURE! ...it's nurture!

Like any good Halloween movie, a party is in the works, and Tommy's sister, Vera, is getting ready, as her friend, Beth, shows up.

Tommy does his best to ignore his mother by drowning her out with heavy metal. He fantasizes about a band, and being part of it. The "music video" style dream might just rival the laser light show heavy metal Jesus from Suffer Little Children.

Hmm, let's see, Satan's Buttcrack? No. The Devil Ate My Face? Nah. Hmm, maybe Lucifer's Halo. Yeah, that sounds good.

Gramps runs into Tommy running errands with a ladyfriend, and it's clear they might be friends with benefits some time soon.

When he sees this, Grampa warns Tommy not to do anything, he needs to be pure, and yeah, right, good luck telling the town bad boy to stay a virgin. I bet that ship sailed years ago.

Mom's other son, Roger, who has gotten a job as a deputy, also wanders into the plot, and says he'll talk to Tommy and get him to try and be a bit more normal.

He asks his brother why he doesn't do something with his life, and so Tommy shows off his altar to Satan. Probably not the best thing to show your cop brother, but whatever.

Wow, I love your candle collection, Tommy.

While everyone is going about their business, Tommy's friend with benefits Nora is killing time in the pool. She stops to get cleaned up and ready for the party, most likely, when a man in the red cloak of local cult shows up.

She assumes it's Tommy under the mask, heavily flirts with him, and ends up getting a garden cultivator to the face.

That is one way to make sure Tommy won't get up to any funny business with her, I guess.

We slow the plot down for a bit to move characters around, with everyone getting the town ready for the Halloween party.

Tommy meets Brian, his sister's boyfriend, while they're making out. He angrily chokes the boy out, and kicks him out. He later chases Brian down, straight into an open grave at the local cemetery, and buries him there.

Night falls, and as the party gets underway, Grandpa and the thrill kill cult induct a new member into their ranks.

We finally get to the party, where two strange things happen; first of all, the newest cult member entertains the people at the party by stripping down to almost nothing. And secondly, some guy steps out of the party, and...starts doing random standup?? And it's BAD stand up, at that. Such a bizarre scene.

Meanwhile, Beth and Roger have had sex in the cemetery, and when Beth shows Vera which grave she fucked her brother on, they discover Brian's poorly buried body. This causes Vera to vow revenge on her brother. Tommy, just to be clear.

So, she heads to the barn down on Cultists Road, to confront Tommy and/or Gramps. And they are not happy she has interrupted their holy ceremony. Kids these days, have no respect for traditions.

You put your left hand in, you put your left hand out, you slice your pinkie off, and give a little shout.

And in a shocking turn, when they have Tommy go up to sacrifice his sister, he actually can't go through with it. Instead, he slices her ropes, and tells her to run.

Tommy follows her soon after, thrown out of the cult by Gramps. And he vows to do what he must to make things okay with their master.

Vera finds Roger and tells him what she can, so he grabs another cop, and they head to check out the barn. Which is unfortunately empty, making Roger look foolish.

Things get a bit confusing with all the cultists wearing the same cloak, and trading the demon mask around like a hot potato, but I think Grandpa goes on a small killing spree. He takes out a few people, including Beth, at the party.

Either way, Tommy is there too, and the pair get into a fight. Good thing they're both wearing masks, or else you might believe they're actually stuntmen!

Not surprisingly, the younger and more sprightly Tommy wins the day, and stabs Gramps. Roger arrives on the scene just in time for his grandfather to pass his legacy on, and leave the cult to him in his will.

Oh, I guess that's a spoiler for the big twist, but we're almost there anyways.

Tommy tries to run away, and gets shot in the back, as he scampers off into the night. He ends up removing his mask and...Tommy is actually Mommy!

I have no idea who anyone is at any given time during this climax, and it's a bit frustrating.

Gun to my head, and with the help of Mom’s stated motivation of "wanting to keep my family", I'm gonna guess Mum did most of the killing. It would make sense for her to kill the boyfriend and girlfriends of her kids for that, as well as gramps, to protect them from him.

Anyways, she dies in Tommy's arms, and Roger is now running the cult, because sure why not at this point.

TRISK ASSESSMENT

Video: It looks pretty good. Massacre Video does a good job making stuff look its best, and this came from a better source than most.

Audio: A solid enough stereo track, with some good music.

Sound Bite: “But Mom, I like the taste of blood!”

Body Count: Not a bad amount, very respectable.

1 - Bill gets clonked and set on fire by grampa.

2 - Nora gets pitchforked.

3 - Brian gets clobbered with a shovel

4 - A random woman gets knifed in the back

5 - Gramps hangs Beth

6 - Tommy kill gramps with a sword

7 - Roger shoots his mother

Best Corpse: Nora getting gashed in the face is a good one.

Blood Type - C+: It’s got a fair amount, but doesn’t do anything to flashy or stand out.

Sex Appeal: This movie has an above average boob rate.

Drink Up! every time someone activates Spider-Man’s web shooters.

Movie Review: This movie is a bit messy, but it’s well made, the acting is above average, and the plot is pretty good. It’s quirky too, and enjoyable, with a pinch of sleaze. If the conclusion was a bit more focused, it would be better, but there’s some fun to be had in something so obtuse and inscrutable. I had fun with this, and it’s decent enough for what it is, Three and a half out of for devil masks.

Entertainment Value: Hy Pike is a fascinating character as the grandfather. He’s quirky and odd, and fits this role well. Things are a bit off, a bit weird, and it’s an interesting little movie. Three out of five red cloaks.