Best Horror Movies: ‘M3GAN’ Writer Akela Cooper on How Seeing Stan Winston’s ‘Pumpkinhead’ Became a ‘Crucial Core Memory’

This essay by Akela Cooper on her favorite horror movie of all time is one of several contributed as part of Variety’s 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time package.

In 1988, Stan Winston, then mostly known for his incredible work as a special effects artist, made his directorial debut with a low-budget film inspired by a Gothic poem. That film was “Pumpkinhead.”

“Pumpkinhead” only got a limited release in theaters. Fatefully, one of those theaters happened to be near my small town in southeastern Missouri. My parents saw the film and came home talking about how good it was. This inspired my brother, around 13 at the time, to ask to see it. I was eight, so I can’t say if it was my parents’ review that swayed me or the fact that everyone in my family was going to see this thing and I didn’t want to be left out, but I begged to see “Pumpkinhead” too. My request was, understandably, shot down by my parents. However, on the day they took my brother to see it, I looked so sad at being left out that it broke my mother’s heart, and she changed her mind. They took me to see it.

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The movie “Inside Out” established the concept of a “core memory,” an experience so indelible that it not only stays with you but helps form you as a person. Seeing “Pumpkinhead” is a crucial core memory. It inspired my love of monsters. I’m a sucker for a good creature design. I probably saw this movie way too young. However, it’s undeniable that “Pumpkinhead” helped make me the horror writer I am today.

Akela Cooper is the writer of “M3GAN” and “Malignant.”