Director – R. J. De Leon Vega (The Haunting of Hill House)
Starring – Josie Hull (X People, The Sisters Kardos) and Kyle Kouri
Release Date – 2024
Rating – 4/5
As I’m writing this we are just a week away from October and the beginning of my month long horror binge. Many that know me know that I spend the entire month of October watching as many horror and Halloween titles that I can. However, a few Halloween titles has been sent my way for review and instead of waiting I decided to go ahead and give them a spin. The first Halloween flick of the season was the horror short Pumpkin Guts: Devil’s Night from director R. J. De Leon Vega. I want to thank R. J. for sending this one over for review!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a man who is preparing for a rowdy Halloween when a young woman wearing a mask appears at his door step. He tries to persuade her to leave but she doesn’t do so willingly. Eventually she leaves his porch and he retreats back into his home. However, once inside his home he finds her there and her true intentions are finally revealed and his true identity is revealed. **Spoiler Alert**
Pumpkin Guts: Devil’s Night may be just a short but it’s better than at least 90% of the feature length films I’ve seen that are centered around Halloween. I loved the acting, the short and simple story, and the effects are better than most of the moderately budgeted indie productions I review. This short impressed me all around and it’s one I hope to add to my October binge yearly.
The acting in this one is fantastic. Josie Hull is great as the mysterious masked trick or treater. She does a solid job but her character is not that demanding. However, Kyle Kouri’s performance was great. I loved the energy he has in front of the camera and his personality more than made up for his co-star’s emotionless character. The story for this one is pretty simple and straight forward. We follow a mysterious woman/young teenager who gets inside the home of a foul-mouthed man who is hiding his own secret. It’s a clever story that absolutely works for a short and I think there is just enough meat on the bone to be stretched into a feature length.
Finally, the film goes out with a bang. We get some great practical effects and just enough gore to satisfy the most deranged of genre fans. Overall, Pumpkin Guts: Devil’s Night is a fantastic Halloween treat that isn’t a trick. It’s well written, acted, and gleefully gory. I highly recommend checking this one out.
