Hack-O-Lantern is a 1988 American low budget horror film that has also been released as Halloween Night, Death Mask and The Damning. It was directed by Indian-born Jag Mundhra (Open House, Night Eyes) from a screenplay by Carla Robinson. The film stars Hy Pyke (Lemora, Nightmare in Blood, Slithis), Gregory Scott Cummins, Katina Gamer, Carla Baron, Jeff Brown, Michael Potts and Patricia Christie.
Reviews:
Extremely cheesy, Hack-O-Lantern is the epitome of straight-to-video late 80s horror, with big hair, cheap costumes and dodgy effects, mundane metal rock from D.C. La Croix (“You’re the Devil’s son!”) and Mercenaries, a fair amount of female nudity, the requisite puerile party scene, dialogue that’s delivered with no conviction whatsoever by a mainly amateurish cast, and a painfully distracting synth score that seems more akin to a silent movie.
On the plus side, Hy Pyke overacting as an incest-lovin’ Grandpa villain with a Southern drawl to savour is hilarious, and his supposedly evil antics are what keeps the plot alive when it threatens to falter.
Hack-O-Lantern is obviously low-grade rubbish but like Jon Mikl Thor’s testosterone-fuelled rock horror outings such as Zombie Nightmare, its thoroughly enjoyable rubbish, when taken it on its own unambitious terms. Needless to say, the Halloween elements are merely incidental.
Adrian J Smith, Horrorpedia
“The ending had a nice little twist as to who the killer was, but by then I was really too bored to care. I watched Hack-O-Lantern for some fun Halloween thrills, but found it more of a chore to sit through. A film with a cool name like Hack-O-Lantern deserves to be somewhat entertaining, but this was more like Crap-O-Lantern.” The Spooky Vegan
