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.
Plot teaser:
Tommy Drindel’s family aren’t like other families. His grandfather is the leader of a Satanic cult, his father is dead, and his overprotective mother doesn’t approve of his negative lifestyle choices. But Tommy is destined for “better things”, as his Grandfather tells him, and as Halloween night arrives a special ritual, just for him, is being organised.
But for this local town Satan worshippers are not the only problem, there have been a recent spate of grave robberies and there is a masked killer on the loose…
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
