PUMPKIN GUTS

Well look at this! A bona fide horror film has escaped it’s usual October containment. It’s a genuine Halloween-set short too, so poor play by us really, but we found Bryan M. Ferguson’s Fantastic Fest-featuring film too impressive and too pleasurable to wait another ten months to tell you about it.

Set in the 80s, Becky is babysitting on Halloween while talking on the phone to her best friend. An interesting nugget is shared—the majority of their school class has gone “missing” over time. The door bell rings and Becky is on high alert. Armed with a knife she goes to see who’s there. Her stomach drops. We fear a psycho slasher, but instead it is a diseased-looking pumpkin that sits on the doorstep. Unfortunately, this is even worse. Becky knows that only the most careful following of the rules will keep her alive tonight.

” I wanted the film to feel familiar but then fuck with the audience when they realise this is something completely different.” – Ferguson discussing his approach

Chelsea is our horror queen on staff, so I’m a little out of my depth in deconstructing the film’s appeal. Still, even my uncultured eye can discern that Ferguson has thrown the whole bag into the blender in a fun, go-for-broke way. Elements include the popular 80s revival that Stranger Things is at the head of, the creepy Halloween-style synths of the score, and a peculiar mashup of sub-genres: creature-feature, magical lore-based horror, and even torture porn.

The film does not feel overly busy despite this profusion of elements. What mitigates this sensation is a strong propulsion that Ferguson brings to bear. The film just rolls through its plot progression like a steamroller and you as the viewer hop on for the ride. It is a sensible approach to shorts in fact—a lot of the premise doesn’t really hold up to close scrutiny (what are the adults doing while all these kids disappear?) but the shorter runtime allows for an all-killer-no-filler mad dash.

“The film has been the most difficult thing I’ve ever tried to pull off because it’s been hit with many speed bumps along the way” – Ferguson explaining the difficulties in making Pumpkin Guts

If it feels like the film is “laying it all out on the field”, that might be influenced by its development. Normally I don’t pay too much attention to filmmaker stories about the hardships of realizing their work, but Ferguson’s is unusually bleak—in 2023 his wife was hospitalized. Plunged into financial trouble, they lost their house. With no work coming in Ferguson felt despair and doubt about his vocation. Cobbling together $800 from selling equipment and gathering the help of friends, Pumpkin Guts was born as almost a proof-of-concept for Ferguson’s continued career as a filmmaker. Even after shooting the film, its talented composer, Luis Vasquez (aka The Soft Moon), died, causing the project to go on hiatus. Ferguson eventually returned to complete the film and it is dedicated to Vasquez.

The good news, of course, is that we think the film rocks! Festivals agreed, as hi-profile genre fests like Fantastic, Beyond, and FrightFest programmed the Scottish short. From an existential proof-of-concept to a literal one, Ferguson is now developing Pumpkin Guts as a feature project.