Halloween season just got a little more wicked! 🎃
If your ideal October night involves a cozy blanket, a bowl of candy, and just enough spooky surprises to keep you peeking through your fingers, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 might be the next movie to add to your watchlist.
The supernatural sequel officially arrived on Tubi today (October 9) as part of the streamer’s Terror on Tubi lineup, bringing audiences back to the cursed town of Redhaven for another round of pumpkin-headed nightmares. Inspired by the world of R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, the latest installment picks up with Sam (Bean Reid) and Becka (Adeline Lo) as they race to stop a new Pumpkinhead curse from claiming their entire town.
And if the return of creepy creatures and Halloween-sized mysteries isn’t enough to get you in the spooky spirit, there’s another reason to press play: Cassandra Peterson is stepping into the supernatural spotlight as a witch named Cassandra. Yes, the horror legend famously known as Elvira is trading her signature towering heels for a different kind of witchy wardrobe — and, according to Peterson, the role was practically written in the stars.
“I get a lot of scripts sent to me for roles in horror movies, and this one really spoke to me because it felt to me like it was Elvira out of drag,” Peterson told Celeb Secrets during an exclusive interview alongside writer-director Jem Garrard. “I was still Elvira in a way, ’cause I was witchy and supernatural. But I didn’t have to wear that dress or those heels.”
In the film, Cassandra is a mysterious, magic-wielding figure with a deeper understanding of the dark forces threatening Redhaven. She’s also the kind of character who knows exactly who she is — and isn’t about to let anyone push her around. Peterson sees some familiar spirit in the witch, even if the two characters have their own distinct identities.
“Cassandra the witch has less cleavage, but she is strong character, kind of a feminist character,” she explained. “She also doesn’t take any crap.”
For Garrard, returning to the world of Pumpkinhead was an opportunity to build on a story that already found an audience while exploring more of the mythology behind Redhaven’s unsettling curse. The filmmaker grew up reading Stine’s books, making the chance to adapt his work especially meaningful — and a little nerve-racking with a sequel on the line.
“Oh, so excited. I mean, it’s always that mix of excitement and nerves with any release,” Garrard said. “But also especially with this one because it’s a sequel, you know, ’cause there’s so many people that enjoyed the first one.”
That connection to the original is part of what makes Pumpkinhead 2 a fitting October watch. The new chapter raises the stakes, expands the supernatural world, and brings a fresh batch of eerie encounters to a town that has already learned the hard way that some Halloween traditions are better left buried.
And longtime fans should keep their eyes peeled. Garrard teased that the production team paid special attention to the details, including the design of Cassandra’s cabin and nods to the first movie. In other words, there may be more lurking in the background than meets the eye.
“I think the team went above and beyond on this movie to really try and appeal to the fans of the first one,” they said.
Whether you’re revisiting Redhaven after the first Pumpkinhead movie or discovering its cursed secrets for the first time, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 offers another invitation to embrace the spooky side of October, with supernatural twists, a mysterious witch, and plenty of reasons to keep the lights on just a little longer.
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2 is streaming here on Tubi as part of Terror on Tubi. For more on the film, though, make sure to watch our full interview with Cassandra and Jem below — and don’t forget to let us know if you’re excited to watch it by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
Interview quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.
