Peter Parker plans to propose to Mary Jane Watson, who has made her Broadway debut. While he is on a date with her in Central Park, an extraterrestrial symbiote oozes out of a fallen meteorite and attaches to his moped. Harry Osborn, knowing Peter is Spider-Man, seeks to avenge the death of his father Norman. He uses his father's performance-enhancing gas and Green Goblin technology to battle Peter, but falls from his glider and develops partial amnesia. Meanwhile, police pursue the escaped convict Flint Marko, who visits his wife and sick daughter before fleeing. He falls into a particle accelerator which fuses his body with sand, turning him into Sandman and granting him the ability to reform his body at will. During a ceremony honoring Spider-Man, Peter kisses Gwen Stacy to please the crowd, which angers Mary Jane. Soon after, Marko robs an armored truck and fights Spider-Man, then flees. Police captain George Stacy, Gwen's father, informs Peter and Aunt May that Marko is his uncle Ben's true killer; the initial suspect was simply Marko's accomplice. When Peter falls asleep in his Spider-Man suit, the symbiote integrates into the suit. Peter awakens atop a building, discovering that the symbiote has turned his suit black, enhanced his powers, and increased his aggression. Peter battles Marko in a subway station. Realizing that water weakens him, Peter opens a pipe, which turns Marko into mud and washes him away. Peter's new arrogant attitude alienates Mary Jane, who kisses Harry before quickly regretting it. A hallucination of his father prompts Harry to recover from amnesia, and he forces Mary Jane to break up with Peter. Harry tells Peter that he is dating Mary Jane, which leads Peter to fight him while under the symbiote's influence. During the fight, Harry's face is disfigured by one of his own pumpkin bombs. At the Daily Bugle, Peter exposes the misconduct of rival photographer Eddie Brock, whose fake photos falsely incriminate Spider-Man. Outraged, publisher J. Jonah Jameson fires Brock and promotes Peter to staff photographer. Peter brings Gwen to a jazz club where Mary Jane now works, hoping to make her jealous. Offended by Peter's actions, Gwen apologizes to Mary Jane and leaves. Peter assaults the bouncers and accidentally hits Mary Jane, before realizing how deeply the symbiote is corrupting him. He retreats to a church bell tower, where he discovers that the sound of clanging metal weakens the symbiote. Using the sound of the church bell, Peter detaches it from himself. Brock witnesses the event, then becomes the symbiote's new host and turns into Venom. Brock and Marko join forces against Spider-Man, kidnapping Mary Jane to draw Peter out. After Harry declines to help Peter rescue Mary Jane, Harry's butler reveals that Norman's death was not Spider-Man's fault. As Brock and Marko move closer to killing Peter, Harry arrives and helps Peter subdue Marko. Brock attempts to impale Peter with Harry's glider, but Harry jumps in the way and is impaled instead. Remembering the symbiote's weakness, Peter uses metal pipes to create a sonic attack, which allows him to detach the symbiote from Brock. Peter throws a pumpkin bomb at the hostless symbiote, but not before Brock, now addicted to its influence, rushes towards the symbiote, which causes him to be destroyed along with it. Marko explains to Peter that Ben's death was an accident and that everything Marko has done was to help his daughter. Peter forgives Marko and allows him to escape. Harry reconciles with Peter before he dies from his injuries. After Harry's funeral, Peter visits Mary Jane at the jazz club, where they share a dance.
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When it comes to Halloween ambiance, The Pumpkin Man has it in spades. It feels like what might happen if a director took a seasonal side gig at a Spirit Halloween store just to “borrow” some of the props. That’s meant as a compliment—the film absolutely nails the vibe. The inclusion of a small-town haunted attraction is a particularly smart choice. The setting feels lived-in, not like a temporary set built for a weekend shoot. Whatever connection the production team had to Sir Henry’s Haunted Trail in Hillsborough County, Florida, they used it perfectly. The haunted house scenes look authentic enough to make you smell the fog machine.
Barbara Desa takes center stage as Catherine Quinn, and it’s honestly impressive that this is her only listed role on IMDb. She brings a ton of energy and personality to the part—there’s never a sense that she’s phoning it in. You can tell she’s having fun, and that kind of enthusiasm carries a movie like this a long way.
As for the Pumpkin Man himself: yes, it’s a costume, but it's a pretty good one. The creature’s design has presence, and its sheer height gives it an intimidating edge that works well. The look lands somewhere between local legend and theme-park nightmare, which suits the story perfectly.
Plot-wise, this one’s got shades of Pumpkinhead (1988): a creature of folklore summoned through some witchy business to terrorize the locals. It wouldn’t be wrong to call The Pumpkin Man a kind of Pumpkinhead fan fiction, but that’s not a dig- this team does it justice.
What’s maybe most surprising is how polished the whole thing looks. With a reported budget of only $30,000, The Pumpkin Man doesn’t feel low-budget. The cinematography is crisp, the lighting works in its favor, and there’s a clear eye for composition. I kept finding myself impressed by the camera work- proof that good horror doesn’t have to be expensive, it just has to be confident.