Pumpkinhead is an instrument of revenge, a creature of evil that is summoned into being in order to get vengeance on the wronged party.

Some dirtbiker kids accidentally kill this guy's kid and takes off. This really pisses him off. Instead of calling the cops, he visits this old witch who conjures up a spell to raise up an evil dead creature the local yokels call Pumpkinhead. Once summoned from his pumpkin patch grave, Pumpkinhead goes around slaughtering all the dirtbiker kids with a vengeance.