“There is no exquisite beauty… without some strangeness in the proportion.”
-Edgar Allan Poe
RJ De León Vega directs with blood on his hands and vision in his bones. His films are a visceral collision of old-school practical FX, raw atmosphere, and unflinching horror that doesn’t blink—it stares you down. Every frame is designed to disturb, seduce, and haunt, pulling audiences into worlds where chaos, grit, and beauty bleed together.
From the cult-slasher spectacle of Pumpkin Guts: Devil’s Night to the twisted mythology of the growing Pumpkin Cult Studios universe, & his upcoming project CLOWNGIRL MASSACRE, R.J. creates stories that are as stylish as they are savage. His directing thrives on tension—slow burns that erupt into carnage, silences that explode into screams, and killers that stalk the screen with unforgettable personality and brutality.
Influenced by horror & cult legends like Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Rob Zombie, John Waters, Lloyd Kaufman, and Dario Argento, yet unapologetically his own, R.J. directs with an obsession for character, practical gore, and the gothic theatricality of fear. His work isn’t just immersive… it’s confrontational. Horror, in his hands, isn’t entertainment. It’s a weapon. A mirror. A fuckin’ ritual soaked in blood!
You’ve seen a hundred fucking reels. This ain’t one of them.
BEHIND THE GUTS!
R.J.’s sets are more than productions - they’re gatherings... Carnivals of creative chaos. A gang of weirdos, punks, and horror freaks crammed together in a guerrilla set with fake blood on their hands and fire in their hearts. Between takes there’s screaming laughter under monster masks, blaring music, and the kind of delirium that only happens when everyone’s possessed by the same vision.
It’s DIY filmmaking at full volume—raw, sweaty, and alive. Every kill, every gag, every twisted detail is born out of chaos and obsession, fueled by a crew that bleeds just as much as the monsters on screen. These films aren’t built on corporate polish. They’re stitched together like Frankenstein’s corpse—messy, loud, and beautiful because everyone’s in on the ritual.
