Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare
review by Bobby Blakey
In 2022 the iconic character Winnie the Pooh and friends entered the public domain, so it wasn’t long before the fun began. The most outrageous use of the character came in the slasher reimagining of the classic characters with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey from director Rhys Frake-Waterfield in 2023. The film was a cult hit and has now spawned the new Twisted Childhood Universe that is bringing other famed characters to the horror genre. Could This latest entry into this crazy universe deliver something bloody magical or should it remain a lost boy?
The first film to be released outside of the recent Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey II is Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare from director Scott Chambers. The film follows Wendy Darling as she strikes out in an attempt to rescue her brother Michael from the clutches of the evil Peter Pan who intends to send him to Neverland. Along the way she meets a twisted Tinkerbell, who is hooked on what she thinks is fairy dust.
I love both the Pooh films so have been eagerly waiting to see these other entries into this universe they are building and was not disappointed. This new take on the world of Peter Pan is insane and grounded in way more realism than I had expected or at least you are led to believe. Believe it or not despite the Pooh films being graphic and gory this film is way more brutal and a different level of chaos and bloody fun.
The serial killer tone to it all leans into a more disturbing nature as you are in a constant state of what is really going on and what is happening in Neverland and the lost boys. The story brings all the famed characters of the story to the mix in strange and creative ways that is unlike anything that has been done with the story before. Some of it works perfectly, others are a bit out there and won’t work
for everyone, but I was here for it in all its violent glory.
I was expecting something campier and more outrageous like the Pooh films and instead it deals with more layers of addiction, loss, identity and violence in a way that lends itself to the Peter Pan story while keeping most of the same elements intact although not at all. It’s not breaking down the walls as something we have never seen in relation to violence, but it works to make you feel uneasy and curious as this familiar fairy tale is turned on its head and slaughtered graphically.
It will be interesting to see how they incorporate this character and his story into the planned Poohniverse film, and I hope we get another chapter of the film as well to see how they evolve what was created. I am now even more excited to see the next entry that is already out there somewhere in Bambi: The Reckoning as soon as possible.
Decide for yourself and witness the next chapter of the Poohniverse with Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare available now on DVD exclusively at Walmart as well as streaming on Peacock and on digital from Jagged Edge Productions.