Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
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. The film became a cult hit and is now getting its proper home release through Shout! Factory’s horror brand Scream Factory. Could this film take Pooh bear down a violent path fans will love or should he be left stuck in a hole?
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey follow Christopher Robin who abandoned his childhood companions, Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet, five years ago and the woods in which they all played. Now an adult, Christopher has returned, with his fiancée Maria in tow, for a reunion with his old friends … only to find that in his absence, Pooh and Piglet have turned feral, silent … and murderous. What was once a joyous place of imagination and merriment becomes a violent battleground for survival in this audacious and terrifying spin on A.A. Milne’s beloved children’s stories.
When I first heard about this film, I assumed it was one of those cheap fan films that would come and go like all the rest. Strangely enough this one had legs and has not only spawned a sequel but a whole cinematic universe known as The Twisted Childhood Universe. This got me more eager to check this film out and see what all the hype was about. Of course it is ridiculous, but I have to admit that I had a bloody good time with it and all its silliness.
The film fuses the world of Winnie the Pooh with the likes of Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre in a pretty clever and simple story wise. It leans
into the childhood story and uses Christopher Robin’s grown-up life as a catalyst for darkness and the betrayal makes it all make sense, mostly. There are elements that make you question why he could not reconnect, but what they did leading up to this put them too far gone essentially made them lose their minds. While the other characters do exist and are mentioned only Pooh and Piglet are getting the spotlight this entry.
The characters are all pretty generic as is the overall tone of the film, but the original and over the top premise help to elevate it to a fun new level. For this to work you have to buy into the look of Pooh and Piglet and from the trailers and box art I was afraid it wasn’t going to work. To my surprise, within the film they work. Sure, they are still silly looking, but they fit with the narrative of the property and offer up a creepy memorable look. I ended up really digging their looks and lack of speaking that takes them from being the lovable animated icons to mindless killing machines.
They go all in with some great kills and gore. There are some left to the imagination that I assume was due to budgeting, but the ones they showcase are well done and let the blood flow to make all the gore hounds happy. I know this film is for a specific unique audience, but I had a great time and cannot wait to see the recently released sequel and the rest of the Twisted Childhood Universe.
In addition to the feature film this release offers up bonus content including the original trailer and “Something’s Wrong With Piglet” – Making Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood And Honey featurette. Return to the Hundred Acre Wood at your own risk and grab your copy of Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Scream Factory.