Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare

Needless to say that I had indeed not heard about the 2025 horror movie "Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare" prior to sitting down to watch it. But given the recent year's horror movie rendering of classic fairytales and animated characters, such as Winnie the Pooh, Goldilocks, Popeye, etc., then I wasn't really harboring a grain of expectations to the movie. But I still opted to give it a go, perhaps writer and director Scott Chambers would deliver a surprise.

The movie certainly started out quite nicely, and I was not expecting that from the movie. So thumbs up for such a brutal start. But that didn't set the standard of the rest of the movie, unfortunately. No, the storyline in "Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare" wasn't great, nor was it bad. Sure, it was a watchable movie, if you distract from the "Peter Pan" aspect of the movie. Now, had the movie not carried the "Peter Pan" name, it would actually have made for a more enjoyable slasher movie. But it shouldn't be necessary to say that writer Scott Chambers mauled the work of J. M. Barrie.

Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with actor Nicholas Woodeson. Regardless, it should be noted that the acting performances in the movie were actually fair.

The special effects and make-up in the movie were actually good, and it definitely helped to keep the movie afloat.

My rating of director Scott Chambers's 2025 movie "Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare" lands on a four out of ten stars.

I really love when I start watching a movie expecting to end up disappointed, and the exact opposite happens.

A lot of things in this film aren't original, but it all feels more like a tribute to the original rather than a cheap rip-off. The atmosphere is excellent. The film is never boring, not for a moment, and the story is well thought-out. There are several unexpected moments that only add to the grotesqueness of the entire film. The characters are well developed, especially Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.

All in all - I expected (more or less) a standard Neverland story told through a horror lens, but I actually got so much more! This is a psychotic conglomeration of madness, filth, and drug addiction, and Peter Pan is the crown jewel of insanity and a unique portal to the land of Neverland.

Seven stars from me!

British filmmaker Scott Chambers revisits J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan in the third installment of his long-gestating The Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU).

This aspect of re-adaptation warrants particular attention. While the mention of Peter Pan might first conjure the cartoonish iterations popularized by Disney, the character originally conceived in 1902 by the Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie is, in fact, quite steeped in the gore tradition.

(Peter Pan, the book, has frequently faced accusations of racism due to its often barbaric depiction of Native Americans. However, some researchers and writers have argued that the book should be evaluated within the context of the era in which it was written. This issue is largely absent from contemporary versions of the book and its cinematic adaptations.)

Those who follow the young filmmaker Scott Chambers, barely past his thirtieth birthday, will already be familiar with his characterizations and color palettes, and this film maintains a consistency that should satisfy his established audience.

Martin Portlock delivers a quite satisfactory performance as an actor who appears to have thoroughly internalized the narrative.

Another name to note in the film is Peter DeSouza-Feighoney. Having already accrued credits in numerous gore productions at a young age, one hopes that DeSouza-Feighoney will emerge as a significant actor in the genre's future.

It's safe to say Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare wasn't a movie night anyone expected to survive emotionally intact-especially not for Winny, Sunny, Tails, and Sweet, who left the screening looking like they'd just stepped out of a fever dream. We've watched horror before (Sinners being a recent one), but this one? This was something else. It didn't just flirt with darkness-it dove headfirst into it, dragging childhood nostalgia down with it.

Some of us-Willow, Kuromi, and Amy-were admittedly surprised by how much they enjoyed the film. Willow especially appreciated the bold reimagining of familiar characters, highlighting the gruesome creativity behind some of the kills, like the scenes with Tinkerbell and the alligator (yikes). Kuromi, a known fan of gore, praised the film for its commitment to the horror genre, saying it embraced its madness in a way that felt refreshing. Amy found the unexpected turns in the plot exciting, even if it meant watching Peter Pan become someone truly unrecognizable.

On the flip side, Winny, Tails, and Sweet weren't as forgiving. They found the excessive violence-particularly the disturbing scenes involving children-a line too far. While Winny did admit the pacing was strong and the atmosphere consistently creepy, he couldn't help but feel like the film traded meaning for shock value. Sweet was especially critical of the movie's handling of child endangerment, calling it exploitative rather than artistic. Tails, meanwhile, appreciated the darker lens on Peter Pan but still struggled with how far the story went to disturb.

Acting-wise, Sunny gave props to the cast-Peter Duza as the kidnapped child was hauntingly believable, and the actress behind Tinkerbell delivered a twisted, grotesque performance that stuck with everyone for all the wrong (and maybe right?) reasons. But tonal shifts and pacing inconsistencies did throw off both Sunny and Willow at points, making the whole film feel like it couldn't quite decide what horror path it wanted to take.

Overall, this film split the room. For some, it was a bold, bloody reinterpretation of a classic story worth watching just for the insanity of it all. For others, it was a brutal reminder that not every fairytale should be turned into a nightmare. Either way-no one's looking at Peter Pan the same again.

Rating: 6/10.

If you're a genuine horror fan then I think you'll find this movie entertaining. It's one of those movies that just leaves you with a bad feeling when you leave (and I mean that in a good way) I was impressed with the gore, I thought it was really well done, definitely a couple of parts that had me squirming. The main antagonist is really creepy and the lore is fun and very different. The movie kept a good pace and there weren't any boring parts. The storyline is very fresh, I think they did a really good job reinterpreting the original Peter Pan. I would definitely recommend this to my fellow horror lovers as a fun imaginative gore filled movie.