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Bambi: The Reckoning, the latest entry in the Poohniverse horror movie series, has received its first trailer, and you’ll never think of the children’s story the same way again. Watch the clip below ahead of the film’s release in theaters this summer.

As seen in the trailer, a grief-stricken Bambi — who has mutated to have a mouth full of sharp teeth — goes on the prowl after the death of his mother. While on the hunt, the deer goes after some unlucky folks in the woods and vacationing countryside. Using his antlers, Bambi decapitates his prey before tearing into their flesh.

“After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother,” reads the official logline.

A twisted take on Felix Salten’s 1923 story Bambi, a Life in the Woods,...

The first trailer for the next installment in the Poohniverse, officially known as The Twisted Childhood Universe (Tcu), has been released. After Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Pan, Bambi is the next beloved children's character to get the horror parody treatment from the team behind Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.

Variety debuted the official trailer for Bambi: The Reckoning, as well as the synopsis for the horror movie, which reads as follows: "In this very twisted take on the Bambi story, our deer — now not simply grief-stricken over the death of his mother but also mutated, effing enormous and sporting an array of sharp, terrifying teeth — embarks on a deadly rampage through the woods seeking revenge. He throws cars into the air with his giant antlers, charges into otherwise lovely-looking country houses and chases after holidaying families in caravans. There’s a decapitation, several maulings and plenty of blood. In short, this it...

Producers Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey are building a cinematic universe out of horror movies based on public domain family friendly stories – including Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, that film’s sequels, Pinocchio Unstrung, and Bambi: The Reckoning, which is inspired by Felix Salten’s 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods. The Bambi horror movie will be released by ITN Studio and Premiere Entertainment sometime this summer, and today a full trailer has dropped online. You can check it out in the embed above.

Jeffrey and Frake-Waterfield are producing Bambi: The Reckoning for Jagged Edge Productions. Stuart Alson and Nicole Holland serve as executive producers for ITN Studios. Roxanne McKee (Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines) leads the cast and is joined by Nicola Wright (Firenado), Tom Mulheron (Casualty), and Samira Mighty (Beauty and the Beast).

Dan Allen, whose previous credits include Mummy Reborn, It Came from Below,...

In the wake of two Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey films and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, the “Poohniverse” will expand this year with Bambi: The Reckoning.

The official trailer for Bambi: The Reckoning has been unleashed by Variety this morning, and you can check it out below. According to the outlet, it’s releasing in Summer 2025.

Bambi: The Reckoning is described as “Cujo meets Jurassic Park,” and it looks to bring something different to the trend of public domain horror movies. While they’ve largely been masked slashers up to this point, we’re getting a full-on creature feature from this one, which feels more akin to something you would’ve gotten from Syfy back in the Sharktopus days.

In the film, “After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge...

Stars: Martin Portlock, Megan Placito, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Kit Green, Kelly Rian Sanson, Chrissie Wunna, Nicola Wright | Written by Scott Chambers, Rhys Frake-Waterfield | Directed by Scott Chambers

The most recent entry in the so-called Poohniverse, and the first one not to feature Pooh, Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, has arrived. With Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequel both being steaming piles of, well, poo, I was going to skip this. But surprisingly, I started hearing quite a few positive things about it.

While most of the films that director Scott Chambers, aka Scott Jeffrey has been involved with are borderline unwatchable fare like Dragon Fury, he does have the occasional entertaining effort like The Gardener to his credit, so it wasn’t entirely beyond the realm of possibility that Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare would actually be decent. Hoping for the best, I decided to give it a chance.

Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh existing in the same cinematic universe might seem strange enough, but how about both of them going on murderous rampages? Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, directed and written by Scott Chambers, is the third installment in Jagged Edge Productions'"Twisted Childhood Universe" (Tcu). Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare was preceded by Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey II (2024), which, if you could not discern from the titles, see the beloved children's character Winnie the Pooh (originally from the books by A.A. Milne and E. H Shephard) turn violent.

The Tcu, or "Poohniverse" as it is also called, is all the brain-child of British filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield. When Winnie the Pooh (which was originally published in 1926) entered the public domain in 2022, the material became fair game for a horror spin. Now, the Razzie-winning series shows no signs of stopping and...

Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble has a new poster teasing a showdown between Peter Pan and Winnie-the-Pooh. The upcoming Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble is an installment in the franchise known as the Twisted Childhood Universe, which transforms various public domain children's characters into horror movie villains. The franchise includes Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequel, the recent Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, and the upcoming Bambi: The Reckoning and Pinocchio: Unstrung. Poohniverse, which is set for an October 2025 release, will be directed by Tcu creator Rhys Frake-Waterfield and features returning monsters from all five movies alongside incoming characters.

A new poster for Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble has now debuted on the official Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 X account. The poster, which features the tagline "place your bets," features Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Pan facing off against one another, seemingly preparing for a showdown. The poster bears a striking similarity to the poster for the Friday the 13th...

Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios are building The Twisted Childhood Universe, which will consist of horror movies inspired by children’s stories. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 got the universe started, paving the way for Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio: Unstrung, Alice the Mad, and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (not to mention Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3), building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. Iconic Events Releasing intended to bring Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare to theatres for three days only, from January 13th through the 15th – but the movie has proven to be so successful that it’s theatrical run has been extended through next Thursday, January 23rd!

Written and directed by Scott Chambers, who is also producing all of these Twisted Childhood movies, the film follows Wendy Darling as she strikes out in an attempt...

We had heard that director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers were planning to create a cinematic universe with the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey films and other horror movies inspired by children’s stories, like Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Pinocchio Unstrung. Then, Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios officially announced that this cinematic universe, which is being referred to as The Twisted Childhood Universe, is building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which will be released in 2025. Chambers has said that the Mad Hatter will be one of the “worst of the worst” in Poohniverse, and during an interview with Screen Rant he took a moment to talk about the Mad Hatter horror movie Alice the Mad, as well as the upcoming Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3 – which is actually a Tigger solo movie!

When asked about what...

Fans of the public domain plundering Poohniverse, or Twisted Childhood Universe, have been treated to some more details about “Phase 2” of the project, and in particular the version of Alice in Wonderland that will inhabit the corrupted and depraved world of killer bears and child-snatching residents of Neverland. For those who don’t want to go down the rabbit hole…and other dank places…turn away now.

The Twisted Childhood Universe seemed to begin life as a quick cashgrab around Winnie the Pooh entering the public domain in 2022. Now, three years on and we are on the cusp of another entry in the franchise that has turned into its own Marvel Cinematic Universe, with just a fraction of the budget and featuring a load of hideous interpretations of some much-loved characters from children’s literature.

While we already know that Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger are going to be joined by Bambi,...

The Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble movie receives a release update from the franchise's producer and director. The Twisted Childhood Universe, which reimagines characters from children's media as murderous villains, began in 2023 with Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, which was followed by the 2024 sequel, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2. Upcoming installments include Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Pinocchio: Unstrung – all culminating in the crossover Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble movie, which is slated for release in 2025.

During an exclusive interview with ScreenRant, the Tcu franchise producer and director Scott Chambers shared a release update for Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. Chambers says they are still planning on shooting it this summer and releasing it around Halloween 2025. However, if they are unable to finish it in time, it will come out in the first quarter of 2026. Read his full comments below:

I very much plan on shooting this summer, and it just depends. If...

The first official image of David Howard Thornton, best known for playing Art the Clown in the Terrifier franchise, as a slasher version of Steamboat Willie has been revealed, along with a new release schedule. Starring Teen Wolf's Tyler Posey and directed by Steven Lamorte, who helmed the Grinch slasher film The Mean One, re-imagines the first version of Disney's iconic mascot now in the public domain. Titled Screamboat, the movie centers on a late-night ferry ride in New York City where Mickey Mouse, specifically Steamboat Willie, kills the passengers.

Iconic Events Releasing, via Variety, revealed the first look of actor David Howard Thornton as Steamboat Willie in Screamboat. The distribution company also announced that the film's release date would be pushed back from January 2025 to April 2025, with several pre-screening events planned across the United States ahead of the new release date. Screamboat will also get a push at...

A Steamboat Willie slasher flick was always going to have a pretty hefty dose of goofiness (though Goofy himself is not in the public domain until 2028), but this “Screamboat” monster reveal is nuts.

“Screamboat” had already unveiled a teaser trailer (as first shared by IndieWire in August 2024), but the Mickey Mouse precursor character was not depicted in it. That may have been for the best, as “Screamboat” director Steven Lamorte’s monster looks like, well, what you see above.

David Howard Thornton (Art the Clown in the “Terrifier” trilogy) plays Steamboat Willie in the film from DeskPop Entertainment and distributor Iconic Events Releasing. Willie was designed by Quantum Creation FX as both a puppet and a costume — it’s as practical as the boat the film shot on.

“‘Screamboat’ follows a group of New Yorkers on a late-night ferry ride that turns deadly when a mischievous mouse begins a rampage,...

Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios are building The Twisted Childhood Universe, which will consist of horror movies inspired by children’s stories. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 got the universe started, paving the way for Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio: Unstrung, and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (not to mention Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3), building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. Iconic Events Releasing will be bringing Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare to theatres for three days only, from January 13th through the 15th – and in anticipation of that release, Entertainment Weekly has unveiled a batch of images that feature Kit Green as Tinkerbell. You can check out those images at the bottom of this article.

Written and directed by Scott Chambers, who is also producing all of these Twisted Childhood movies, the film follows Wendy Darling...

Practical effects can be a wonderful addition to horror films when done right, as we saw in such 2024 hits as Terrifier 3 and Alien: Romulus. There's just something about having that gore right in front of you instead of it being generated by a computer that makes the moment feel all the more real. The results can oftentimes be so realistic that they make the filmmakers and actors sick to their stomach, as was the case in Damien Leone's film, and in another 2024 gem: Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2.

MovieWeb recently caught up with Scott Chambers (seen below) to talk about his directorial debut in the Poohniverse with Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. Along the way, the subject of Blood and Honey 2 came up, and it was then he revealed that creator Rhys Frake-Waterfield was so disgusted by one sequence in particular in the sequel that it made him lose his lunch.

We had heard that director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers were planning to create a cinematic universe with the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey films and other horror movies inspired by children’s stories, like Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Pinocchio Unstrung. Then, Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios officially announced that this cinematic universe, which is being referred to as The Twisted Childhood Universe, is building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which will be released in 2025. Now, in an interview with ComicBook.com, Chambers has teased that Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and the Mad Hatter will be “the worst of the worst” when it comes to the children’s story-inspired villains in the film.

Frake-Waterfield will be directing Poohniverse from a screenplay he wrote with Chambers. It was previously confirmed that the cast will include Chambers as Christopher Robin, Megan Plactio as Wendy Darling,...

The "Twisted Childhood Universe" (also known as the "Poohniverse"), is undoubtedly charting a course for a vast expansion in 2025. Since striking internet gold with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and continuing the momentum with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey II, creator Rhys Frake-Waterfield hasn't let the viral success of the series go to waste. Now, an extended universe based on horror versions of classic children's characters is expanding with Bambi: The Reckoning and Pinocchio: Unstrung, but not before the franchise's first deviation from the Blood and Honey films — Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare.

Fans get a horrifying new look at the world of Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare.

Two new clips from the next entry in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey director Rhys Frake-Waterfield's Twisted Childhood Universe were posted to YouTube by fan account Rgc on January 4. The clips show Martin Portlock's menacing Peter Pan terrorizing Michael and Wendy Darling, portrayed by Peter DeSouza-Feighoney and Megan Placito respectively, with tales of exactly what Neverland is and everything it has to offer the villain's next victims.

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Written and directed by Scott Jeffrey, Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare will mark the third entry in the Twisted Childhood Universe that began with Rhys-Wakefield's 2023 sleeper hit, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

We had heard that director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers were planning to create a cinematic universe with the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey films and other horror movies inspired by children’s stories, like Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Pinocchio Unstrung. Then, Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios officially announced that this cinematic universe, which is being referred to as The Twisted Childhood Universe, is building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which will be released in 2025. Now, JoBlo’s own Tyler Nichols has had the chance to talk to Chambers about their plans for Poohniverse – and during their conversation, Chambers revealed that one of the classic children’s story characters who will be added into the mix with this movie, which sounds like it’s going to be a total bloodbath, is Mary Poppins!

Mary Poppins was created by writer P. L. Travers,...

Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios are building The Twisted Childhood Universe, which will consist of horror movies inspired by children’s stories. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 got the universe started, paving the way for Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio: Unstrung, and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (not to mention Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3), building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. We’ve known for a while that Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare would be released sometime in 2025, and now we know exactly when it’s going to reach screens. Iconic Events Releasing will be bringing the film to theatres for three days only, from January 13th through the 15th.

Written and directed by Scott Chambers, who is also producing all of these Twisted Childhood movies, the film follows Wendy Darling as she strikes out in an...

If you told movie audiences 10 years ago that their favorite Disney characters would be turned into serial killers, people would have laughed and dismissed the idea. But after the success of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, yet another classic children's tale has been added to the terrifying Poohniverse: Monster Assemble lineup. The new horror universe is gaining members of Disney animated movies left and right, and now a certain lost boy will be joining the Avengers-level threat. Creators of the Poohniverse, Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios have released a new trailer for Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare as it gears up for its limited theatrical release next month.

Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare will follow Wendy Darling as she attempts to save her brother Michael from a fate in Neverland with an evil Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. The twisted horror film will be in theaters for three days only,...

Deadpool & Wolverine proved that Ryan Reynolds and Disney can make magic together, but it seems that not all of his ideas are welcome. While appearing on Variety’s Actors on Actors with Andrew Garfield, Reynolds revealed that he suggested making a movie that really didn’t float the boat at the House of Mouse.

Before he was able to settle on the right project to bring Deadpool into the Disney family, it seems that Reynolds had some other ideas…including an unexpected crossover with a sweet little deer. The conversation went a little like this:

Reynolds: They were incredible partners. It was meant to be, because the first pitch I had for Marvel and Kevin Feige five years ago was a Deadpool-Wolverine movie in the “Rashomon” style, which is his perspective, then mine, then an objective. And they said no. So then I pitched the most idiotic movies.

Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s The Twisted Childhood Universe is expanding and its expanding soon! What started as an indie horror project in 2023 with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has now spawned multiple films based on classic children's characters, including a sequel to the first movie. Another upcoming feature in the franchise will be Pinocchio Unstrung, which began production in October earlier this year.

When A.A. Milne's 1926 children's novel "Winnie-the-Pooh" finally entered the public domain in 2022, filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield was waiting in the wings. For many decades, Winnie-the-Pooh was owned by Disney, and the corporate megalith had always been protective about its property. Pooh was a gentle and whimsical extension of the Disney brand. When Disney lost exclusive rights, Frake-Waterfield elected to shove his thumb in Disney's eye and make "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey," an incredibly cheap and horrendously bad slasher movie wherein everyone's favorite silly-old-bear was reimagined as an eight-foot murdering lummox.

Although "Blood and Honey" is a terrible movie, curious audiences attended out of morbid curiosity, and the film ended up grossing $7.7 million on a paltry $100,000 budget. Its success inspired Frake-Waterfields to not only make "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2," but also to announce a whole spate of other public domain childhood classics reinterpreted as cheap slasher movies. If all goes to plan,...

We had heard that director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers were planning to create a cinematic universe with the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey films and other horror movies inspired by children’s stories, like Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Pinocchio Unstrung. Then, Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios officially announced that this cinematic universe, which is being referred to as The Twisted Childhood Universe, is building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which will be released in 2025. Now, Deadline has confirmed that Martin Portlock, who plays Peter Pan in Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, will be reprising the role in Poohniverse.

The confirmation of Portlock’s involvement comes in Deadline’s report that Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble has secured distribution deals in in Latin America (Bf Distribution), Germany and Italy (Plaion), the UK (Altitude), Benelux (Nd Pictures), France (Factoris), Australia and...

First there was Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. Then came news of Screamboat, another horror comedy based on a beloved cartoon character that recently entered the public domain, in this case the version of Mickey Mouse seen in Steamboat Willie. Now, get ready for the latest effort, Popeye the Slayer Man, a grisly take on the spinach-chewing, big-forearmed sailor who rose to popularity in the 1930s with a series of cartoons by Max Fleischer.

The film's official synopsis reads: "A curious group of friends sneak into an abandoned spinach canning factory to film a documentary on the legend of the "Sailor Man," who is said to haunt the factory and local docks." Naturally, the group of friends meets the legendary Popeye, here re-imagined as a rage-filled slasher killer, and are offed by the Slayer Man in overly violent fashion. Fans of gore will definitely be pleased by the film's newly released Red Band trailer.

Hold on to your honey, horror fans, because the bloody Winnie-the-Pooh crossover event weve all been waiting for just got a major update. Cameras will begin rolling in March 2025 on Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which will bring together a plethora of public domain characters in whats known as The Twisted Childhood Universe, created by Rhys Frake-Waterfield. The series began with 2023s Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, which managed to earn $7.7 million at the box office against a minuscule budget of $100,000.

The carnage continued in this years Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, which earned a slightly lower amount than its predecessor, taking in $7.6 million. Based on its successful profit to budget ratio so far, though, Deadline is reporting that Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble has already been pre-sold around the world before a single frame has even been shot. Clearly, worldwide distributors that snatched up the rights to the film are banking on the crossover to be a big hit,...

Two separate horror films based on the iconic character Popeye are being released next year. Shiver me timbers!

Mention the words ‘Popeye film’ and the chances are you’ll cast your mind back to Robert Altman’s 1980 live action take on the character which, while flawed, was tremendous fun. It also featured arguably one of the greatest, most accurate pieces of casting ever in the form of Shelly Duvall as Olive Oyl, who appeared alongside Robin Williams in his film debut as the title character. Fervent fans can even visit the set, which is still standing today as a theme park attraction in Malta.

The notion of taking established, family friendly characters and dropping them into their own horror films began with Winnie the Pooh: Bloody And Honey, Rhys Frake Waterfield’s low-budget slasher that became a profitable hit on home video and streaming, which led to this year’s...

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey horror crossover Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble is bringing together characters like Pooh, Bambi, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan from the Twisted Childhood Universe. The movie is set to begin filming in March.

While details about the story are still a secret, the slasher film will show the monsters teaming up to face survivors from previous movies.

The franchise’s first installment, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, was met with a negative critical reception and a more mixed fan reception, though it turned a profit at the box office.

The movie’s quality was called into question, with criticisms directed at the script, acting, cinematography, and lack of humor; it also received five Golden Raspberry Awards. In response to this, Frake-Waterfield stated that he is determined to raise the standard with the future films in the franchise.

In March 2024, Jagged Edge Productions officially announced that the franchise will be titled The Twisted Childhood Universe,...

Screamboat has added two new cast members. Screamboat is an upcoming horror film that gives a sinister take on the classic Disney character Steamboat Willie. The film was announced shortly after the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse was entered into the public domain at the beginning of this year. It is one of two Steamboat Willie movies that have been announced. Screamboat is directed by Steven Lamorte, who also serves as a producer on the feature.

Per Variety, two new cast members for Screamboat have now been revealed. Tyler Posey and Kailey Hyman have officially joined the cast. While the specifics of their characters have not been announced, the production said that both actors will play key characters in Screamboat. In addition to the announcement of these main roles, the Screamboat team also noted that Brian Quinn and Joe DeRose will make cameo appearances in the film.

What This...

Director Rhys Frake-Waterfields Twisted Childhood Universe has taken a major step by adding two horror icons to its upcoming feature Pinocchio: Unstrung. Robert Englund, who terrified a generation as Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise, and Barbarian star Richard Brake have boarded the feature which will introduce a version of the wooden puppet unlike anything that has been seen before on the big screen.

Among the upcoming movies in the Twisted Childhood Universe is Pinocchio: Unstrung, and its already better than Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey in one important and disturbing way. The horror genre has been defined by different trends in recent years, and a controversial one is horror adaptations of childrens stories and characters. The trend gained a lot of attention and force with Rhys Frake-Waterfileds Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, and though it was a critical failure, it was a box office hit, leading to a sequel and a shared universe.

The Twisted Childhood Universe will bring together horror movies based on childrens media that can now be adapted freely to different styles and more. Before the crossover event Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, the audience will meet the horror versions of Peter Pan, Bambi, and Pinocchio, the latters movie being currently in production. Pinocchio: Unstrung will give a disturbing twist to the already chaotic wooden puppet,...

The original Pinocchio story is a lot darker than you might think if you've only seen the classic Disney animated movie, but the next instalment in the Twisted Childhood Universe (Aka the "Poohniverse") will take things to a whole new level.

A first official look at Pinocchio: Unstrung has been revealed via some promo stills and a behind-the-scenes video showcasing an impressive practical Pinocchio puppet, which was created by Todd Masters, the Emmy-winning VFX artist known for Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight and Child’s Play.

Helmed by Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and produced by Scott Jeffrey under their Jagged Edge Productions banner, Pinocchio: Unstrung follows "young James as he learns of his grandfather Geppetto’s deadly secret: Pinocchio."

Variety reports that the project has added a true horror icon, with Freddy Krueger himself, A Nightmare on Elm Street's Robert Englund, set to star in an undisclosed role.

The Twisted Childhood Universe is set to expand with the announcement of a brand-new public domain terror from Jagged Edge Productions called Pinocchio: Unstrung. The beloved marionette who dreams of being a real boy debuted back in 1883 in Carlo Collodi's novel, but the latest interpretation of the character recasts him as a horrifying villain. The basic premise of Jagged Edge Production's Twisted Childhood Universe is rather simple, and it takes popular children's characters from the public domain and morphs them into nightmarish horror mascots that hack and slash their way through unsuspecting victims.

The project started with the surprise box-office success of 2023's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, which was made cheap to capitalize on A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh entering the public domain. Soon, a wave of public domain horror movies were rushed into production with characters like Mickey Mouse and Peter Pan becoming dark alternates of their most kind and cuddly forms.

We all know Winnie The Pooh as a character who has been a friend to many children over the years. Pinocchio was no different, with a story that made many children’s childhood worth remembering. But with the release of the Winnie The Pooh universe, things have changed.

Gone are the days where they were every child’s comfort character. For a new generation, there name will give birth to a feeling of terror. But the Universe must have evoked feelings of awe within Steven Spielberg for its stellar use of animatronics.

The Twisted Childhood Universe is here to mess with our brains Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey paved the way for the Twisted Childhood Universe || Jagged Edge Productions

With the release of Winnie The Pooh, Jagged Edge Productions had successfully managed to change how fans around the world perceived the characters created by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard,...

Made on a budget of less than $100,000, director Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s movie Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (watch it Here) earned more than $6 million during its global release in early 2023, so not only did the sequel Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 have a substantially higher budget, that success opened the door to an entire cinematic universe that will consist of at least one more Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey sequel and other horror movies inspired by children’s stories, like Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Pinocchio: Unstrung. Now, Variety reports that a pair of genre icons have just joined the cast of Pinocchio: Unstrung, as the film is set to star A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Robert Englund and Rob Zombie regular Richard Brake! Details on Englund’s role have not been revealed, but Brake will be playing Geppetto.

As we’ve previously heard,...

The upcoming Twisted Childhood Universe (Tcu) horror movie Pinocchio: Unstrung has a practical animatronic puppet that will bring about haunting dreams. The story of Pinocchio: Unstrung features a darker take on the beloved puppet, following the story of Geppetto's grandson, James, who discovers the haunting puppet. This leads to a slasher bloodbath, with the titular character at the center of it all. The movie will directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who previously directed the Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood & Honey movies that are part of the same horror universe.

Now, poohbandh, the official Twitter/X account of the Tcu, has posted a video showing off the practical animatronic puppet being used for Pinocchio in Pinocchio: Unstrung. The realistic-looking puppet can be seen moving its mouth and head around in an uncanny fashion. Another angle reveals its human-like eyes, which stare piercingly out from the wood-like head. It's a frightening animatronic that's enough to give one nightmares,...

One, two, Pinocchio's coming for you. No, wait. Thats not right. Its one, two, Freddys coming for you, the nursery rhyme made famous in A Nightmare on Elm Street, which just so happened to feature Robert Englund, who has been announced alongside Richard Brake to star in Pinocchio: Unstrung. See, its all connected. Set for release in 2025, the movie is another entry in The Twisted Childhood Universe (dubbed the Poohniverse) created by Rhys Frake-Waterfield that follows in the footsteps of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, and its recent sequel.

Per Variety, horror legends Englund and Blake have been cast in the new flick, for which production is already underway. Blake will star as Geppetto, while Englund is said to be taking on the role of Cricket, who was appointed by the Blue Fairy in the original Disney movie to help guide Pinnochio on his journey as he becomes a real boy.

The filmmakers behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (and its sequel) are expanding their “Poohniverse” with multiple upcoming films including Bambi: The Reckoning and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, but today we’re here to talk about Pinocchio: Unstrung.

Variety has shared a first look image from the next movie in the twisted public domain horror universe this morning, while also revealing that Robert Englund has joined the cast.

The horror legend is reportedly playing the role of iconic character Cricket!

Additionally, Richard Brake (3 from Hell) will be starring as puppet master Geppetto.

Rhys Frake-Waterfield is directing the upcoming Pinocchio horror movie for Jagged Edge Productions, with makeup FX legend Todd Masters (Child’s Play, Underworld Awakening, Slither) tasked with creating the film’s sinister Pinocchio doll. The fully practical puppet can be glimpsed in the shot up above, which was again first shared by Variety this morning.

Frake-Waterfield tells Bd,...

Freddy Krueger has joined the cast of the next IP-smashing slasher from the makers of microbudget hit “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.”

Well, almost. Robert Englund, who famously played the murderous horror icon across the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films, will star in “Pinocchio: Unstrung,” the latest standalone feature to join the so-called low-budget Twisted Childhood Universe. Richard Brake, a regular collaborator with Rob Zombie and whose horror credits also include the likes of “Barbarian” and “Mandy,” has also joined the film in the key role of Geppetto.

Meanwhile, Variety is able to reveal a first-look of the actual — and fully practical — Pinocchio doll, created by Todd Masters, the Emmy-winning special effects artist known for “Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight” and “Child’s Play” (he also worked on “Dune: Part Two”).

‘Pinocchio: Unstrung’

“Pinocchio: Unstrung” is being directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and produced by Scott Jeffrey, the duo behind “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey...

Pinocchio: Unstrung has received a major production update. The upcoming Pinocchio: Unstrung is part of the Twisted Childhood Universe, a franchise populated with villainous versions of classic childhood characters that kicked off with 2023's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its 2024 sequel. The 2025 movie, which loosely adapts the 1883 Carlo Collodi novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, does not have any cast, crew, or plot details officially announced at the time of writing, though filming was originally slated to begin in September 2024.

On Instagram, Twisted Childhood Universe producer, director, and star Scott Chambers recently fielded fan questions about the horror franchise. When a fan asked about the beginning of production on Pinocchio: Unstrung, he responded via Instagram stories with a selfie bearing the caption "In 3 weeks." The story was posted over the weekend between Friday, September 27 and Sunday, September 29, which most likely means that Chambers was indicating that production would commence on the week beginning Monday,...

The possibility of a sequel to the horror crossover Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble has gotten a promising update. The upcoming Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which is set to premiere in 2025, is part of the franchise known as the Twisted Childhood Universe which reimagines classic childhood characters as horror villains and kicked off in 2023 with Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. The movies that have already come out or are set to premiere between that original title and the impending crossover include Blood and Honey 2, Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, Pinocchio: Unstrung, and Bambi: The Reckoning.

Twisted Childhood Universe producer, director, and star Scott Chambers recently fielded a series of fan questions on Instagram including "Will we ever have a Poohniverse film sequel?" In response, he shared a selfie with the caption "Maybe (Probs but new villains as loads will die)." This would seem to indicate that discussions have already been had about the crossover franchise...

After the release of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey II, the Poohniverse continues to move. One of the stars from the sequel, Scott Chambers, has provided a couple of updates about the future of the series through his Instagram account. One of these updates states that the upcoming Pinocchio: Unstrung will begin filming in three weeks. This would line up with previous reports that claimed that the next installment from the horrifying franchise would make its way to the big screen next year. Yet another character from a popular tale for children will come back with a dark twist thanks to the minds behind Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.

The creators of the horror film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey are back to terrorize a new public domain classic with a new trailer released for Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare.

Peter Pan is the newest childhood classic on the chopping block for Jagged Edge Productions, the production company behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. The company has been extending their horror franchise of public domain tales turned into horror films--dubbed the "Poohniverse"--with other titles announced such as Bambi: The Reckoning and Pinocchio: Unstrung. The Poohniverse shows no signs of slowing down, with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3 confirmed by its producers and Pinocchio: Unstrung set to start filming next month.

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With the original iterations of several Disney characters now in the public domain, the door has been opened to parodies featuring twisted new versions of them.

One of the most attention-grabbing parodies is the upcoming horror movie Screamboat which, in case it wasn't obvious, is based on the iconic Mickey Mouse predecessor, Steamboat Willie.

Directed by Steven Lamorte, who previously helmed 2022's The Mean One, a horror based on Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas, the teaser trailer suggests the project will make slasher fans happy.

According to the synopsis, "[Screamboat] follows a group of New Yorkers on a late-night ferry ride that turns deadly when a mischievous mouse begins a rampage, targeting unsuspecting passengers. The unlikely crew must band together to thwart the murderous menace before their relaxing commute turns into a nightmare."

You can watch the newly released trailer below (via FearHQ.com) ahead of the movie's planned 2025 release.

Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios are building The Twisted Childhood Universe, which will consist of horror movies inspired by children’s stories. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 got the universe started, paving the way for Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio: Unstrung, and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (not to mention Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3), building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. Written and directed by Scott Chambers, who is also producing all of these Twisted Childhood movies, Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare has unveiled its trailer today, and you can check it out in the embed above!

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.” Along the way she meets Tinkerbell, who in this twisted version of the story will be seen taking heroine,...

Production on “Screamboat” is chugging right along.

Director Steven Lamorte stepped away from an editing session to update IndieWire on his forthcoming horror comedy, expected in theaters early next year from distributors DeskPop Entertainment and Iconic Events Releasing. The slasher spoof plans to commandeer Disney’s “Steamboat Willie” from 1928 — now that its black-and-white versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse are in the public domain. You can watch the film’s sinister first teaser trailer, making its exclusive digital debut with IndieWire, above.

“Our movie, while it is bloody and gory and raunchy, it really is a love letter to this character,” said Lamorte, who co-wrote the script with Matthew Garcia-Dunn. “As 2024 got closer and closer, it seemed like the copyright was really going to lapse. Once the clock struck midnight on January 1, and it was clear that we were going to be free to use the character and have some real fun with him,...

The official trailer has arrived for Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. The movie is the third installment in the Twisted Childhood Universe after Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequel. The upcoming Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, based on the iconic work by J. M. Barrie, is the first new installment in the franchise to feature a non-a.A. Milne public domain children's character, though the franchise is already set to expand with the upcoming titles Bambi: The Reckoning and Pinocchio: Unstrung, leading into the 2025 crossover Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.

Bloody Disgusting Horror has unveiled the official trailer for Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. Check it out below:

The trailer opens on a creepy scene of Peter kidnapping a child that is reminiscent of the opening scene of 2017s It. The video then introduces the main premise of the movie, which follows an adult Peter with a scarred face operating as a mask-wearing...

The filmmakers behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey are expanding their public domain horror universe with a handful of upcoming “Poohniverse” movies, including Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio: Unstrung, and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare.

Scott Jeffrey directs Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, and Bloody Disgusting is exclusively debuting the horror movie’s extremely bloody official trailer today. Check it out below.

Expect the film in theaters in early 2025.

The Jagged Edge Productions film — being sold by ITN Studios — follows Wendy Darling as she strikes out in an attempt to rescue her brother Michael from “the clutches of the evil Peter Pan.” Along the way she meets Tinkerbell, who in this twisted version of the story will be seen taking heroine, convinced that it’s pixie dust.

Jeffrey tells us, “This is tonally an extremely darker film to Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey. When dealing with children being abducted, it felt right.

The Twisted Childhood Universe continues to subvert fairy tale tropes with Pinocchio: Unstrung. The upcoming slasher drops a new poster revealing the titular character unshackled with "nothing holding him back."

The filmmakers of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey released new details about Pinocchio: Unstrung, a reimagining of the children's fantasy novel but with a very dark turn. Bloody Disgusting dropped the film's new poster with an exciting confirmation: the doll for the titular marionette will be crafted by FX artist Todd Masters, whose long line of credits includes makeup and prosthetics for Child's Play, Slither, and Tales from the Crypt. The poster teases what could be Pinocchio's first kill on the loose; the victim could very well be Geppetto if the film leans on the premise of the Italian novel.

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