The original “Winnie the Pooh” novels by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard went into the public domain in 2022, and it didn’t take long for someone to adapt the famous children’s book characters into a bloody slasher. “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey,” directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, is a horror adaptation that recasts Pooh (Craig David Dowsett) and his old friend Piglet (Chris Cordell) as vicious killers. After Christopher Robin (Nikolai Leon) departs for college, Pooh and Piglet go ferocious out of feelings of retaliation. Now, they plan to harass a group of college students living in a cottage not far from the 100 Acre Wood in addition to carrying out Christopher Robin’s harsh punishment.
A fairly typical slasher, “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” adds the novelty of turning beloved and typically harmless creatures like Pooh and Piglet into ferocious monsters. It features horrifying killings, graphic visuals, and effects that are in keeping with the movie’s modest budget. Its portrayal of these well-known figures will undoubtedly make viewers cringe, and it truly lives up to its “Blood and Honey” moniker.
In light of this, let’s explore how the original tale of “Blood and Honey” gives Winnie-the-Pooh a horror twist, as well as how director Frake-Waterfield has discussed turning the film’s setting into a special kind of cinematic universe. The resolution of “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” is described here.
A sequel and something more
The movie doesn’t hint at any potential sequels, but Frake-Waterfield has talked of making additional horror retellings like “Blood and Honey” using other properties in addition to a “Blood and Honey” sequel. It is known that a sequel will be produced, with Frake-Waterfield serving as the new director. In an interview with Dread Central, Frake-Waterfield expressed his desire to “push it up even more, go even wilder, and go even more extreme” with a follow-up. It’s even stranger that not just Winnie-the-Pooh is receiving a horror retelling.
The creators of “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” are now creating horror-inspired adaptations of “Peter Pan,” tentatively dubbed “Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare,” as a result of other well-known children’s characters also becoming public domain. Frake-Waterfield is also planning to direct a “Bambi” movie, which is expected to be called “Bambi: The Reckoning.”
Breaking down Pooh’s bloody fight
Four neighbourhood guys try to fight Pooh while he is reeling and becoming even more vicious after seeing Piglet slain. As Maria and Jess try to flee, Pooh confronts them. These males may initially come off as weird, but they are prepared to defend the women. When the men spot Pooh, they arm themselves with various weapons to fight him. At first, it appears as though they might have a chance because they easily beat him up and even made Pooh somewhat bleed. Pooh swiftly turns the tables on them, though.
After Pooh topples one of the soldiers, a very violent scene ensues in which he then goes on to slay all of the men in various ways that demonstrate his ruthless strength. The movie has already established its ability to produce graphic killings, and Pooh doesn’t hold back in this scene. We’re talking about skull stomps, severe neck slashes, and blows that are so forceful that blood spurts out immediately. It’s the ideal balance of ridiculous and grandiose when Pooh even sends an army of bees after one man who attempts to flee.
This scene demonstrates that Pooh is now genuinely on the warpath and has the same spine-tingling intensity as Michael Myers’ gory killstreak at the conclusion of “Halloween Kills.”
Charlene’s revenge
Charlene is as battered and damaged as someone possibly be by the time Maria and her friends discover her. When she first sees her injured face, she freaks out and is so traumatised by it that she vows to exact her own particular form of vengeance. Since Piglet killed her husband, they must have tormented her to the brink of mental breakdown. She snatches Maria’s rifle and begins yelling at Piglet to reveal his hideous face so she may shoot him. Soon after, Piglet appears, but Charlene’s plan doesn’t turn out as she had anticipated.
She manages to lock her sights on Piglet, but she is unable to pull the trigger, and Pooh approaches from behind to knock her to the ground. Once Charlene is on the ground, she meets an awful end that is genuinely wrong to witness. Before Piglet approaches and chows down on her face, Pooh sprays some of his disgusting honey on her. Given everything she has already endured, Charlene effectively becomes pig chow, which is a horrible and agonising death.
Holding Christopher Robin hostage
Christopher Robin decided to leave Pooh and his pals in order to go to college years ago, but as an adult, he returns with his fiance Mary (Paula Coiz) in order to reunite with his best buddies. But now, nothing is the same anymore. He can even see Eeyore’s grave, which should be a bad sign by itself. The 100 Acre Wood has turned into a dark and dreary area. He eventually encounters the friends he left behind, and they begin their deadly retribution scheme.
Pooh and Piglet have Christopher Robin in their grips and are not going to let him off easily after Piglet chokes Mary to death with a chain. Although his end appears bleak in the movie’s opening sequence, he is actually kept alive. However, given what Pooh and Piglet do to him, it’s likely that Christopher Robin would rather die. One of the most heartbreaking scenes in the movie is when Pooh tortures Christopher Robin in a way that is actually difficult to watch.
Horrifying half-breeds
How then did innocent, amiable beings like Pooh and Piglet turn evil? The animated introduction of the movie provides some information about what led Pooh and Piglet to become so vicious. Pooh and Piglet are first and foremost described as “half-breeds,” which means they are both humans and animals. This explains why they have more human-like bodies and likely explains why they stay isolated from the rest of society by living in a forest. Even though as a young child Christopher Robin cared for them and even brought them food, his leaving for college leaves them in a difficult situation.
They are traumatised by having to murder and devour Eeyore because of the savage winter and hunger. In the end, they lose all feeling of humanity and even cease speaking. Since Rabbit and Owl are also mentioned, it’s still unclear what happened to them, but Pooh and Piglet are shown to be hungry creatures, and it’s really unsettling to see how they dissect their food. The beginning gives viewers a terrifying origin tale filled of treachery and gruesome terror that establishes the tone for the rest of the film.
One wild ride
After Pooh has brutally treated all four of the locals, Maria and Jess attempt a hasty getaway in the car the men arrived in but are unsuccessful.
Pooh manages to climb onto the car as they drive into the woods, and it appears like nothing would get him to let go. Pooh is slowly making his way into the driver’s seat as Maria tries to swerve and accelerate. In the end, Maria chooses to apply the brakes hard in an effort to make Pooh take off. While it may be effective in the short term, she and Jess ultimately suffer more consequences than Pooh does.
Maria unfortunately hits her head on the steering wheel after the abrupt halt, which results in blood pouring out of her forehead. No one will be able to drive away as a result. Pooh drags Jess from the vehicle after carefully making his way back there while remaining unharmed. Maria is very disoriented after the collision, so nobody can intervene to stop Pooh from beheading Jess. Given how innocent Jess felt as a character, it is undoubtedly a difficult ending for her, and Pooh’s crass tossing of her head back at the automobile indicates that he is no longer joking around.
Overcoming fears
The movie introduces us to a young woman named Maria (Maria Taylor) as she and her companions travel to a remote cabin just outside of the 100 Acre Wood after Pooh and Piglet kidnap Christopher Robin. Although it may seem a little strange for these girls to travel to a distant cabin for the weekend, there is really a therapeutic purpose for the trip: the girls are supporting Maria as she heals from a horrific stalker event.
According to the story, one night as Maria slept, she felt someone observing her from outside her window and even made eye contact with the stalker. Maria could feel the stalker stripping her as soon as he entered her home. Anyone would be afraid to go to sleep after reading this terrifying tale.
The girls have accompanied Maria on this retreat in the hopes that it will enable her to get over her anxieties and let go of that terrifying experience. Unfortunately, they simply bring more horrors with them.
Pooh and Piglet’s slaughterhouse
As previously noted, Piglet and Pooh don’t kill every victim in a heartless manner. One in particular that they like to keep alive for a long period is Christopher Robin. We eventually discover that Christopher Robin is being held in their improvised slaughterhouse, where they continue to torment their least favourite people and store the bodies of those they have slain. The skinned bodies of Pooh and Piglet’s previous victims, including his cherished fiancée Mary, are all around Christopher Robin. Nobody wants to be in this bloody nightmarish situation.
Pooh’s honey consumption only makes things more repulsive because it drips disgustingly from his face, and seeing him have a fit of rage reveals just how terrifying he really is. Pooh grabs Eeyore’s tail and starts ferociously whipping Christopher Robin, which makes the situation worse. You immediately cringe when you see the welts on Christopher’s back; it’s a humiliating moment that no viewer will ever forget.
Pooh and Piglet’s slaughterhouse is the ideal example of how uncivilised these versions of the popular characters have turned to, and viewers’ reactions when they see the dismembered bodies are actually rather horrifying.
Pooh speaks
When Christopher Robin traps Pooh between the two automobiles, he may appear to be dead, but like any good slasher villain, Pooh comes back to life just as Christopher Robin and Maria are about to flee. Pooh seems very menacing as he pursues his way towards Maria while the automobiles burst behind him, effortlessly separating himself from them. It’s actually kind of spectacular, but when Pooh grabs a dagger and slashes Maria’s throat, it rapidly turns terrifying.
Christopher Robin makes a last-ditch effort to convince Pooh to intervene and save Maria. He apologises and suggests that Pooh take him instead because he is the one who Pooh is truly upset with. At first, it appears as though his pleadings could save Maria, but Pooh does something that completely alters the situation.
Pooh breaches his vow of quiet in a terrifying passage, saying, “You departed,” before slitting Maria’s throat, underscoring his refusal to heed Christopher Robin’s cries. It’s a startling scene, and the movie closes on a very unsettling note as Christopher Robin screams in anguish and panic while Pooh brutally slashes Maria after she passes away.
Saved at the last second
It seems as though Maria’s fate is very much determined after Pooh murders Jess. She can’t leave right immediately because of her injury, and the car won’t start, so she’s in a precarious situation. In addition, Pooh has demonstrated such dominating physical prowess throughout the movie that confronting him directly will undoubtedly result in a quick demise. As a result, when Pooh finally takes Maria out of the car, the spectator can only assume that the murderous bear is about to turn her into another crimson victim.
However, Christopher Robin unexpectedly appears in another vehicle and saves Maria at the very last second. Since he wasn’t in the best of health in the last scene he was in, it comes as a complete surprise. Pooh is pinned between the two cars after the man appears to have the strength to find and drive a car and ram Pooh into it.
Pooh appears to have everything under control, but Christopher Robin rapidly changes the situation, possibly rescuing both himself and Maria. Sadly, they don’t feel secure for very long.
Saving survivors
Following Pooh and Piglet back into the 100 Acre Woods after they had killed some of their buddies, Maria and Jess (Natasha Rose Mills) discover their filthy little village. The two find other survivors who have been harassed by Pooh and Piglet after saving their buddy Alice (Amber Doig-Thorne). The first is Christopher Robin, who is still hanging out at their slaughterhouse. Due to the severity of the beating, he is in no condition to move, so the girls simply untie him and depart.
The other survivor they encounter is Charlene (Danielle Scott), a constrained lady who has obviously been pushed to the limit of her sanity. She is found in a ceremonial setting. When Maria and her friends first see Charlene, she can hardly stand and has a face that is entirely swelled in half. She is also just as vicious as they are because Piglet killed her husband, for which she now harbours a great hatred.
It’s awful to see what happens to the people Pooh and Piglet leave alive, even though we can see exactly what they do to the people they kill, and it’s not pretty.
Slaughtered pig
Piglet is prepared to pursue Pooh and cause more mayhem after biting on Charlene, but he runs into someone else out for vengeance. When Alice witnessed Piglet use a sledgehammer to shatter her girlfriend Zoe’s (Danielle Ronald) face, she was inconsolable. She can’t pass up this chance to exact revenge on Zoe now that she has Piglet all to herself. So that she may fully carry out her revenge plan, Alice attacks Piglet unexpectedly and ties him up with his own chains in a precarious position.
Piglet is trapped and must endure Alice’s anger. Before each swing, Alice says who she is seeking revenge against before beating Piglet’s head until he collapses. The hunter in the movie turns into the prey in a cruel twist of fate. Even though it’s still upsetting to see Piglet go on this note, it seems very well earned in light of everything he’s accomplished.
Soon later, Pooh exacts revenge on him by slicing Alice’s throat with a machete, instantly killing her. Although Alice may have exacted revenge, it came at the expense of her own life.
There does seem to be a new trend emerging; perhaps a shared universe is about to emerge, causing these horrible monstrosities to encounter and perhaps even crossover?
