The director behind the Winnie The Pooh horror film sequel says he isn’t even close to done and reveals that the next horror flick based on another childhood character has already finished filming.
Did we need a second Winnie The Pooh horror film? Absolutely not... Well, is it any good? Not from a film-critic point of view - but is it a good time?
Yes. That part is undeniable.
Now to get you up to date, back in 2023 a film was released entitled Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, and it turned the loveable yellow bear into a half man half monster blood-thirsty killer.
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It was essentially a slasher flick with tons of gruesome deaths throughout.
But despite negative reception, it managed to build a cult-like following and this resulted in a global release.
So, kind of like if The Room was a horror film rather than... whatever it actually was. Essentially a perfect example of a film so bad, it's good.
This unexpected popularity meant the creators wanted to try their hand at a sequel, Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, which released on March 26.
The sequel is definitely a step up from the first film - maybe not worth a cinema ticket, but worth a night in with your mates and drinking every time a moment so ridiculous makes you laugh.
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UNILAD spoke to the director and writer behind the first and second films, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, and he made it clear that he has no plans to stop.
Even if the sequel isn’t as well received, he has big plans for other characters he wants to give the horror treatment to.
In fact, Frake-Waterfield said he and those at ITN studios have completed their horror take on another beloved childhood character: Bambi.
So, if the idea of the cute deer being turned into an evil killing maniac ruins your childhood... then you might want to miss out on the film set to drop in 2024.
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However, if the mere concept alone fascinates you, then you should look at getting your cinema tickets early.
“So this year, we have already filmed Bambi, so Bambi: The Reckoning is kind of in the works now, it is in post production,” Frake-Waterfield, who is a producer on the film, said.
“Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare is next, Scott Chambers (the lead in Blood and Honey 2) is actually going to be directing that as well.
“And then we have a few more coming out.”
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Now if you thought Blood and Honey 2 was the end of the evil Winnie the Pooh, you would also be wrong.
Frake-Waterfield continued: “Winnie 3 is almost certainly going to happen. I love the concept as a whole so regardless of what happens, I am going to be making a third one, If I have to go back down to a budget of 20k again, I'll do it.”
But don’t think just because he is adamant in making more of these flicks that he is immune to the criticism - and let’s be clear, there has been a lot of it.
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The first Winnie the Pooh horror film maintains a pitiful 2.9/10 on IMDB after 27,000 reviews, and a 3 percent Tomatometer score after 62 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Harsh.
Speaking on the critics, Frake-Waterfield said: “It is just about getting stuck into it and just doing it. Just ignoring the naysayers."
He continued: “Winnie the Pooh, you have got to have super thick skin for what we have done. Over the last year it has just been... you are making a film on less than a normal student budget film, which is then getting compared to the likes of Five Nights at Freddy’s and their massive bill of like $30 million.
“So you need to be able to brush off a lot of the comments. You need to kind of see it in the long term and be like every year, I’ll be getting better and better.”
I admire his optimism; the sequel has much better performances, a more coherent story and better cinematography, so it's definitely worth a watch!
Topics: Film and TV