Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey was cheap slasher horror with a gimmick, but I’ll be damned if it didn’t at least try to deliver a fun ride with the modest budget it had. But it wasn’t a good movie: the Blu-ray will sit on my shelf as a piece of horror history, and even if it never got a sequel, I could tell there was a passion from its director and writer, Rhys Frake-Waterfield. Fortunately, the film still made a tone of money, and a sequel has quickly arrived in Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, and this time, director Rhys Frake-Waterfield has around ten times the budget and can deliver what I believe to be the vision from the outset. It’s a genuinely messed-up vision of a childhood icon and as close to a horror-punk slasher as we’ve had in a long time. People hate that this movie has Pooh and friends in it, but the team behind the film are more than happy to keep pushing them into gory and more insane moments.

Following the events of the first film, Christopher Robin (now being played by Scott Chambers) has been accused of being the murderer at the heart of the first film’s events, while others protect and believe his tall tales of creatures in the 100 Acre Woods. He’s attempting to hold down a job and follow through with his passion for medicine and helping others, but bullying from the public and nightmares from his time captured at the hands of Pooh make it hard for him to move on with his life. Yes, I, too, was surprised to find a trauma narrative at the centre of this film. 

Pooh, Piglet, Owl, and Tiger hide in the 100-acre woods, while those believers in Christopher’s stories search for the monsters among the trees. With the humans closing in and a lack of food, they choose to move inwards towards the city not only for survival but to slaughter as many as they can. 

Pooh and Piglet have upgrades in their masks, going from rubber designs to something that makes them look more like the feral animals described in the first film, though both keep their lumbering styles as seen in the first film. Neither moves quickly, but Pooh invests in a bear trap in this film as a weapon of choice. Tiger is a skinny but fear-inducing predator with claws that can tear your face off. It is the most aggressive and, unsurprisingly, rather talkative one. One of the more sinister lines from any of the group is him stalking a girl and calling out, “Come here, you neon colour slut!” Owl is seen as both the advisor to Pooh, the head of the group and a tactician who hunts from the sky. 

A couple of critical choices made in the production of Blood and Honey 2 have not only elevated it high above the first film but finally made this a horror film all fans of the genre should check out this year. The first was bringing on Matt Leslie alongside returning writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield as co-writer. While the latter is obviously talented and passionate about this universe and has the sick mind needed to create horrific kills, I would guess most of the character-specific stuff has come from Leslie. Pair that with Scott Chambers delivering a genuinely likeable performance as Christopher Robin and an ability to ideally give this material the right amount of tragic undertone while still existing in a ridiculous world, and it’s a bunch of pairings for success. 

The filmmakers even make a very smart choice to clearly separate the first and second films within the film’s lore. The first film is seen within Blood and Honey 2 as a cheap horror movie adaptation of what happened to Christopher Robin. Quickly explaining the change of actor and why Pooh and Piglett’s masks and designs look so different between the films.

Before the release of Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, the ‘Poohniverse’ was announced, which will see creatures of the 100-acre woods team up with others like Mad Hatter, Bambi, and Pinnochio in some sick and twisted take on children characters. Before Blood and Honey 2, I would have rolled my eyes at this announcement, laughed about it, and wanted to watch it, but I wouldn’t have taken it seriously. But following this film, they may be onto something.

The film shows cracks in its cinematography, lighting, and special effects, particularly how those three categories work together. To use their budget to the best degree, the age-old trick of hiding VFX in darkness has been used, which is fine, but a lot of the VFX still stands out—especially blood splatters, which can look comically under-finalized at times compared to the rest of the film. 

I am seriously shocked that Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is anywhere near as good as it is, considering the quality of the first film. But with an engaging and sympathetic lead, expanded lore for the woodland friends, and a killer third act, all paired with yet another fantastic score from Andrew Scott Bell, this is my first genuine surprise in 2024.

(Screener provided to Explosion Network.
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