WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY
UK, 2023, 84 minutes, Colour.
Nikolai Leon, Maria Taylor.
Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield.
Out of copyright restrictions… Into…? The quick answer, Exploitation.
Young British writer-director, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, has been producing his own films and Internet programs for some years – with more than a horror inclination. He has a company called Twisted Childhood Universe.
Winnie-the-Pooh – yes, AA Milne’s 1920s character, beloved of children. Now, out of copyright limits (like Mickey Mouse recently) and like Sherlock Holmes, at the mercy/whim/creativity of filmmakers. This freedom appeals to makers of horror movies (think Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). So, a 21st-century new world for Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eor – and they are wreaking a massacre and blaming it on Christopher Robin.
Result: $2 million taken at the American box office, a commercial success for devotees of gore – but, bad reviews, denunciations of desecration of classics. And, the recipient of the famous Razzie Awards, winning no fewer than five: Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay Worst Director, Worst Screen Couple, Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off, Sequel. (It must have been a relief for mainstream actors not winning these awards.)
In fact, the bloggers were unhappy with the film. Technically, it is not very accomplished and the performances are very average. As is the make up and design for the creatures.
With some animation, there is explanation of Christopher Robin’s friendship, his leaving them, their being upset, becoming hostile to humans, developing into sadistic monsters. When Christopher Robin comes with his girlfriend, they capture him but brutally kill her. Then a party of young women come to the area for time away and, of course, are terrorised, one by one, by the monstrous creatures. In the meantime, Christopher Robin is shackled, and severely beaten on his back.
Ultimately, he becomes free, tries to rescue the remaining girl but, again, the monstrous Winnie the Pooh slashes her.
Christopher Robin is tortured, the screenplay seems particularly misogynistic with the targeting of so many women, their being menaced, tortured, ultra-brutally killed.
Not particularly telling drama.
Undeterred, relishing it all, Rhys Frake-Waterfield hurried to a sequel, Christopher Robin still a victim but fighting back against his erstwhile friends turned special effects gruesome monsters and behaving in a truly monsterly way, no holds barred. Some of the monster/gore fans go simply for the gore, plot necessity is negligible. This means a target audience, not expected to be a breakout event for the ordinary moviegoers or streaming audiences.
Movie genres appeal to target audiences – westerns, musicals, war movies. The filmmakers hope that their particular genre movie could have a wider appeal. But this one is for the extreme gore and carnage aficionados. But there is a belief that there are always limits to be broken or gone beyond. The film is even credited with “creature and gore designer”.
However, with the sequel, if the gory scenes, so explicit, were cut, even trimmed, there is, in fact, a strong enough basic plot to interest an audience, especially concerning a character called Cavendish played, surprisingly, by Simon Callow.
Rhys Frake-Waterfield has quite some ambitions, with Bambi, Peter Pan and Pinocchio in sight. And he has expressed the desire to "ramp it up even more and go even crazier and go even more extreme". His estimation of his hopes-for audiences and their interests and tastes is “greater carnage”.
How wide his audience will be will be seen but those who are put off by screen blood and gory violence will not be there.
