Last year’s Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2 was a horror movie hit, not because it was good, but because it was shocking. Now, writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield is back with a sequel, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, and it seems things are only getting worse.
This movie is part of a bigger plan called the “Twisted Childhood Universe” where Frake-Waterfield takes classic children’s book characters and turns them into violent monsters. The ultimate goal is a crossover movie called Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which sounds about as scary as a bad pun.
Blood and Honey 2 has a bigger budget and fancier effects than the first movie, but the writing, directing, and acting are still terrible. It’s also full of gore and violence against women, which we’ll get to in a minute.
Plot Summary of Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2
The film opens with Christopher Robin (played by Scott Chambers), who is still haunted by the events of the first film. His wild stories about rampaging, honey-loving beasts have left him shunned by skeptical neighbors. But when Pooh and company resurface, Christopher’s protective instincts kick in. He becomes the unlikely hero, defending his friends against a new wave of terror.
The movie starts with a cartoon explaining what happened in the first film. Apparently, Pooh (now played by Ryan Oliva) and Piglet (Eddy MacKenzie) are still out to kill everyone in the town of Ashdown after they went crazy because Christopher Robin grew up and left them behind. Christopher Robin (Scott Chambers) is having a hard time too, because people think he’s responsible for the killings and don’t want him around.
In the first movie, Pooh and his friends turn into monsters because they are angry at Christopher. This time, the movie tries to explain that Pooh and the others are always monsters, and Christopher can’t see them because he is too scared. This new explanation doesn’t make sense, and the movie tries to explain it through flashbacks where Christopher Robin has hypnosis to remember his past.
Even though Blood and Honey 2 has a bigger budget, it’s still filmed in a way that makes it hard to see what’s happening. The director seems to think people go hunting and wash dishes in the dark, which is silly. The acting is bad, and the monsters look goofy instead of scary. Pooh looks like a cheap Halloween costume, Owl looks like a big vulture, and Tigger looks like a meaner version of Pooh. The movie doesn’t even explain why Tigger and Owl can suddenly talk now, or why Pooh still wears clothes even though he’s supposed to be a wild animal.
The dialogue is awful too, with characters saying things like “Let’s bounce” and “That’s my line!” The worst part of the movie though is the violence against women. In horror movies, it’s pretty common for women to be the ones who get killed, but this movie takes it to a whole new level. The men get killed quickly and off-screen, but the women are shown getting their limbs broken, their faces bashed in, and worse. The director enjoys showing this violence, making the movie feel mean-spirited on top of everything else.
Even though Blood and Honey 2 is only an hour and forty minutes long, it feels way longer. There are a lot of pointless scenes and話がそれちゃう (hanashi ga soreちゃう – irrelevant conversations) that slow the movie down. The movie also spends too much time explaining a new plot point that seems only important because it sets something up for future movies. Apparently, an evil doctor kidnapped kids and turned them into monster people, which is how Pooh became Christopher Robin’s long-lost brother. If that doesn’t make you laugh or want to leave the theater, there’s always another dumb line, a dark and confusing scene, or a cheap special effect to keep you entertained.
The movie ends with a cartoon showing what’s coming next in the Twisted Childhood Universe. We see movies featuring evil versions of Bambi, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan. After seeing how bad Blood and Honey 2 is, these glimpses feel more like a promise of future pain than anything else.
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Character Upgrades in Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2
- Winnie-the-Pooh (Ryan Oliva): No longer a cuddly bear, Pooh now resembles a yellow-skinned, pot-bellied Slenderman. His transformation is both eerie and intriguing.
- Piglet (Eddy MacKenzie): Plump Piglet could give John Leguizamo’s Spawn a run for his money. The costume and makeup are vastly improved from the rubber masks of the first film.
- Owl (Marcus Massey): The feathery ringleader adds a sinister touch, while Tigger (Lewis Santer) slashes his way through the Hundred Acre Wood.
Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2 Trailer:
Horror Amplified
Gore designer Shaune Harrison delivers a buffet of gruesome demises: decapitation, dismemberment, oven-roasting, and eyeball consumption. The partygoers never stood a chance.
The sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey takes its slasher hilarity up a notch, drawing inspiration from the reigning king of 2020s splatter, Terrifier 2. Prepare for a body count that easily doubles, if not triples, thanks in no small part to a salacious, neon-bathed warehouse rave violently interrupted by none other than Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger. Credited gore designer Shaune Harrison showcases a thousand gruesome ways to meet one’s end, with scantily clad partiers facing decapitation, dismemberment, oven-roasting, and even eyeball consumption.
The death scenes in Blood and Honey 2 are disturbingly playful, pushing beyond generic slasher kills. Winnie-the-Pooh brandishes an electric drill, while Tigger’s claws sashimi flesh. And let’s not forget Owl’s acidic upchuck attack – a truly unique addition to the horror repertoire. However, despite its gruesome creativity, Terrifier 2 need not worry about losing its crown of entrails.
Unfortunately, Blood and Honey 2 leans too heavily on digital touch-ups, often at the expense of more blood splatter. In one egregious instance, hands reach out of a tunnel entrance, detracting from the expert craftsmanship on display. SFX supervisor Paula Anne Booker delivers spectacular slasher effects, unforgivable digital flames, and pixelated red mists – elements that would feel more at home in Half-Life 2.
Vince Knight’s cinematography, while crisper due to an increased budget, regresses to the previous film’s shaky-cam dependence. The result? Certain effects lose their luster, leaving viewers yearning for steadier frames. Meanwhile, Leslie’s screenplay sprinkles breadcrumbs for future crossovers, but this information feels cumbersome for a sequel desperate to inflate Pooh’s kill statistics.
Themes and Ambitions
- “Blood and Honey 2” ambitiously aims to create a full cinematic universe from ruined, copyright-free childhood memories. It’s a provocative premise, but execution remains clunky.
- Christopher Robin’s portrayal by Scott Chambers adds depth. His protective big brother and son act tugs at the heartstrings.
- The film takes itself seriously, perhaps too much for a B-movie about cuddly creatures turned killers.
Verdict
Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2 is bloodier, weirder, and better than its predecessor. While it still stumbles in places, the improved makeup, character development, and amplified horror make it a guilty pleasure for fans of twisted nostalgia.
Remember, though, this isn’t your childhood Pooh. It’s a honey pot full of horrible ideas, and it revels in its dark absurdity.
