“Winnie Ahe Pooh: Blood And Honey 2” Is An Average Bad Slasher, But So Much Better Than The First | Review

“Take a lesson in life, my dear son: after tasting bear poop, even spoiled honey tastes like a Michelin dish,” my mother once told me, while reading me another Winnie the Pooh story before bed. Whether or not this memory is accurate, it essentially describes how I felt while watching “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2,” the sequel to this terrible 2023 spoof, which was produced, as you probably remember, after the story’s intellectual property – minus the familiar Disney representations – had entered the public domain. The creators took quick action to generate buzz, and it paid off, as the film garnered significant attention. Much more than a film of its caliber deserves, and most importantly, enough to allow them to think about the future, first a sequel, and in the coming years, also an entire cinematic universe that brings together the distorted versions of fairy tales and children’s stories, mainly the ones who became evil after entering the public domain.

Although I suffered greatly from the first film, which I found terrible in every way, I allowed myself to come with slightly higher expectations for the sequel. I knew the budget had improved, the reviews were somewhat more positive, and it was supposed to resemble a movie, not a collection of poorly executed kill scenes involving people in cheap masks. The good news is that, although it’s hard to say that “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2” is a good film, it manages to surpass its predecessor, showcases the creators’ particular talent, and is enjoyable for the most part. The highly anticipated sequel is not the sweetest honey you will find out there in the forest, but it is much better than that piece of bear shi… Well, never mind.

The Plot (Yes, Plot!) Of Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2

So, what is “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2” about? Well, the film takes place after the unfortunate events of the previous movie, in which young Christopher Robin managed to survive the perilous journey of the actors who wore evil animal costumes and even stayed alive despite numerous failures in the direction, script, editing, lighting, acting, and more. Christopher (or Chris for short) escapes from a Hundred Acre Wood and returns to his childhood town of Ashdown. He even tries to start a new life as a junior doctor, but the shadow of the past haunts him.

One reason is a film adaptation based on the murders, called “Hundred Acre Massacre”, which pretty much blames him. Chris has a few childhood friends who believe him, but they are like a drop in the ocean. He undergoes hypnosis treatments with Mary Darling – the name of a supporting character from the world of Peter Pan, who also appears in the horror film about Peter Pan – in part to deal with a trauma that has accompanied him for decades: the kidnapping of his twin brother Billy during their birthday party, about which he has no clue.

In the Hundred Acre Wood, there is a big mess. Pooh and Piglet, along with their friends Tigger (who appears for the first time since the copyright on his character expired since the first film) and Owl (who looks a bit like the creature from Jeepers Creepers), are hiding because someone in town is chasing them and trying to burn down their forest. They attack some female students in an RV and decide not to wait for the hunters. After one of Winnie’s gang dies, Pooh and his friends decide to take up arms and slaughter everyone they come across. The priority, of course, is for Christopher Rubin and the people who surround him.

Here is the trailer of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2”:

An Improvement In Almost Every Aspect

The first thing that stands out about “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2” is that the film looks much, much better than the first. In the first film, the villains looked like actors in costumes from Aliexpress, also because its budget was only about $100,000, and the costumes cost as low as $770 total. In the sequel, the creators used several prosthetic artists (in our context, artificial limbs that are cut off in cruel ways and cause blood spurts) who worked on several well-known films and TV series, among others. Shaune Harrison, who serves as the costume and gore designer here, was part of the production team for the Harry Potter films, “World War Z”, “Game of Thrones”, and more. Paula Anne Booker was responsible for the special effects. The prosthetics, according to reports, cost more than $20,000.

Don’t expect a massive production or a visual spectacle here, as we’re still talking about a budget of about half a million dollars. However, there is an improvement in almost every way. The film looks much better, with some creative jokes and more convincing, quite brutal kills. Winnie the Pooh and his friends dismember limbs as if they were Art the Clown and use a variety of weapons to produce as many screams and blood as possible. It’s certainly possible to align with the vision of director Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who declared his desire to “ramp it up even more and go even crazier and go even more extreme”.

One of the significant changes is in the lead actor. Nikolai Leon, who played Christopher Robin in a somewhat lackluster manner in the first film, has been replaced by Scott Chambers (“Malevolent” alongside Florence Pugh), who also served as one of the film’s producers under a different name (Scott Jeffrey, which is probably his production name). The movie tries to explain these changes rather superficially, but the bottom line is that Chambers does a perfectly reasonable job here. Of course, don’t expect a glittering cast, which includes mostly unknown actors (like the lovely Tallulah Evans, who plays Christopher’s girlfriend Lexy), but a few more respectable names from the older generation. For example, the decorated Simon Callow, who appeared in films such as “Amadeus”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, “Shakespeare in Love”, and “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls”.

The Twisted Universe Keeps Expanding

To a large extent, the Winnie the Pooh cinematic universe, the Poohniverse – or “Twisted Childhood Universe” – is the baby of several creators, who are involved here in different aspects of the production. The film is directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who also directed and wrote the first film and produced the horror films of Peter Pan (“Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”) and Bambi (“Bambi: The Reckoning”), which will soon hit the screens. Chambers/Jeffrey/Whatever His Name Is, who plays the lead role here and serves as one of the producers, is also the director and writer of “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare.” Likely, at least one of them will also be involved in the third film, “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3,” which was announced just two days after the second film hit the screens and brought some impressive numbers.

If we go back to “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2,” one could certainly argue that it shows that these guys know something about cinema (and no, if you’ve seen the first film, you’ll agree that it’s not exactly obvious). On the other hand, it’s clear that not everything is honey, because here too some failures indicate low budget, hasty production or negligence: for example, some problems with the sound editing that is a bit strange at times, prominent cuts that damage continuity and even a moment where, at least in the version I saw, there was a particular change in frame size. There are too many characters here for us to care about most of them, even if we take into account that their purpose is mainly to serve as material for the blood harvest of Winnie the Pooh and his sadistic friends.

In a similar way to “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” the film’s plot presents a past trauma related to child kidnapping, which, to some extent, explains what exactly is happening in the past. Without spoilers, we can argue that these revelations – both regarding the identities of some of the characters and those involved in the kidnapping – are pretty predictable and not really exciting. Still, there was an attempt to present an interesting plot structure here at times, with a backstory that connects reasonably well.

There Are References To Horror, Fewer To Winnie The Pooh

The dialogues are basic, except for a few punch lines a la Freddy Krueger or Chucky of the villains, mainly Owl (Lewis Santer), who is revealed here as the prominent killer. This character drives the group and seems super evil. Winnie the Pooh (Ryan Oliva), on the other hand, is cruel but also somewhat bland, as are the other killers who don’t manage to break the image of a killer in an animal mask. I didn’t recognize a particular character or specific killing methods for each character, which is a shame because it would have been just as easy to add Kanga and Roo here, or bring Eeyore back from the dead, and we wouldn’t notice the difference.

The film tries to present some jokes and reflexive references to the world of “Winnie the Pooh” and A.A. Milne, who wrote the masterpiece. However, a large part of it is at the level of reflexivity (say, the names of the characters or the name of the search engine that Chris uses while looking for answers) and less at the heart of the film here. I would have liked to see more parodic references to films here, even at the level of specific killings, say torture involving honey (sorry, I’ve never written a slasher script), because that’s what could have increased the connection to the literary source and perhaps raised the film a notch or two.

What I did like is that the film includes several references to familiar horror works, such as “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Halloween” (the babysitter scene and the annoying boy), “Pet Sematary” (no spoilers), “It” (you’ll still find a few red balloons in the frame), “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Conjuring” and more. It has mass killing scenes that don’t have anything to do with anything, especially the scene that takes place at a party and includes the murder of annoying men and half-naked women. Still, it can satisfy slasher fans, who act according to the saying “the more you kill, the better”.

Should You Watch Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2?

“Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2” is an average, cheap slasher film, at best, that shows that everything in life is relative. As a slasher, it’s fun enough to justify its screen time, especially for home viewing. Compared to the first film, this is a significant improvement – although that says something mainly about the level of the first film, and less about the quality of the current one.

If you compare it to other works based on the abuse of innocent child characters from different worlds, such as Mickey Mouse or even scary Popeye, you could argue that it falls somewhere in the middle in terms of its quality. After all, it’s tough to make a good film that successfully puts a bloody twist on a classic children’s fairy tale, as the excellent “The Ugly Stepsister” did, which managed to distinguish itself from several horror Cinderella films that have come out in recent years, mainly “Cinderella’s Curse” and “Cinderella’s Revenge”.

“Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2” features a lot of killing and blood, a so-so plot, and some humor. Its impressive box office success – about $7.5 million worldwide, on a ridiculous budget – and the fact that it received slightly less murderous reviews than the first, shows that the Winnie the Pooh cinematic universe is here to stay and continue to grow. Each film may set an improved budget, which is reflected in better filmmaking. It’s uncertain whether Winnie the Pooh and his friends will become cinematic icons in the making, like Art the Clown and the “Terrifier” films, which is perhaps every independent filmmaker’s great dream, but at least we have a film worth watching here.

Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 (2024) – Frequently Asked Questions

Who directed Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?

Just like the first film, the director of the sequel is Rhys Frake-Waterfield.

Who plays in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?

The cast of the film includes Scott Chambers, Ryan Oliva, Tallulah Evans, Teresa Banham, Alec Newman, Simon Callow, and others.

Who wrote Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?

Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Matt Leslie wrote the script. It is a horror version, or should we say parody, about the books by writer A. A. Milne and illustrator E. H. Shepard.

How long in Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?

The runtime of the film is 95 minutes.

When was the movie filmed?

In the United States and the United Kingdom

What languages can we hear in the film?

The characters speak English, even Winnie and his friends, but you can find some sounds of murderous animals such as bears and owls.

When was the film released?

The official release date of the film was 18 March 2024 in London and 26 March 2024 in the United States.

What Was The Budget For Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?

The film’s budget was about $500,000, which is ten times bigger than the first one.

What is the MPAA rating of the movie (Parents Guide)?

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is not rated. However, it has tons of violence, blood, and gore, and some nudity.

How Much Money Did Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 Make?

The film’s worldwide gross is about $7.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

What do the reviews say about Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?

The film currently holds a 4.6 rating on IMDB, which is a significant improvement compared to the first film (2.9). On Rotten Tomatoes, about 48% of the critics gave it a somewhat positive review.

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