Oh, Deer! A New Bambi Horror Movie Is Coming Out
During my film studies at the university, I took part in an excellent course on emotion in movies. In general, the course examined the emotional and cognitive processes that explain our cinematic experience. The first question in the course’s first lesson referred to a study that examined the most tear-jerking moments in film history, a list in which the famous scene of the death of Bambi’s mother came in the first place. The lecturer asks how a scene from an animated children’s film (supposedly) from 1942 about a deer manages to create such a significant emotional effect. Due to the lack of time and memory problems, I will not present you with all the academic answers, which refer to neurological or physiological processes in the human brain and body. Maybe I will discuss it later in our Horror Studies section on this website because I promise that it is interesting, but we are here to talk about something else.
Interestingly, I recalled this lecture just when I heard about an expected horror movie about Bambi, “Bambi: The Reckoning.” It almost made me cry for the wrong reasons. Horror movies have done everything in recent years to destroy our childhood memories, with horror versions of children’s stories and fairy tales. After some superbad Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, and Cinderella movies, and before several more planned adaptations that probably be mediocre as well (for example, a Peter Pan horror movie), we heard about a new Bambi horror movie, in which this horrific death scene of Bambi’s mother is a trigger, probably turning Bambi into a murderous beast of prey.
A Bambi Horror Movie Might Seem A Logic Idea
In recent years, we have witnessed a cinematic “trend,” both exciting and disturbing – turning beloved characters from our childhood into dark and scary horror movie heroes. Usually, this happens after these characters reach the public domain, which means we can use them free of charge. In some cases, it is usually an initial version of the character without the familiar symbols that the creators – Disney, in most cases – added afterward.
“Bambi: Revenge” is part of a growing trend in the film industry known as “Mascot Horror.” In such movies, the creators take iconic characters from our childhood and turn them into monstrous and scary characters. The main reason for creating such projects, you guessed it, is money. These projects generate interest and bring an audience, which is almost impossible for low-budget films – and let’s face it, usually awful ones – to do in other ways.
Do you want some numbers explaining why making a freaking Bambi horror movie may be a decent idea? Great! A clear example is the first Winnie the Pooh horror movie, “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” which was undoubtedly terrible. It was produced quickly, on a ridiculous budget of an estimated $50,000, and grossed over $7 million worldwide. A film of this quality deserves much less, but the curiosity to see a monstrous version of a beloved children’s character had an effect here.
Then came a slightly better sequel with an improved budget (about half a million dollars), which grossed a little more (about 7.5 million dollars). However, it is still an incredible success, which explains the wave of similar films we will receive in the coming years.
Here is another version of the “Bambi: The Reckoning” poster:
“Bambi: The Reckoning” tries to follow the same path and turn an innocent children’s character into a dark one. Behind the film is the team that brought us the Winnie the Pooh movies and other children’s movies in horror versions, what is known as the “Poohniverse” – a cinematic universe that unites the monstrous versions of the childhood heroes (also known as the “Twisted Childhood Universe”). The production company behind these projects is Jagged Edge Productions, this time in combination with ITN Studios, responsible for distributing through its subsidiary.
Similar to the cases of Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse (more precisely, the early version of Steamboat Willie), the production of “Bambi: The Reckoning” is made possible by the fact that Austrian author Felix Zalten’s original story from 1923 became public domain this year. Interestingly, the film was made in Britain, where, according to the regulations, they could have made it even earlier because the story already belongs to the public domain in Britain.
The (Unfamilier) Cast Of Bambi: The Reckoning
The film will be directed by Dan Allen, who so far has mainly made short horror films and several other low-budget films, such as “Unhinged” from 2017, “Mummy Reborn” from 2019, and “It Came from Below” from 2021. If you haven’t heard of these movies, that’s perfectly fine. These are movies with only a few hundred ratings on IMDB, the largest movie site in the world, and a score that usually ranges around 3-2.5. Out of 10, yes?
Rhys Warrington will write the screenplay, based on the original story by Felix Seltan – With some tiny and minor changes, of course. The creators say that one of their main inspirations for the character of Bambi is, believe it or not, the character of the monstrous production in the enjoyable “The Ritual” of Netflix, which we previously referred to in a review of horror movies that take place in scary forests.
In the list of actors, you will not find names that are too familiar, which tells us about the expected level of the film. Nevertheless, some names have appeared in several horror films: for example, Roxanne McKee (“An Error in Direction 5”, and Doria in the first seasons of “Game of Thrones”), Nicola Wright (who played in “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2”) and Samira Mighty, You probably remember her as an extra in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” from 2017.
The Plot Of The Bambi Horror Movie (Or: Bambi Effect With A Twist)
The original “Bambi” is a magical story about a young roe deer who goes through various ordeals and a complicated growing-up process in the forest. Bambi is one of the quintessential symbols of innocence, perhaps explaining the film’s emotional effect on viewers.
The scene in which he runs away with his mother from the hunters until a shot is heard, after which we no longer see the mother, and especially Bambi’s innocent cries in search of his mother, will not leave you indifferent. This scene is one of the reasons for the rather critical term “The Bambi Effect,” which claims that a person may express a sympathetic attitude towards “cute” animals – such as ferrets, deer, cats, dogs, koalas, etc. – and therefore will also resist harming them. Conversely, the attitude may be indifferent or even hostile for animals that do not meet our “cuteness” requirements.
If you have handkerchiefs with you, we recommend that you watch the scene in question from Bambi, which, as mentioned earlier, is one of the saddest in the history of cinema:
Bambi is a very beloved character that appears in many products suitable for all ages, especially for children: Bambi costumes for adults or children, a Bambi bow, appropriate makeup, and so on. Bambi’s horror film appeals to a different audience. If the original Bambi were the symbol of innocence, for example, in that famous scene where he investigates a butterfly that sits on his nose, in the horror version, we would get a completely different Bambi.
You can see evidence of this in the “Bambi: The Reckoning” poster, in the center of which you will see Bambi with sharp teeth, surrounded by human figures with facial expressions that resemble a combination of fear, horror, and shock. Except for the similarity in name, we probably won’t get a guest appearance here by the terrible Bambie Thug from Eurovision, that Irish witch disguised as a singer.
Bambi: The Reckoning Plot
So what is “Bambi: The Reckoning” about? The teaser trailer for “Bambi: The Reckoning” brought us some answers. The teaser shows a conversation between two hunters aiming at something in the forest. The first asks, “Have you ever shot a deer?” receives a negative answer and says he shot a deer once. Later, we see the film’s opening title, and then an angry deer (Bambi, no) runs towards a vehicle – probably the hunters’ – and overturns it with its antlers. If you connect the dots, the victim of the same hunter is Bambi’s mother, and her death turned the cute deer into a vengeful and bloodthirsty creature.
According to the plot description attached to this first look of “Barbi: The Reckoning”, Bambi will chase, among other things, a mother and her son (Roxanne McKee and Tom Mulheron), who arrive in the forest by accident after a car breakdown. Bambi will probably also kill stupid young people who come to the forest for stupid reasons and die in even more stupid ways, because you can have it any other way in a Bambi horror movie.
Is There A Trailer Of Bambi: The Reckoning?
As of this writing, no official trailer has been released for the film, only this short teaser trailer. It’s impossible to learn too much from the teaser, even if I got the impression that we might not get inadequate standards of photography and production here, certainly if we compare it to some of the films mentioned earlier.
Given that the film is expected soon, it’s likely that we’ll see an official trailer in the coming months, and then we can be smarter.
Should You Watch Bambi: The Reckoning?
Although the film is still in production, it is already generating mixed reactions. On the one hand, there is excitement among horror movie fans and an audience that enjoys these dark interpretations of child characters. Even if the film doesn’t receive positive reviews, as it probably will, it will make its buzz.
Some would argue that these films allow young creators to reach a new audience, which would not have been exposed to their works if they had not engaged in “blasphemy,” even if this “shortcut” can be criticized. Call it whatever you want – a mess, a gimmick, a trend, a cynical exploitation of childhood memories, appropriation of familiar brands – it is very problematic.
Many film critics and viewers, including the writer of these lines, express skepticism about the expected quality of the film considering the materials published so far, the terrible reviews received by most of the previous films from the Mascot Horror subgenre, and the description of the plot and characters, which we have presented here.
When Is Bambi The Reckoning Coming Out?
There is no official “Bambi: The Reckoning” release date yet, but the movie is expected as early as the beginning of 2025. We are still unclear how the film will be distributed, so we can’t tell you yet where to watch “Bambi: The Reckoning.” But we can’t expect a wide theatrical release, that’s for sure.
We can wonder whether this Bambi horror film will show some quality or remain on the fence as nothing more than a marketing gimmick that tries to tap into nostalgia to make money, but mostly ruins our childhood memories.
