Last Updated on March 28, 2024
PLOT: Not wanting to live in the shadows any longer, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Owl and Tigger take their fight to the town of Ashdown, leaving a bloody trail of death and mayhem in their wake.
REVIEW: Last year’s Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey proved to be one of the worst horror films of the year. It was my least favorite theatrical experience and completely barren of any passion. It was a dull affair that failed to deliver much on the horror or the fun. So I rolled my eyes when a sequel was announced. Then they reached near the back of my skull when the Poohniverse was announced. But I’m here to tell you that it appears the filmmakers learned their lesson and understand what their films need to be: fun.
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 follows Christopher Robin (now played by Scott Chambers) one year after the events of the original film. Only the film that we saw (and I reviewed HERE) was actually a movie within this world. This explains the Monster redesigns as well as the change to the lead. And it honestly feels like a nice reset for the series. If they’re planning on making this a whole universe, then the world set up in the last film wasn’t exactly vibrant. But this one does a better job of actually establishing a town for the 100 Acre Wood to exist near. It’s not just some phantom wooded area. This opens the film up to the more slashery elements.
Most of the film follows Pooh and the crew as they’re killing residents of Ashdown. And holy hell are there a lot of deaths. I lost track at somewhere around 40 but it really wouldn’t shock me if it actually hit north of 50. And these are more than just simple stabbings and quick cutaways. There were at least five decapitations, with each managing to be a bit different. It’s not quite to Terrifier-levels, but it’s clear that’s the direction they were going for. And since none of the characters are worth caring about, the deaths leave little emotional impact. So expect a lot of cheering in your theater when someone gets theirs.
The designs in the last film were very generic so I was happy to see an update. Piglet, in particular, had a terrible Halloween store look. And I’m not going to claim that these creatures don’t look like men in costumes, but that’s part of the charm. Especially Owl who looks absolutely ridiculous; especially when flying. Though there were times when the silhouettes of Tigger and Pooh were a little hard to differentiate from. I think their faces were just too similar. Another element they vastly improved upon was the animations, which have a lot more character to them. I liked the blue hue and they clearly put a little more of the budget towards quality animation.
Even the technical side of the film feels vastly improved upon. Given how many eyeballs often land on these Public Domain Horror projects, it’s nice to finally see the technical handled with a bit of professionalism. It should be seen as a job opportunity for their own original ideas, so I’ve never understood just phoning it in. Thankfully, there actually feels like a bit of passion exists with the filmmaking here. I’m not sure what changed between the first film and this one, but I’m glad that they didn’t just put their head in the sand and just produce the exact same film a second time.
I’m shocked to say that I had a fun time with Blood and Honey 2. I went into this showing with my heels dragging and was shocked at the balls it managed to have. The kills are nasty and nearly nonstop. Anytime the story starts to feel dragged down by lore they quickly go to a creative and satisfying kill. It’s clear from the introduction that ran before the movie, that filmmakers Scott Chambers and Rhys Frake-Waterfield have a lot in store for us. And honestly, it seems like they’ve course-corrected and understand the kind of movies these Public Domain Horror Films need to be. And that’s a breezy story that facilitates kill after kill which eventually leads to a nifty final showdown. So long as they don’t break the formula too much, it should be a fun universe to follow.
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