It’s an interesting time to be a horror fan. From artsy genre mashups to the modern slasher renaissance, it appears that there’s a scary movie for nearly every kind of viewer these days. Personally, I think one of the most fascinating genre trends in recent years has to be the rise of horror flicks inspired by childhood stories that only just entered the public domain – a movement that was kick-started by Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey in 2023.

While that first film was mostly panned by critics, with reviewers accusing it of being a disastrous cash-grab leeching off of a popular intellectual property, it was still successful enough to warrant a better-received follow-up. And with the sequel finally available at home this week, I think this is a great time to dive into how Frake-Waterfield and his team were able to turn a low-budget experiment into a proper big-screen slasher meant to open the gates for an entire cinematic universe.

Before we begin, I think it warrants mentioning that I don’t even think the original Blood and Honey is as bad as people say it is. Yeah, it’s undoubtedly cheap and the Pooh stuff is mostly set dressing on a rather conventional slasher flick, but the production still has a lot of heart. The writer/director is clearly well versed in classic Winnie yarns, and I actually prefer the original monstrous Pooh design over the more “realistic” one, as the smoother mask and more cartoonish body-shape somehow make him look even creepier – especially when slathered in honey.

That being said, the first film had several glaring flaws which were clearly only overlooked due to the batshit crazy premise. From amateurish photography to flat performances and stock dialogue, the movie felt like a rough draft rushed into production before someone else could beat the team to the public domain punch. Thankfully, when the flick went viral and allowed for the production of a sequel with a much larger budget, the director decided that the next installment required some course correction if he was going to turn this into a franchise.

Glow-up?

This clearly worked out, with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 surprising even fans of the original with its increased quality. But while most people praised the film’s higher production value and more elaborate death scenes (not to mention the updated monster designs), I think that the things which make it a better experience aren’t necessarily related to money. In fact, I’m of the opinion that Frake-Waterfield realized that it would be a waste of resources to spend the new budget (reportedly 5 times more than the original) on another amateur production, and that’s probably why he recruited Summer of 84 co-writer Matt Leslie to help him expand the story.

Frake-Waterfield and Leslie ended up significantly revising the new film’s lore, delving further into Christopher Robin’s trauma while also adding more disturbing versions of Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood friends into the mix. The duo even incorporated some mystery elements into the story by having Christopher Robin investigate the disappearance of his brother and try to get to the bottom of the Hybrids’ origins, which means that the flick doesn’t grind to a halt when the killing stops.

Speaking of kills and Hybrids, the goblin-esque Owl was probably my favorite new addition here, with his maniacal dialogue allowing for some memorable moments among the villains. However, the build-up to Tigger’s killer reveal is downright phenomenal (with the character having been absent from the previous film for copyright reasons). Having the other Hybrids treat him like an unhinged Joker-style threat was a stroke of genius, and I love his Freddy-Krueger-inspired quips, though I wish his final design wasn’t so similar to the other animals.

I also really enjoyed the obvious Island of Doctor Moreau influence on the creatures’ revamped origin story. It actually reminded me of Alan Moore’s eerie explanation for the existence of anthropomorphic animals in his public domain crossover comic The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, though it’s a shame that Blood and Honey 2 presents this idea through a single absurdly long exposition dump.

There’s also the matter of the sequel framing the original movie as a fictional film-within-a-film sensationalizing the “real” 100 Acre Wood Massacre. Not only does this meta approach allow for some easy retcons, explaining away narrative inconsistencies between the films as a classic case of movie magic, but it also serves as recognition from Frake-Waterfield that his original ideas needed some work.

Yes, he bounces!

While the recasting and redesigns are kind of unfortunate for fans of the first Blood and Honey (especially if you think that some elements of the original are better than the sequel), it’s understandable that the filmmakers would want a more experienced team both behind and in front of the cameras when dealing with a larger budget.

The new continuity allows for a blank slate on which the filmmakers can start over with the right foot forward without necessarily discarding everything that came before. To be honest, I actually hope that the story’s film-within-a-film elements continue into the sequels much like Scream’s infamous Stab franchise – especially if the team can continue to use them as a way of addressing fan concerns.

There’s obviously still plenty of room for improvement here. The more expensive monster make-up is veering too close to Whoville territory, and we could use some more likable human characters to up the stakes. However, even if you don’t particularly like the film, I think Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 has established Rhys Frake-Waterfield as the best kind of indie filmmaker: the kind who can learn from his mistakes and isn’t afraid to continue to take risks with future projects.

That’s why I can’t help but be excited for the upcoming films in the Twisted Childhood Universe. Not because I’m particularly interested in a killer Bambi or evil Peter Pan, but because I think these films are being helmed by a flexible creative team that’s willing to improve on their past work. And at the end of the day, I don’t think horror fans could ask for more.