Thanks to the rights of many of our childhood favorites falling into public domain, a trend has now begun which sees these characters transformed into monsters. Next is the adorable deer Bambi, the rights to which entered public domain at the start of this year, and who will become nothing less than a “vicious killing machine” courtesy of filmmaker Scott Jeffrey and his upcoming horror project, Bambi: The Reckoning.

"The film will be an incredibly dark retelling of the 1928 story we all know and love. Finding inspiration from the design used in Netflix's The Ritual, Bambi will be a vicious killing machine that lurks in the wilderness. Prepare for Bambi on rabies!"

Bambi: The Reckoning will be executive produced by Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey director Rhys Frake-Waterfield, because, of course, it will, with Jeffrey revealing to Dread Central what has inspired him to take Bambi into such horrific territory.

Jeffrey namedrops the 2017 horror outing The Ritual as his main inspiration visually when it comes to turning Bambi into a beast. Directed by David Bruckner and written by Joe Barton, The Ritual follows a group of old friends who set out to hike through the Scandinavian wilderness. A wrong turn leads them into the mysterious forests of Norse legend, where an ancient evil exists and stalks them at every turn. And one look at that ancient evil should tell you everything you need to know about what Bambi: The Reckoning will involve.

The best-known Bambi tale is, without a doubt, the 1942 effort by Disney, which adapts the 1923 book Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten. The story of a young deer growing up in the forest, Bambi captures the innocence and beauty of life and nature. All things that Bambi: The Reckoning will not do.

Related: Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare Coming from the Makers of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

Winnie the Pooh Will be the First Childhood Favorite to Receive the Horror Movie Treatment

Winnie the Pooh horror movie Blood and Honey
Altitude Film Distribution

Before Bambi tears through a group of unsuspecting wanderers, the beloved childhood favorite will be the first to get the horror movie treatment thanks to Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. A warped retelling of the A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh books, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey finds the likes of Pooh, Piglet, and friends as you’ve never seen them before. When Christopher went to college, his visits to the 100 Acre Wood stopped completely, causing Pooh and Piglet to become feral and unhinged. Which sadly resulted in Eeyore getting killed and eaten at some point. Now, Christopher Robin has returned to the forest alongside his new wife, hoping to introduce her to his old friends. Unfortunately for them, Pooh and Piglet will not forgive that easily, with the pair going on a murderous rampage for human flesh as they antagonize a group of university girls occupying a rural cabin.

Starring Nikolai Leon as Christopher Robin alongside Amber Doig-Thorne, Maria Taylor, Danielle Ronald, Natasha Tosini, May Kelly, Paula Coiz, Natasha Rose Mills as Jess, and Craig David Dowsett and Chris Cordell as Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet respectively, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey will be released on February 15, 2023, for a one-night event and is coming soon to DVD and VOD worldwide.