Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey director and writer Rhys Frake-Waterfield already has his eyes set on other classic childhood tale characters that could join Piglet and Pooh in a violent horror universe. Winnie-the Pooh: Blood and Honey has already proven to be a box office success, earning nearly $1 million (against a $15,000 budget) in Mexico since its Jan. 26 premiere, which indicates a cinematic universe replete with twisted characters would be welcomed by horror fans.
As many Disney classics have fallen into public domain, Frake-Waterfield is free to bloody up their worlds. The filmmaker has already cited Bambi and Peter Pan as upcoming projects. For Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, he plans to include a Tinkerbell recovering from drugs, while his Bambi feature would be a mixture of the beloved children’s tale and Jurassic Park.
In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Frake-Waterfield describes his vision for these alternate versions of beloved classics:
“The idea is that we’re going to try and imagine they’re all in the same world, so we can have crossovers,” he says. “People have been messaging saying they really want to see Bambi versus Pooh.”
Frake-Waterfield does not want to limit this universe to just Disney Classics, either.
"There are many, many, many other ideas out there which aren’t tied to Disney, loads of old fairytales and urban legends, concepts that are synonymous with your childhood, and they’re the ones which I want to build up into a twisted alternative reality."
Alongside producer Scott Jeffrey, Frake-Waterfield heads Jagged Edge Productions, the horror banner responsible for low-budget horror films like The Curse of Humpty Dumpty, Easter Bunny Massacre, and It Came from Below, among others.
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey Prepares for Global Release
While horror fanatics await more from Frake-Waterfield’s universe, most audiences will soon be able to watch Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey on the big screen. The film is being released globally by Fathom Events on Feb. 15.
According to the film’s official synopsis, “The days of adventures and merriment have come to an end, as Christopher Robin, now a young man, has left Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet to fend for themselves. As time passes, feeling angry and abandoned, the two become feral. After getting a taste for blood, Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet set off to find a new source of food. It’s not long before their bloody rampage begins.”
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey stars Nikolai Leon, Craig David Dowsett, Chris Cordell, Maria Taylor, Natasha Rose Mills, Amber Doig-Thorne, and Danielle Ronald. A sequel is already in development, and while the first worked with a budget of just $15,000, Frake-Waterfield reports the sequel’s budget will be substantially larger (five times, to be exact), which will grant him more power in its creation.