The director of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is planning a horror take on the 1942 classic Bambi with a new film titled Bambi: The Reckoning.
The independent horror film about the beloved storybook characters in Hundred Acre Wood who go on a killing spree delighted fans – and director Rhys Frake-Waterfield is hoping a Bambi Against Rabies version of the classic will resonate with the same.
The original 1928 Disney children’s classic and book told a tale of the love, life and loss of young fawn Bambi, with the film’s most heartbreaking moment coming when Bambi’s mother is shot and killed by hunters.
Say what? The director of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is planning a horror take on the 1942 classic Bambi (pictured) – with a new movie titled Bambi: The Reckoning
However, viewers familiar with the doe-eyed Bambi are in for a shock, as director Scott Jeffrey – who will be working with executive producer Frake-Waterfield – said the stag will portray the antler/human body hybrid featured in Netflix’ The Ritual can be seen.
He told DreadCentral: “The film will be an incredibly dark retelling of the 1928 story that we all know and love. Inspired by the design of Netflix’s The Ritual, Bambi will be a vicious killing machine lurking in the wild. Prepare for rabies on Bambi!”
The announcement comes on the heels of another horror remake – earlier this month Frake-Waterfield revealed he’s planning a new film, Neverland Nightmare, about the wholesome character Peter Pan.
Peter Pan, the iconic free-spirited boy who can fly and never grows up, has been portrayed frequently on screen, but this is only his second appearance as a horror character following Robbie Kay’s malicious portrayal in Once Upon a Time.
Shock horror: Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield hopes a Bambi vs Rabies version of the classic stag tale, based on the monster in 2017’s The Ritual (pictured), will be a hit
The announcement comes as Frake-Waterfield revealed a sequel to Blood and Honey is in the works, as well as a one-day theatrical release date.
The Hollywood Reporter announces that Fathom Events will bring the slasher film to US theaters on February 15, while Altitude has acquired the UK rights
AA Milne’s original Winnie the Pooh stories went into the public domain earlier this year after their copyright expired in January, but care has been taken not to get in trouble with Disney, which still owns the copyright to its own version of the bear, in all related films and pictures, according to Variety.
To achieve this, the filmmakers swapped out the red shirt Pooh wears in the Disney films for a lumberjack outfit. They also didn’t include various characters that are still in copyright, such as B. Tigers.
Wow: The announcement comes right on the heels of another horror remake – earlier this month Frake-Waterfield revealed he’s planning a new film, Neverland Nightmare, about the wholesome character Peter Pan
Oh dear: the independent horror film about the beloved storybook characters in Hundred Acre Wood who go on a killing spree delighted fans
“Christopher Robin is being pulled away from them and he’s not [given] food them, it made life pretty hard for Pooh and Piglet,” Waterfield told Variety of the film’s plot
“Because they had to fend for themselves so much, they essentially went wild,” he said. “So they went back to their animal roots. They’re not tame anymore: they’re like a vicious bear and pig that want to run around and try to find prey.”
The film’s trailer showed Winnie the Pooh and Piglet embarking on a murderous rampage after being dumped by college friend Christopher Robin.
Twitter could hardly contain themselves after releasing the trailer, as one user claimed the slasher flick was poised to “ruin my childhood.”
The trailer begins with Christopher Robin, now a young adult who left Pooh and Piglet for college and returns to Hundred Acre Wood with his new girlfriend.
Sane: Peter Pan, the iconic free-spirited boy who can fly and never grows up, has been portrayed frequently on screen (pictured by Jeremy Sumpter as Peter in 2003’s Peter Pan).
When the duo go in search of Pooh and Piglet, Christopher’s friend insists on leaving after being startled by the spooky surroundings.
‘I really need to find out what happened to them, okay?’ he insists.
Finally, they meet Pooh, who twists Christopher’s girlfriend’s neck. Screams are heard before the scene shifts to a quaint cottage where a group of young women are vacationing.
It doesn’t take long for things to take a violent turn.
Shortly after arriving at the cabin, one of the girls dives into the hot tub before Pooh and Piglet pounce and quickly put a towel over her mouth.
‘We must go! There’s –” one of her friends yells in panic, before stopping abruptly when she sees blood smeared on her windows with a message.
Get out,” the scrawl reads.
“There’s someone else outside,” says a panicked young woman, before viewers see Pooh peek through the window and the attack begins.
The women soon fight for their lives as Pooh and Piglet begin their bloody attack on the girls.
Christopher is also seen begging his childhood friends.
“We used to be friends,” he says, sobbing. ‘Why are you doing this? Please. I would never have gone, I swear, I swear,” he says.
Not how fans remember them! Piglet attacks a young woman after breaking into her cottage alongside Pooh in the trailer released earlier this year
All Grown Up: The trailer begins with Christopher Robin returning to Hundred Acre Wood with his new girlfriend after leaving the woods to go to college
Spooky: The duo will pass a spooky sign of the location
The trailer ends with a gory montage of all the violence, followed by a shot of Pooh and Piglet emptying bottles of blood and honey into a pot.
The film was directed by Rhys Waterfield and Nikolai Leon plays Christopher Robin.
Waterfield previously revealed to Variety that the film was shot near the actual forest that inspired Hundred Acre Wood, Ashdown Forest in England. Filming took place over a period of 10 days.
Twitter had a thing or two to say about the trailer following its release.
Fierce: Pooh appears and twists Christopher’s girlfriend’s neck
Fight for Their Lives: The group soon begins fighting for their lives after Pooh and Piglet begin their attack
“I’ll ruin my childhood if I see ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,'” tweeted one Twitter user.
“Winnie the Pooh will forever haunt children’s nightmares. My god,” tweeted another.
The film currently has no release date, although Waterfield told Variety he’s trying to get the film finished as soon as possible to capitalize on the momentum.
“Because of all the press and stuff, we’re just going to start speeding up the edit and getting it through post-production as quickly as possible,” he said. “But make sure it’s still good. It will be a high priority.’
Terrifying: Piglet is not how fans will remember him from the childhood stories
Advance: Piglet advances to one of the women in the tank