WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY (REVIEW)
Dir. Rhys Waterfield
Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield
If ever a family classic needed reimagining as a horror classic, I doubt WINNIE THE POOH would even make a top 100 list. The lovable childhood friendship between Christopher Robin and a ragtag of animals is such a beloved family favourite that turning these creatures into death hungry monsters is a near impossible taste. Near impossible but not impossible and Rhys Waterfield is the first and maybe not the last to try.
BLOOD AND HONEY takes no time in setting the scene as Christopher Robin abandons his childhood friends leaving them to fend for themselves and turning rabid. And that's about as much as the plot goes down the into the woods. When an all girl group stay in a remote house only for the woodland creatures to come into their path and knock them off one by one.
As far as openings go, Waterfield succeeds in grabbing attention, furthermore, this latest incarnation is akin to the video nastiest of yesteryear. It's shallow, dark and full of Uber violent masochism that keeps the film zipping along quite nicely. Marched with a worthy cast of vixens pushing up the body count, BLOOD AND HONEY is a surprising success at bringing a new IP into the horror genre.
The unfortunate thing though is that the films slasher action doesn't match the potential and lazily just never goes beyond a couple of blokes dressed in 100 Acre Woods masks. It tries to make you believe these are human/animal hybrids but the suspension of disbelief is never expanded beyond some mindless villains in rubber masks. In addition to the fact that some of the films more creative and gorier moments are reduced to pencil scribbles. Furthermore there are probably more questions raised by the mythos than by sticking to its limitations. How does Winnie learn to drive? Where are Tigger, Owl and Roo? How do rabid hybrids become sadistic torturers? Where do they get their weapons from? Why is Winnie sweating honey? And most importantly, why does Winnie now wear trousers?
The film is best left being a basic horror and taking it as it is rather than exploring a lore the film lacks production to bring to life and on that front, WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY is certainly a decent stab at giving us THE DESCENT meets WRONG TURN. Despite it's flaws, and lack of creativity when it comes to bringing such a renowned reimagining to life, BLOOD AND HONEY actually goes beyond cheap cash-grab and instead gives a slice of horror that's not original, nor inventive but is a great reminder that sometimes, simple is better.
