We can all recall where we were when we found out a Winnie the Pooh horror film was in the works.
Last year, it was announced that British filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield was planning to release a real horror film, in which A A Milne’s beloved Pooh Bear and Piglet embark on a torture and killing rampage.
Because the book had been out for 95 years, the copyright had expired and the characters were in the public domain, and Rhys took advantage of the situation by having Piglet and Pooh murder and consume Eeyore before turning on Christopher Robin and his pals.
Though Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey received mixed reviews upon its initial release, it performed well theatrically and quickly became a cult horror classic.
And now we get our first glimpse at the sequel, which features another popular figure who has been warped beyond recognition.
Tigger has now joined Pooh and Piglet in the public domain, and with a larger budget than the sequel, filmmaker Rhys was able to devote that much more time and effort on making him as frightful as possible.
Tigger snarls at the camera in fresh stills from the next film, blood dripping from his teeth and down his chin.
A close-up shows the creature wailing in anguish or pure bloodthirst, and the final shot shows him standing at full height, clad in what seems to be a shredded and bloodied jumpsuit, definitely having just completed a kill and surrounded by blood and feathers.
(Oh, Owl, are you there?)
Director Rhys previously explained to Metro.co.uk that he was inspired to make a Pooh-bear horror because he was ‘getting so bored’ with the same monster movies: ‘werewolves, zombies, vampires, ghosts, it was all getting a bit dry.’
In the original Blood and Honey, a young Christopher Robin fed the animal-hybrid animals Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore, but then abandoned them to attend to college, leaving them to starve, making them savage – and out for vengeance.
‘As the years have gone on they’ve struggled to survive,’ Rhys said.
‘Eventually, it got to the point where it was so dire and there was no food in the forest for Pooh and Piglet, and they made the tough decision to kill and eat Eeyore.’
Sorry, kids.
It’s unclear where Tigger fits into this plot, but we won’t have to wait long to find out, with Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 set to hit theatres in February 2024.
