‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ is a horror re-imagining of A. A. Milne's children’s classic. The independent slasher follows Christopher (Chris) Robin as he revisits the Hundred Acre Wood to re-connect with Pooh Bear after going off to college 5 years earlier. What he finds is much different to how he remembers.
Chris and his girlfriend Mary visit the Hundred Acre Wood in search of Pooh and his friends. Not believing Chris that they are real, the two are eventually chased down by Pooh and Piglet, Mary is killed and Chris is trapped.
A flashback reveals that Chris befriended Pooh, Piglet, Owl, Rabbit and Eeyore as a child and took care of the humanoid animals, bringing them food. When time had come for Chris to leave, the animals were left to fend for themselves. Starving, the animals resorted to killing and eating Eeyore. Traumatized, the group had sworn off humans and anything human-related.
Later, a group of university students arrive at a cabin near the woods for a getaway. As suggested by one of the girl’s therapists – Maria is there to clear her head after a traumatic experience involving a stalker who had broken into her house.
The girls are soon discovered by Pooh and Piglet and are taken out one by one. Maria and Jess seek refuge in a shed where they chance upon a tied-up Chris. After untying him the girls make a run for it to the main road where they encounter a group of locals. Facing off against Pooh bear, the four men are taken out.
After killing Jess, Pooh tries to kill Maria when Chris appears. Driving and crashing a car into Pooh Bear, seemingly killing him, Chris manages to free Maria. In the meantime, Pooh breaks free and ultimately kills Maria after Chris pleads for her life. Breaking his silence, Pooh expresses his disdain towards Chris by saying ‘you left’ and proceeding to repeatedly stabbing Maria in the head as Chris runs from the woods.
‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ has an interesting and twisted concept – to take a beloved children’s story and remake it into a bloody nightmare. The premise is ingenious, simple and full of promise. However, the film itself lacks by way of execution.
The story that many have grown up with has been used seemingly for cosmetic purposes only. Even though we get a continuation of sorts in terms of what has happened to the animals since Chris left, Pooh and Piglet are used as rage-filled killers, with a singular goal. The lack of development in terms of character leaves the animals as nothing more that a Jason Voorhees or a Leatherface type of killers, rendering little sense of loss after Piglet is taken out or when Pooh is seemingly killed.
The introduction of the group of students seems like a fun exercise in the slasher genre, as it is evident the girls will have to meet their demise one way or the other. Disappointingly, the feature doesn’t manage to ramp up the tension and fails to provide for noteworthy or memorable executions. The practical effects do provide for plenty of gore and blood, but does little to instil terror in the viewer.
An interesting choice for the feature is not focusing on the relationship between Chris and Pooh Bear. The story would have made much more sense by exploring the betrayal that Pooh has experienced because of Chris, and the two engaging in a cat-and-mouse chase through the woods. Instead of that, the film gives us a group of expendable students and an additional victim who takes out Piglet, adding to an already bloated number of cast members.
‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ is being sold as a dark retelling of A. A. Milne’s work, yet fails to incorporate anything of relevance and focuses on the use of Pooh and Piglet as decorative icons in an unimaginative slasher. Hardly worth the time, the film amounts to little beyond a low-rent horror film that even fails to manifest any sense of tension or suspense.
Score: 1/4
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