Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 – A Flawed Improvement

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is a standalone sequel to last year’s Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and is the second entry in a new Twisted Childhood Universe that’s expected to be built out over the next few years. When Winnie-the-Pooh (Oliva), Piglet (Eddy MacKenzie), Tigger (Lewis Santer), and Owl (Marcus Massey) find their home and lives endangered after Christopher Robin (Chambers) reveals their existence to the world, they decide to embark on a rampage through the town of Ashdown and get their revenge on Christopher once and for all, so they don’t have to live in the shadows any longer. To put it lightly, the original wasn’t very popular with critics or audiences and despite turning a major profit off of a miniscule budget, it soured most to the idea of beloved children’s properties becoming horror films that anyone could make with a proper budget. After the beating it took last year, there really was nowhere else to go but up and thankfully, this sequel is a massive improvement over the first and a step in the right direction for this creative team and franchise.

It’s glaringly apparent that the filmmakers were rewarded with a bigger budget this time around which they definitely put to good use here. The film is decently shot and feels more like a real film with solid production value, unlike the original film which felt amateurish and cheap. The filmmakers clearly listened to a lot of the issues fans had with the original and did their best to rectify those issues while incorporating some meta and self-aware elements. That being said, it still takes itself a bit too seriously at times but for the most part, it leans into its campy premise more and also isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself. None of this is high art but the script provides everything a slasher needs and despite its low budget, the acting is considerably better than one would expect especially Chambers who is solid as Christopher Robin, giving the film a better performance than it frankly deserves. For horror fans going into it solely for the carnage alone, they will not be disappointed as the film offers a ton of bloody, creative and memorable over-the-top kills. Meanwhile, the design of Pooh and his friends is significantly better here, looking more real and cool after getting past the fact that they are still just actors in animal costumes.

However, as awesome as it is and a major improvement that moves the franchise in the right direction, it still has plenty of flaws that keep it from getting a wider recommendation beyond diehard horror fans. Attempting a story and fully fleshed out characters is a welcomed change but even then, it isn’t anything special and feels like more of an afterthought. While most of the film’s kills are effective and brutal, some are hard to see due to how they are filmed, edited, and lit. Its night time sequences as a whole are overly dark, making it difficult to discern what is happening which is something that needs to be worked on. Not only that, the film becomes rather repetitive after a while before dragging come an exposition-heavy second act. Like the first film, it has a pretty short runtime that will feel longer. Featuring a lot of practical effects, the film’s few visual effects stand out like a sore thumb and don’t look good at all.

In the end, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is a mixed bag full of highs and lows, but remains a definite improvement over the first film and one that can be considered a win for the filmmaking team behind it. Ultimately, they still have way to go and a lot more improvements to make, though they are certainly heading in the right direction. If they continue to listen to the fans, like they did following the release of the original film, there is no doubt that they have the potential to knock the next one out of the park and here’s to hoping that they do.

still courtesy of Jagged Edge Productions

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/