2023 has been filled with a handful of great slashers like Scream VI and Sick. However, there’s always a “so bad it’s good” film that captures the hearts of horror fans. This year that was Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. The blood-soaked adaptation took the box office by storm when it released this past February and a sequel was quickly greenlit. Now, we’ve received a new look at Pooh’s upgraded appearance for Blood and Honey 2.

Pooh’s Bloodlust Continues

The image shared exclusively with The Hollywood Reporter gets up close and personal with everyone’s favorite childhood bear turned crazed killer. The new design is much more animalistic when compared to the first film’s simplest yet haunting rendition. Blood and Honey had a B-movie-like costume quality to Pooh that made viewers question if he was actually a bear or just an insane person wearing a Halloween costume. The mask in particular retained the cartoon nature of Pooh’s original storybook look with a horror twist. The soulless, almost pitch black, eyes completed the killer transformation. However, for the sequel, the filmmakers went in the opposite direction with a “realistic” fur textured prosthetic where you can see the performer’s eyes in their entirety. This is similar to Tigger’s recent disturbing debut.

Part of that change was the film’s increased budget. The original costume only cost $770. While talking to THR returning director Rhys Frake-Waterfield revealed that Pooh’s new digs, along with the rest of The Hundred Acre Woods, cost over $20,000. He said, “The prosthetics alone for the creatures ended up being over $20,000. So it’s a humongous difference. But it’s worth the investment because that’s your creature. That’s what people are watching horror for. So cost-wise, I’d have to say it’s like probably over 10 to 15 times the original.” Why the raise in budget? Well the original film made almost $6 million at the worldwide box office on a budget that was less than $100,000. While the reviews and public reception for Blood and Honey was nothing short of abysmal with the film holding a historically bad 3% critic and 50% audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, money talks. Especially when your film was made for as cheap as this slasher.

What’s ‘Blood and Honey 2’ About?

Plot details are still scarce, but the sequel follows a group of girls in a motor home whose lives get upended when Pooh and his Hundred Acre friends come for them. The sequel’s currently aiming for a release window of February 14, 2024, so once again Pooh will be giving you a bloody bear hug this Valentine’s Day. Frake-Waterfield and producer-star Scott Jeffery have also teased a killer bedtime shared cinematic universe for this honey loving bear with Bambi: The Reckoning and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare which can be read about in THR’s full interview.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey’s currently streaming on Peacock.

via Collider