Features

‘Pinocchio: Unstrung’: ‘Blood and Honey 2’ Director Teases His Horror Take!! Check It Out!!

Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Jagged Edge Productions are continuing to build up their public-domain horror cinematic universe. After delivering Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey last year to a $5.2 million worldwide box office cume on a minimal budget, the team is bringing terror to everyone’s favorite adorable public domain characters, including Bambi and Peter Pan. First, however, a return to the Hundred Acre Woods is in order in Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 will not only introduce Tigger but lay the groundwork for future projects. Bloody Disgusting exclusively revealed what one of those upcoming films will be with a first look at Pinocchio: Unstrung via a creepy drawing.

Appearing as if ripped out of a twisted storybook, the sketch shows what appears to be Geppetto’s workshop with a wooden workbench, tools, dolls, and a frightening take on the titular Pinocchio seated in front of an ax. Gone is the round, happy face of Disney‘s animated classic or even the charm of Guillermo Del Toro‘s stop-motion adaptation, and, in its place, sits a wooden boy with jagged hair, a crooked nose, bulging eyes, and hands that look more like claws. Pinocchio is already a story that feels adjacent to horror with its take on disturbing themes like abuse and slavery, and Frake-Waterfield and company seem to be leaning into those more frightening aspects with the puppet’s appearance.

This sneak peek at Pinocchio: Unstrung comes directly from the credits of Blood and Honey 2. The drawing is one of several that will appear at the end of the film to tease a few unannounced characters in Jagged Edge‘s public domain universe. Whether the credits will preview the upcoming Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare or Bambi: The Reckoning is unclear, but they should set up a massive interconnected world of storybook icons ripe for bloodshed.

What Is the Timeline for Frake-Waterfield’s Public Domain Horror Universe?

Before Pinocchio can begin his rampage, Blood and Honey 2 will see Pooh and Piglet go killing again in February, assuming the release plans hold. Thanks to the expiration of the public domain, Tigger will get to join in on the fun this time around, bringing terror to everyone in his path. Frake-Waterfield will direct once again and co-write with Matt Leslie as they adapt the classic A.A. Milne story. According to another exclusive update from Bloody Disgusting, Jagged Edge‘s Peter Pan and Bambi films are also expected to get cameras rolling this year. Although they’re not directing or writing every piece of their fairytale horror franchise, Frake-Waterfield and his partner Scott Jeffrey have a busy year ahead to get the scares into theaters as soon as possible.

Pinocchio: Unstrung is set to begin filming this summer with hopes of hitting theaters by the end of 2024. A director and writer have yet to be announced. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the film as well as Jagged Edge‘s other twisted takes on classic storybook characters. Check out the first image and title below.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is set to release this year. The first film is streaming on Peacock in the U.S.

Leave a Reply