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Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - Australia - Umbrella Entertainment Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (12th September 2024). |
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The Film
 "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2" (2024) Following the events of the first film in which a number of people from the town of Ashdown were found brutally murdered in the Hundred Acre Wood, lone survivor Christopher Robin (played by Scott Chambers) was suspected of carrying out the acts but was cleared when no evidence could be pinned on him. He loses his job as a doctor due to the negative publicity affecting the hospital, and even his friends and family have a difficult time believing his account of what had happened. But the murderous Pooh (played by Ryan Oliva) and Piglet (played by Eddy MacKenzie) are taken in by the ever so wise Owl (played by Marcus Massey) after their home is burned to the ground, and along with Tigger (played by Lewis Santer) are together ready to spread deadly horror into the town with an even higher body count. 2023's "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey" made headlines for its near blasphemous take on bringing the childhood favorite characters from the books by A.A. Milne and into the world of slasher horror films, and even with the mostly negative reactions with criticism to the plot, the poorly made makeup and masks, and bland characters, the independent production became a hit, grossing more than $7 million worldwide against a tiny budget of $100,000. It was for curiosity's sake for the most part but it was enough to guarantee further sequels in the "Poohniverse", especially with the character of Tigger hitting the public domain a year later. "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2" has a bigger budget of $500,000, with more kills, more depth, and a fairly ingenious twist as to how it fits with the first film. But does the sequel live up to the hype? What is easily a major upgrade is the attention to detail given to the creature designs of Pooh and Piglet which are quite different from the first film, which looked like cheap rubber masks with no movement whatsoever. For the sequel there is more detail and texture with fur, and careful attention to the mouths and eyes for movement and speech. The Owl and Tigger designs are also given high attention, with these characters making their debut in this film. But with the characters looking entirely different and Christopher Robin being played by an entirely different actor, it should not fit in line with continuity. The filmmakers address the issue creatively, with the character of Freddy (played by Flynn Gray) watching the film "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey" at home, and mentioning that the film was based on the events of the Hundred Acre Wood Massacre, which took place in their town. So essentially the first film is a film within the second film, so it is an "actor" playing Christopher Robin and the monsters were just actors in masks, as opposed to the second film being the "reality" for the characters. The trauma of Christopher is at the center, as the audience sees that he has lost trust of the people around him, is harassed by locals, and visits a therapist to try to cope with everything. But his visit to the therapist Mary Darling (played by Teresa Banham) reveals some deeper trauma from his past, with him witnessing his twin brother Billy being kidnapped, and never to be seen again. It is from hypnosis that he is able to recognize the man that kidnapped Billy, and that was Mr. Cavendish, the hospital janitor who is living with the dark secret of carrying out the duties of a mad doctor that was experimenting on the children. While Christopher is able to obtain crucial information about what happened to his brother and clues to the nature of the creatures living in the forest, the creatures themselves are ready to unleash mayhem into the town. The body count is higher than the first, with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Owl out to kill whoever gets in their way, and director Rhys Frake-Waterfield upped the gore and creativity of the killings in the sequel. In addition to the budget allowing for better makeup effects, the gore effects are also given an overhaul and they slayings through claws and weapons are here. Like the first film, it relies heavily on practical effects with some overlayed digital effects. While the killings may be a highlight for the genre, it is also interesting to see the manipulation of Owl over the others and how they are dealing with the theme of vengeance in comparison to the first film which gave very little character to the monsters. The filmmakers should be commended for trying to give additional depth to the characters which were sadly missing from the first film, and though this is in a sense a reboot, but it doesn't quite feel like it was enough. There are moments with Christopher with his family and how they are dealing with the issue of his trauma affecting the family life, but again the time together with them seem lacking in the overall plot. This is also true for his friends and his acquaintances, such as Aaron (played by Sam Barrett) who later gets brutally mauled by miraculously survives an attack by the monsters. While it is because of his survival that one finally believes Christopher's story of the murderous creatures, there are very few allies in the story. The subplot of the new club that is opening is just a way to have Pooh do some creative killings during a rave sequence, but doesn't fit quite well with the entire plot either. Giving Christopher an additional childhood trauma was an interesting choice, but for him to not realize that the janitor that was at his workplace for so long was the person that kidnapped his brother so many years ago seemed like a stretch, and even his character is literally wasted. The filmmakers obviously had some interesting ideas to place into the film and while there were some good ones, most don't seem to come together as well as they should. The first film was intentionally dark for the most part as it took place at night in the Hundred Acre Wood for most of its duration. For this film, the filmmakers experiment more with the color palate as it takes things out of the forest and into civilization, with the colorful costumes of the rave sequence, the brightly colored town, and differing times of the day as well. Visually the cinematography by Vince Knight is quite strong, and so do the makeup and effects work which were huge leaps forward. The film answers a few questions left from the first film such as the origins of the creatures but also presents more questions and leads to hints of another sequel, which has been confirmed. In addition to a third film, the film also hints at further works in the same universe which are being produced. The therapist Mary Darling shares the same name as the mother in Peter Pan and the filmmakers are releasing Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare" with Banham also playing the same role. They are also producing horror adaptations of Pinocchio and Bambi, and the Poohniverse is expanding into the so called The Twisted Childhood Universe by Jagged Edge Productions. "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2" was released on March 18th, 2024 in the United Kingdom and a week later in the United States. Grossing more than $7.5 million worldwide, it was another hit, though critical reception was mixed. While much higher than the unanimously lowly rated first film, it took criticism for its plot and direction, while there were praises for the improvements made from the first film. While it will be interesting to see where this universe of childhood favorites gone dark will go in the future, there needs to be more emphasis on character arcs for both the monsters and the victims for it to truly work well. Conceptually bringing Pooh into the slasher genre was a gimmick, and though the second has its fair amount of positives, it ultimately doesn't rise as high as other films in the genre. Note this is a region ALL Blu-ray
Video
Umbrella Entertainment presents the film in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The production was shot digitally like the first feature, with editing and post-production also done in the digital realm. It has a wider color palette this time, and brightness of the more "peaceful" scenes in town as well as the neon lights of the rave scene look very good in this transfer. Darkness is also well displayed with depth to the darker hues. Detail is excellent and the transfer is consistent throughout. The transfer is basically flawless, and looks excellent. The film's runtime is 93:28.
Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 The 5.1 track is presented in lossless form. Dialogue is mostly center based and the surrounding channels are used for music and effects very well. composer Andrew Scott Bell's cues sound excellent with its dark and eerie moments, as well as the hits and slashes from the various killing scenes, with the speakers having a good workout with the tense sequences. The dialogue, music, and effects are well balanced and there is nothing to fault with this audio mix and transfer. There are optional English HoH subtitles for the main feature in a white font, which are easy to read and well timed.
Extras
"Behind the Score" featurette (24:54) This featurette was self shot by composer Andrew Scott Bell which has him showcasing how he composed and performed most of the film's entire score by himself in his home studio. From the tools he used, how he recorded the instruments and the vocals, collaborations with musicians, as well as more casual material such as walking his dog in the snow, it is a good featurette that looks at the independent nature and the creativity provided. The featurette has also been embedded below. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Behind the Scenes Pooh" featurette (8:11) Presented here are various clips from the production, such as makeup effects being applied to the actors, quick sound bites from the cast and crew, and footage of on set rehearsing. in 1080i60 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Audition Tapes (14:12) Included here are a series of self shot audition material by various actors. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Interviews (33:45) Presented here are a series of interviews with the cast and crew. First is a number of quick interviews with various cast members about the roles they are playing, their thoughts on making a Pooh horror film, and more. There is also a lengthier interview with Chambers that is self shot in which he discusses the difficulties faced as producer and being the main actor, the backlash the first film received, the busy year of planning the Poohniverse productions, the increased budget, and more. There is also an interview with Chambers and Frake-Waterfield together, as they discuss the redesigns of the characters, the upcoming projects of the Poohniverse, and also present the teaser for the upcoming "Bambi: The Reckoning" feature. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1 / 2.39:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Death Scene Extended (1:39) Presented here are some additional scenes of Pooh at the rave killing additional partiers, though the montage of shots are incomplete in terms of color grading, sound, and effects. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1 / 2.39:1, Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles On Set Footage (9:09) Presented here is a B-roll footage of the production for various indoor and outdoor locations. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Behind the Scenes on Set - Rave" featurette (20:01) French YouTuber The CritizMan was invited to the set of the film where he was able to shoot exclusive B-roll and interviews with some of the cast and crew. There are also reactions to the shot footage, CritizMan giving the director and producer a copy of the French Blu-ray in a Steelbook, and more. Note that the featurette here is about five minutes longer than the one on his YouTube channel with some additional footage plus photographs he shot on the set. Note that the portions that he speaks in French are not subtitled in English. The shorter version has been embedded below. in 1080i60 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in French/English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles While the Umbrella Blu-ray features nearly two hours of extras, it is conspicuously missing the original trailer and doesn't include a commentary by the director and cinematographer, which they contributed to for the first film's Blu-ray release. The film has also been released on Blu-ray in Germany by Plaion Pictures and it features a few differing exclusive extras, with almost an hour's worth of behind the scenes footage, a featurette on the "Poohniverse". Like the first film, it's almost certain that other releases to come will also have some differing exclusive extras. Other notable clips: The trailer, from Umbrella Entertainment A clip from the film, from Umbrella Entertainment The teaser trailer for "Bambi: The Reckoning"
Packaging
The Blu-ray is packaged in a keep case with reversible artwork, with the only difference being the opposite side removing the Australian R18+ rating logos. The packaging states region B only but the disc is in fact region ALL and also mistakenly states the aspect ratio is in 1.78:1 when it is in the original 2.39:1 aspect ratio. There is also a Collector's Edition available exclusively at the Umbrella Web Shop and limited to 2500 copies. This includes the 16 page 'kids' book "The Sticky Story of a Bloody Pooh" with custom illustrations by Saoirse Wallace and written by Xavier Smith, a custom designed rigid slipcase, 16 artcards, and an A3 reversible poster. The booklet is written and illustrated by the same duo of Wallace and Smith who made the booklet for the first film (Saoirse Wallace was credited as Sean Wallace for the first book), and is a condensed story of the main events of the second film told again through rhymes and colorful and gruesome artwork. The artcards are on rigid cards and feature stills from the production. The double-sided poster has two forms of the theatrical poster art. The poster is folded and housed in the keep case, and the keep case and artcards fit nicely in the rigid slipcase. The slipcase is in a similar design with the first film, mimicking an actual hardcover book, with the top and bottom of the box looking like pages of a book. 
Overall
"Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2" is an improvement over the first film with additional creativity in the gory sequences, added depth to the characters, though it does end up as a bit of a disappointment with its lackluster storytelling and cliches. The Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray release looks and sounds excellent and has a lengthy amount of extras included, though it does feel underwhelming without a commentary track. Recommended for fans. Standard Blu-ray edition - Umbrella Web Shop Blu-ray Collector's Edition - Umbrella Web Shop
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