A horror movie about a cannibalistic Winnie-the-Pooh is making quite an impression overseas.
The film from director Rhys Frake-Waterfield is proving to be an extremely bankabale hit following its debut in Mexico.
Despite having what has been described as an “ultra-low” budget, the film – titled Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey – made just under $1m (£827.4m) at the box office weeks before it’s released in other countries, including the UK, US and Japan.
In Blood and Honey, Winnie and another Milne character, Piglet, go on a “cannibalistic rampage” after being abandoned by Christopher Robin
The film, which sees Piglet kill somebody in a swimming pool, became a viral sensation after images of the murderous AA Milne character surfaced online in May 2021.
Frake-Waterfield told Variety that this took him by surprise as everyone thought Blood and Honey would “absolutely bomb”.
Instead, it’s becoming a sleeper hit in a similar vein to the first Paranormal Activity and last year’s violent slasher Terrifier 2.
Similarly, experimental horror Skinamarink has made almost $2m (£1.6m) from a $15,000 (£12,000) budget since its release in January.
As a result, Frake-Waterfield has been asked to write a sequel that will cost five times the amount of the original.
Reviews of the film are not positive. The Hollywood Handle said that the film, which is “VERY gory and has some crazy kills”, is “so bad” it “made me laugh”. They also said “the opening scene ruined my childhood”.
Elsewhere, @RyGoesPOP said the film “completely destroys the image of Winnie-the-Pooh”.
The film currently has a very low 1.5 score rating on film review app Letterboxd, with many highlighting the film’s “poor lighting” and “terrible acting”.
However, user Chris Gorman concluded: “Everything was terrible, in the best way possible.”
Winne-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey will be released in IS cinemas as a one-day event on 15 February, and in the UK on 10 March.
