The Pinocchio Horror Movie Unveils R-Rated Details: “Lots of Practical Gore”

Pinocchio, the beloved children’s tale, is getting a dark twist as it enters the gruesome world of ‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.’ This gory reimagining of A. A. Milne’s classic bear as a serial killer made waves for its extreme content and impressive box office success, earning $5.2 million on a budget of less than $50,000.

Variety has revealed the details of the upcoming ‘Pinocchio’ project, which is currently being pitched at Cannes by Premiere Entertainment. Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who directed ‘Blood and Honey,’ will be at the helm once again. The film will rely minimally on VFX, instead featuring a practical doll as Pinocchio.

Also Read: ‘Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2’ Review: Is The Sequel Worse or Better?

The casting for Geppetto is yet to be announced. Todd Masters, known for his work on Chucky in the 2019 ‘Child’s Play,’ will handle the animatronics and puppetry, while The Prosthetics Studio, famous for their contributions to the ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Star Wars’ franchises, will take care of the practical gore effects. Filming is set to start in September with a January release in sight.

One particularly chilling scene reportedly involves Pinocchio wearing the skin of his victim to “feel like a real boy.” Frake-Waterfield describes this version of Pinocchio as “an extremely unique and R-rated depiction” featuring a high kill count, a subversion of the original story, and plenty of practical gore. “I’m going to welcome Pinocchio into the Poohniverse with a bang,” he said.

Earlier this year, Frake-Waterfield and his filmmaking partner Scott Jeffrey, under their prolific horror banner Jagged Edge Productions, announced ‘Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.’ This Avengers-style crossover will bring together Pooh and various other beloved children’s characters turned dark.

Alongside Pooh, the cast includes Bambi, Tinkerbell, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Tigger, Piglet the Mad Hatter, and Sleeping Beauty, with production slated to begin this year. Standalone films for Bambi and Peter Pan are also in the pipeline.