Hello and welcome to another review! I wanted to cover the second installment in the Poohniverse... Universe (lol). This also gives me the opportunity to explain why I'm having mixed feelings about the first Blood and Honey. This second installment seems to have had a bigger budget as well as an actual story.
This film follows Christopher Robin and he's an infamous doctor residing in a small town of people that believe him to be a murderer. Remember how everyone died in the last film? No one believes that Christopher was attacked by his childhood friends and they definitely don't believe that those friends murdered all of those people. Well.... maybe I shouldn't encapsulate everyone into that statement. There are very few who believe and form their own hunting parties to go after the friends of the 100 Acre Wood.
A string of bodies are found throughout the woods and the cops want to find the culprit. Christopher Robin is a suspect, but does everything he can to find the actual killers and take them out. Christopher's (human) friends are dragged into this mess and.... well.... we'll see what happens.
This is where I'll stop with the non-spoilers and let you know to go watch the film if you haven't. You can watch the trailer here. Come back and read my thoughts after. If you've seen it or don't mind being spoiled, let's continue on.
"You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes."
I immediately thought "Pooh takes Manhattan!", assuming that he would unleash his rage on the townspeople in their own homes. I wondered if we would get any funny moments like in Friday the 13th: Part VIII. That sucker punch Jason lands on Julius was too comical to feel sad for his victim.
We are blessed with an animated, storybook-like telling of Christopher's life after he escapes Pooh. He is believed to have massacred all of the people who were unfortunate enough to stumble across the 100 Acre Wood. He became a doctor, but not many people find him trustworthy, making his life a little harder. The few people that believed Christopher went on their own hunt, but found nothing. When winter fell, Pooh gathered his friends in preparation for more murder.
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...I would just like to preface by saying that I never understand why people go to an infamous murder ground in an attempt to summon.... something? The scene changes to a group of women in an RV attempting to use a Ouija board. A bang coming from the outside of the RV sparks their fear (they're so stupid) and they all struggle to figure out who should go check it out. Another bang causes them to scramble and one of the women suddenly has a pole through her torso. Another woman gets her hand slammed in the door as she attempts to escape. A different woman escapes through a window and makes her way to a golf kart? Unfortunately for her, a bear trap stops the kart and Pooh grabs her, causing her to step into a different bear trap. He drags her away, snaps each of her limbs, and then puts her head in another bear trap to trigger it.
I had low hopes for this film being a decent one, but I will say that this kill made me squirm. My hopes for the kills in this film were high after witnessing this woman's death.
Owl makes an appearance and he looks gnarly. He goes after the woman who had her hand smashed in the door, questioning why she's still alive. I had a watch party for this film and a few of us felt as though Owl was reminiscent of the Creeper in Jeepers Creepers. I like the design though. It's definitely creepy and doesn't give the same vibe as Pooh's design. Pooh's just feels silly (especially when watching him run in the first installment).
Moving on.... a therapy session is being held featuring our therapist from the first film and Christopher Robin. We immediately noticed that there was a change in actors for Christopher's character. I have a theory, but I'm going to wait to say anything simply because it ties into why I feel like the first movie is not a bad movie as it exists in this universe. Because of this, I will write down my initial thoughts on my confusion while watching this film, and then I will explain away that confusion with my theory.
Christopher looks very different as we are witnessing his session. He has no scarring from the trauma he endured from his old friends, which I thought was weird. He had been missing for an undetermined amount of time and was seemingly beat up when he was found in the first film. But, here he seems fine (physically). He undergoes hypnosis, I assume, to figure out the root of his trauma. We only get a flash of images that make no sense right now. After his session, Christopher's friend, Lexy, gives him a ride home.
They arrive to find that his car (having just come from the shop) has been vandalized yet again. Christopher has a friend who helps take care of his car when it gets vandalized, and he was there trying to wipe away the harsh words that angry people have left. Christopher's father tries to keep Christopher calm and they have a small, yet heartwarming moment.
This moment is contrasted with a scene of police finding the women who were massacred the night before. Townspeople take it upon themselves to hunt for the animals again and proceed to set up traps around the woods. Owl is lurking in the sky and I couldn't help but wonder if the townspeople would step into the traps that they set up (it's a little comical, but it doesn't happen).
There's a meeting in the 100 Acre Wood and the friends are discussing their inability to trust humans (especially Christopher). Sidebar: I personally hate that they can talk and I understand that they talk in the original cartoon and the storybooks. But, for some reason their voices pull me out of the movie. The friends happen to find the hunters and take them out. Piglet ALSO gets shot right at the beginning of the battle between friends and hunters. He just needs to stop showing up because he always gets caught up and is never heard of again.
The next day Christopher gets fired from his job because of the attention that the hospital is getting. A man that had half his face mauled is being rushed into the hospital as Christopher tries to leave. (I only mention this because this man is somewhat important later... sort of.) Christopher arrives home after the events of the day and he's forced to go spend some time with his sister, Bunny (which ends up being heartwarming). She is worried that something is going to happen to them and Christopher makes her a promise that nothing bad is going to happen. It was at this point, I realized that I was enjoying this film a lot more than the first one. The main characters seem more relatable and aren't flat, throwaway characters like in the first film. These characters are also smarter and don't seem to make questionable decisions.
As the friends continue on killing anyone who walks into the woods, Christopher is experiencing a Get Out moment with his therapist. She hypnotizes him, having him revisit his childhood in the hopes that they can figure out the root of his issues. When Christopher was a child, he visited the 100 Acre Wood, but the friends were still creepy looking and seemed bloodthirsty even in their earlier stages of the friendship. It gets a little weird here too because it feels as if it retcons the first movie. The flashbacks don't line up between the two films and I found myself becoming confused again.
This flashback then takes us to Christopher's childhood and it seemed like he was attending a neighborhood kid's party with his brother. Billy. Billy was mentioned during the scene where Christopher was talking to his sister, but Billy had been kidnapped from this party and never found. A few of us felt like this gave Five Nights at Freddy's vibes because of how similar the story was.
Christopher calls Lexy after his session to talk about that part of his childhood and Billy. Lexy is babysitting while they're having this conversation and the viewer glimpses that the child is into all things horror (much like us). The two make their way into the living room and the kid is watching.... Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. Those of us who were watching came up with the theory that the first movie was essentially a movie version (in this universe) of what happened to Christopher Robin. It would explain his cast change since two different actors are playing him between both movies (in real life). It reminded me of Stab in the Scream universe.
But, if this theory is correct, it would make sense as to why the first movie was so bad. The characters were flat and "stupid" isn't a strong enough word to describe some of their decisions. This would also explain why the first movie felt like it was retconned... because... actually it wasn't. There's no way that in this universe, they could've known every single detail of Christopher Robins' relationship with the friends of the 100 Acre Woods. So it would make sense for Christopher's actual childhood to differ from that of the first movie's. The actor for Christopher's younger self is also different between the two movies. I haven't done any research into this theory, but it's the one that makes the most sense to me? What do you think?
The cops comb the forest for the killer(s) and I'm only mentioning this because at some point, a cop says "Let's bounce."
And do you want to know who pops up?
Tigger.
And do you want to know what he says?
"That's my line."
While this is all happening, Christopher and his father are chatting about the day their loved one went missing. Christopher's father asked if he can remember anything and if so, they can reopen the investigation. This sparks something in Christopher and he begins researching what happened to the missing children in this town. I don't remember everything from this scene, but Christopher finds a lead on a guy that may have been engaging in.... experiments. (Why's there always a weird scientist that wants to create a monstrosity? Human Centipede? Tusk?)
The next morning, a cop arrives at Christopher's house to question him about his whereabouts the previous night. They are still suspicious of his potential involvement in these mysterious murders, The cops who had met Tigger were obviously killed that night, adding to the rising body count, but the culprit is nowhere to be found.
Christopher attends the set up of a party later in the day and this felt so out of place for the movie. It felt a little pointless too because he talks to Lexy's friends and discovers that they are wary of his presence, not wanting a potential murderer around. It was a short scene, but the viewer is quickly privy to the fact that this party is not a typical house party; the party goers will be attending a warehouse party. This doesn't seem important now, but be patient.
Christopher revisits his old workplace to chat with the survivor that was rushed in on the day he (Christopher) was fired. He needed more information about what had happened that night. While Christopher is talking to him, there's a mysterious man that watches them through a window and Christopher spots him and is immediately suspicious of the man. Jumping ahead, Christopher follows him (I assume) to his home and threatens to harm him if he doesn't explain the experiments.
This man kidnapped the children for someone in order to pay off his debts. Unfortunately, he didn’t know why that man, a scientist, wanted the children. It was found out that this scientist was combining human and animal DNA and The kids became the friends of the 100 acre wood. I’m not sure how I feel about this now because I liked the mystery of the first movie and even if it was retconned, it makes zero sense. Christopher Robin was apparently best friends with these animals and if his brother got caught up in this, it seemed like the animals were older. The flashbacks showed that the animals still looked the same as they do in present time. Billy seemed like he was younger than Christopher and that's why he was so hellbent on finding him. He was the older brother, meant to protect his younger sibling. I'm a little off-track, but it's something I'm curious about now.
The scientist tried to get rid of the animals when they became too much. He ultimately wanted no evidence of the horrors that he created. This man that Christopher found ended up killing the scientist. The kid/animal hybrids didn’t stay dead and obviously came back to wreck havoc. Christopher can't believe what he's hearing (for good reason) and the man he threatened ends up taking his own life after admitting to everything.
While all this is happening, Christopher's friend (I don't remember his name, but he worked on Christopher's car when it got vandalized) is killed by Owl. Lexy is babysitting again that night and her and the kid are stalked by Pooh. The cops are called when the kid's parents arrive home and they happen to find out what's going on. Lexy and the kid are safe, but an unfortunate cop comes face to face with Pooh. Pooh wastes not time in taking her out and while comical, it was quite sad and a little unbelievable that no one heard the scuffle to come and help.
There's utter chaos in the town by this point and Christopher's family is caught up in the mess as well. I should have known that those heartwarming moments were to make us feel for these characters. This movie doesn't do the greatest job of showing a strong family dynamic, but I get what they're going for.
Pooh lurks outside of the family home, making Christopher's mom suspicious. She unfortunately ignores all the alarm bells in her head and makes her way into the kitchen. I don't remember if she opens the dishwasher, is loading the dishwasher... or what? The only thing we all questioned were; "Why are all the knives in the dishwasher upturned?" Her death was obvious, but who puts the knives in with the sharp end up? (If you do that, stop it. That's dangerous. This death also happens sometime in the Chucky TV series).
We wondered if Pooh is Billy because he stops to look at a family photo or Christopher's photo? I get that they were best friends in childhood (Pooh and Christopher), but it would make a lot of sense if Billy was his brother. Why else would he linger there and then.... kidnap Bunny. Christopher arrives home to deceased parents and his sister missing.
Remember that warehouse party? No? Well it's party time! The warehouse is packed with people who were absolutely used as bodies to rack up the kill count (I'm begging James A. Janisse to cover this film). Pooh wasted zero time in taking everyone out and some point, Tigger joins in on the fun! Pretty killer party amiright? It's also a good thing that Christopher is a little bit of an outcast because he won't be caught dead at that party (okay, I'm done).
I'm still very aware of how weird it is that the animals talk. It's so off-putting, but not in a scary way. There was really no reason for them to have lines because they were scary enough on their own. I liked the design for Tigger and Owl because they are truly horrifying. I wouldn't want to stick around long enough for them to talk to me. Even Pooh was horrifying enough that I didn't pay much attention to his design. They could've just been left to do what they were meant to do in this film and it would have worked out fine.
Anyway, none of the characters are interesting or smart as they all get massacred by Tigger and Pooh. Like I said, I'm sure the actors were all casted and this party was created just for it to be a horrendous massacre near the end of the film. Christopher makes his way to the party as most of them are killed off and he does his best to fight off his old friends. There are still heaps of people running around, trying to escape... It's interesting because there's SO many and it seems like no one made it out of the warehouse. In their defense, they could be under the influence of various inhibitors, but oh my gosh it's crazy how it seems that no one escapes. Pooh takes out some of the partiers in ways that would put Art the Clown to shame (I think I can finally watch the second one without being worried about those death scenes).
Somehow Christopher and Pooh make it into the woods and have a final showdown there. Christopher apologizes, asking for Bunny back but Pooh is out for blood. Christopher isn't looking like he's going to win this battle, but Lexy somehow finds her way to them and distracts Pooh enough for Christopher to have the upper hand. Lexy gets caught up, but ultimately survives because Christopher doesn't hesitate to put an axe to Pooh's head. This is the end of the movie as the cops show up with Bunny? The credits begin rolling and I was confused because I thought that we were focusing on all of the friends. Where is Tigger? Where is Owl? Owl could have easily swooped in and helped out Pooh. Instead... this is just how the movie ends...
There's a post-credit scene and in my notes, I literally wrote:
POST CREDIT SCENE: POOH ISNT DEAD The power of friendship keeps this bear alive…….. PIGLET WAS ALSO THERE. BUT WHERE ARE THE REST?
Final Thoughts:
I think that I did a pretty good job explaining my feelings throughout this review. The movie isn't a masterpiece, but I enjoyed it infinitely more than the first film (even if my theory is correct). I did very little research on this film and the first one is absolutely retconned.
This film felt like an actual film with a story. The characters aren't as flat either; Christopher has friends and the viewer can see his relationship with them and with his family. There were few moments that made it clear that people in his life would die and that included vulnerable moments between him and those characters. I like that we get a glimpse into their lives.
I also loved the fact that we had a few more friends from the 100 Acre Wood. The first film made it seem like we would have more, but we had Pooh and Piglet working together (makes sense since they're besties). I thoroughly enjoyed watching as Owl and Tigger took out their anger. Their designs were also done pretty well in my opinion (especially Owl's) and they would have horrified me if I were on that set.
There were few parts that felt a little messy in terms of story, but overall it was a much better film than the first entry into the universe. The supernatural aspect and how the animals came to be was a little weird, but it makes sense that they're supernatural. They were able to come back to life and had immense strength. I didn't love the backstory of how they came to be because it made no sense in comparison to Christopher Robin's relationship with them, but sure, it's a fun idea. Truthfully, I think I would've been fine with the mystery. We could've done without Billy and the whole storyline that he was kidnapped alongside a bunch of other kids, but there always has to be a weirdo scientist that has to test out his weirdo experiments on unwilling participants, right?
Anyway, what're your thoughts? Let me know below and don't forget to subscribe to the blog to be the first to know about new posts.
🔪Versa
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