How To Watch Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey At Home
On January 1, 2022, A.A. Milne's 1926 children's novel "Winnie-the-Pooh" lapsed into the public domain. Filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield immediately took the opportunity to turn the notoriously gentle fable about a talking stuffed bear into a brutal, gory, low-budget horror movie. In his film, the young Christopher Robin (Nikolai Leon) has returned to his childhood home in the 100-Acre Wood after growing up. Pooh (Craig David Dowsett) and Piglet (Chris Cordell), in his absence, were forced to eat Eeyore and grew into human-hating, murderous behemoths. The two creatures spend the bulk of the movie stalking around a remote vacation home murdering its tenants.
The film is just as stupid as it sounds, but its premise was wild enough that crowds gathered out of curiosity. Made for a mere $100,000, "Blood and Honey" grossed $5.2 million worldwide. Not too shabby for a cheap, crude horror flick. In its opening weekend, the film garnered just enough excitement for Frake-Waterfield to announce a sequel, as well as several other horror renditions of beloved children's literature ordinarily associated with Disney. Also on his radar is "Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare" and "Bambi: The Reckoning." Oh yes, and a crossover between evil Pooh and evil Bambi is not out of question. What's that smell? Is it a cinematic universe?
To prepare for the oncoming deluge of delightfully tasteless slasher flicks, one can now watch "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey" at home. As of this writing, confirmed by BloodyDigusting, the film is available to rent online on Amazon and other outlets for $9.99, or for purchase for $19.99. Even without a theatrical release, only 5,000 people would need to buy a digital copy for it to break even. Low budgets are a wise business choice.
Streaming?
"Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey" does not yet have a streaming release date, and it is currently unknown on which platform it may appear in North America.
If one is eager to put "Blood and Honey" on their shelf next to their own personal Pooh Bear, the film is indeed available for purchase on Blu-ray and DVD, albeit only in Australia through their Umbrella Entertainment label (presumably, not related to the wicked zombie corporation from the "Resident Evil" games and movies). It will be available on April 14, and can currently be pre-ordered. It will cost $21 U.S. dollars. The Blu-ray will feature a commentary track by Frake-Waterfield, some fan art, some behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel. One will require a Region-B disc player to watch this version, however.
A North American Blu-ray has not yet been announced.
If one prefers to prepare in another way, one can purchase Milne's original novel, with the illustrations by Ernest H. Shepherd, at any number of online bookstores. It's also likely available at your local library. If one really wants to be a completist, the 1929 sequel was called "The House at Pooh Corner." This book contained the first appearance of Tigger, and it is not yet in the public domain, hence why Tigger did not appear in "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey." Perhaps the sequel will wait until it can incorporate Tigger.
Other books that will enter the public domain in the next few years that also might warrant horror movie versions: Virginia Woolf's "To the Lighthouse," Hermann Hesse's "Steppenwolf," and William Faulkner's "Mosquitos." Another cinematic universe, perhaps?