Pinocchio Unstrung sees wooden doll covered in flesh and blood
DIRECT ANSWER: Pinocchio Unstrung sees wooden puppet Pinocchio rip skin and drip blood as he kills his way toward becoming a real boy in Rhys Frake-Waterfield's fifth Twisted Childhood Universe slasher. After Raindance screenings, the director teased an Avengers-style Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble crossover filming later this year or early next.
Key Takeaways
- Pinocchio Unstrung is the fifth Poohniverse entry, joining Winnie-the-Pooh, Bambi and Peter Pan horror spin-offs.
- Robert Englund voices a sinister Cricket and Richard Brake plays Geppetto in the practical-effects-driven slasher.
- Raindance screenings earned some of the franchise's best reviews ahead of a July 24 theatrical rollout.
- Frake-Waterfield is now focused on Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, an Avengers-style horror crossover.
What is Pinocchio Unstrung about?
Barging through the doors of the Poohniverse nose-first, Pinocchio has officially joined Winnie the Pooh, Bambi and Peter Pan in Rhys Frake-Waterfield's Pinocchio Unstrung. The latest twisted take on childhood icons, which began with 2023's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, pushes Carlo Collodi's puppet far past his dream of becoming a boy.
The film opens with young James grieving a dear childhood friend. Seeing his grandson suffer, Geppetto gifts him the titular puppet. Soon Pinocchio, under the influence of a sinister Cricket, goes on a killing rampage to free James from everyone evil around him and become a real boy, one piece at a time.
Why did the director choose a practical puppet?
Speaking with Variety after two successful Raindance Film Festival screenings, Frake-Waterfield said Pinocchio tonally matched his campy, crafty style over a creepy Annabelle-like route. After the VFX-heavy Bambi: The Reckoning, he challenged himself with a puppet lead he could fully control.
Emmy-winning effects artist Todd Masters designed the animatronic star. No prior adaptation has shown the doll quite like this: ripping teeth, pulling skin while blood drips through deep crevasses of wood. The director also introduced a mother tree and dropped the classic lying-is-bad arc in favor of leaning into the gory.
How does it fit the growing Poohniverse?
Pinocchio Unstrung is the fifth entry in the Twisted Childhood Universe, also known as the Poohniverse. Frake-Waterfield calls it substantially improved over the first Blood and Honey, which faced online backlash yet earned more than 50 times its budget in theaters.
With Unstrung out in the world, he is concentrating on Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, a massive crossover reuniting every TCU character in an Avengers-like fashion. Pinocchio's backstory feeds directly into that event film. Frake-Waterfield hopes to shoot later this year or early next year, promising something kooky, crazy and fun.
When and where can you see it?
Pinocchio Unstrung lands in U.K. theaters on July 24 through Altitude Film Distribution and opens the same day in North America via Viva Pictures. For more horror and streaming updates, follow our Streaming and TV Alerts coverage.