Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2 Has A Rotten Tomatoes Score That'll Shock You
Recently, you might have heard the news that there are only two perfect horror movies and only two perfect sci-fi movies ... at least according to Rotten Tomatoes. Yes, the Tomatometer bestowed a perfect 100 percent score upon only a handful of films, obviously signaling that these movies were unquestionably perfect. Now, it seems we could have a new addition to the hallowed 100 percent club: "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2."
Yes, you read that right. But how? In 2023, director Rhys Frake-Waterfield took A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard's "Winnie-the-Pooh" universe, which had entered the public domain the year prior, and ran amok, turning the beloved bear and his friends into nightmarish slasher killers. The movie made $5.2 million on a $100,000 budget and became a surprise horror box office hit in the process. But whatever propelled that success, it wasn't necessarily the content of the film itself. "Blood and Honey" was nothing but a humorless bloodbath, with /Film's Witney Seibold writing:
"Often, a slasher movie can be forgiven for its banality or idiocy if there was a modicum of creativity to the gore and to the filmmaking. "Blood and Honey" possesses no such creativity, its kills as rote as any random slasher film from the early 1980s."
So how then has the sequel, which hit theaters March 26, joined the 100% club?
Blood and Honey 2's scores are vastly better than the first film
Part of the problem with "Blood and Honey" was the fact that Rhys Frake-Waterfield had to be very careful with what he included. At the time, only the very first Winnie-the-Pooh story from 1926 had entered the public domain. As such, the writer/director had to ensure he didn't use many of the more well-established features of the series, such as Pooh's red shirt or the character of Tigger. In fact, the first draft of "Blood and Honey" was unfilmable due to the fact that Frake-Waterfield had incorporated too many elements that remained under copyright protection.
Ultimately, "Blood and Honey" arrived with a Pooh and Piglet far enough removed from the copyrighted versions of the characters that Frake-Waterfield escaped any lawsuits. But that didn't necessarily mean his film was any good. In the movie, Pooh and his cohorts are demented Michael Myers-type killers, hell-bent on revenge after having been abandoned by Christopher Robin in the 100-acre wood (poor old Eeyore was, unfortunately, cannibalized in the process). But the movie lacked any real plot, developed characters, or even convincing makeup and costume designs. Pooh and Piglet basically looked as though they were just large men in poorly-designed masks — which, they were.
All of this added up to a dismal 3% Rotten Tomatoes score (alongside a 50% audience score). Now, the sequel has arrived, with Frake-Waterfield determined not to let bad reviews stop his warped take on A.A. Milne's universe from actualizing. In a startling turn of events, "Blood and Honey 2" has not only improved upon its predecessor's reviews but at the time of writing sits at a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Why is Blood and Honey 2 being reviewed so well?
What the heck is going on here? Well, you shouldn't be fooled by the Tomatometer. "Blood and Honey 2" only has six reviews, whereas the first film currently has 62. With fewer reviews, you're bound to see a better score (unless your movie really is that abysmal). It's also worth noting that when /Film reached out for screeners, the studio refused to supply any, suggesting they were taking a strategic approach to the film's release, perhaps even anticipating a more favorable RT score by withholding screeners.
Still, the 100% score can't last for long. As more reviews start to trickle in, the Tomatometer will be less and less forgiving. As of now, however, reviewers are unanimously praising the sequel, with Bloody Disgusting writing how, "This flawed but enjoyable sequel defies expectations — albeit low ones — and outperforms its predecessor on most levels." The AV Club, meanwhile, was similarly impressed, noting the inclusion of a "twisted sense of humor" this time around and "an insane backstory" that helps add more to what is evidently a more well-realized plot this time around. That and the inclusion of "actors who don't suck" seem to have convinced the outlet that "Blood and Honey 2" is a worthwhile venture.
This all bodes well for the planned "Poohniverse," which is set to unite horror versions of Winnie-the-Pooh, Bambi, Peter Pan, and numerous other beloved children's characters. While the 100% rating can't last, at least "Blood and Honey 2" can claim to have caused a small stir with its brief triumph over the Tomatometer, thereby helping to pave the way for more unhinged takes on our childhood heroes.