Freddy Krueger has joined the cast of the next IP-smashing slasher from the makers of microbudget hit “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.”
Well, almost. Robert Englund, who famously played the murderous horror icon across the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films, will star in “Pinocchio: Unstrung,” the latest standalone feature to join the so-called low-budget Twisted Childhood Universe. Richard Brake, a regular collaborator with Rob Zombie and whose horror credits also include the likes of “Barbarian” and “Mandy,” has also joined the film in the key role of Geppetto.
Meanwhile, Variety is able to reveal a first-look of the actual — and fully practical — Pinocchio doll, created by Todd Masters, the Emmy-winning special effects artist known for “Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight” and “Child’s Play” (he also worked on “Dune: Part Two”).
‘Pinocchio: Unstrung’
DAVID INCE
“Pinocchio: Unstrung” is being directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and produced by Scott Jeffrey, the duo behind “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” and their prolific horror banner Jagged Edge Productions. Currently filming with Vince Knight as director of photography, the feature follows young James as he learns of his grandfather Geppetto’s deadly secret: Pinocchio. Cameron Bell, Jessica Balmer, Jack Art Gray and Peter De Souza-Feighoney also star.
The feature is being distributed by ITN Studios and sales agent Premiere Entertainment and is being shopped at the AFM. A release date of summer 2025 has been eyed.
“Not only is the script dark, twisted and gory, it’s also at times very funny. Todd Masters and his team have created incredible practical effects. Audiences are in for a crazy ride,” Brake said in a statement.
“I’ve forever loved the original and demented story from the 1880s. So I was excited to join this production, to bring this little puppet to life — with all practical FX,” Masters added. “This version is still a little puppet’s pursuit to becoming a boy… but the way he becomes one, is extremely gnarly… and frankly, very fun.”
The various films in the Twisted Childhood Universe — which alongside “Pinocchio: Unstrung” also includes “Bambi: The Reckoning” and, of course, the two “Blood and Honey” features — are all building toward “Poohniverse Monsters Assemble,” an Avengers-style crossover bringing together various other beloved children’s characters gone (very) bad.
“Our movie flips everything you know about Pinocchio on its head,” Frake-Waterfield said. “We have an incredibly talented cast and crew working on this. We are heavily relying on practical effects for all of the deaths and creature work. I can’t wait for the world to meet Pinocchio.”
Speaking to Variety earlier in the year, Frake-Waterfield revealed that “Pinocchio: Unstrung” would be an “extremely unique and R-rated depiction” of the character, featuring a “high kill count, a subversion of the original story and lots of practical gore.”