324: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 (2024)

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Come on down. Come on, Pooh Bear. Oh. Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hacker Splash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. Come here, you flu rested bitch. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

A total joke? A waste of time.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Or a slash. Totally killer, pun intended. We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with a perspective we've gained from our varying walks of life and the flavors of fear we fancy most. My name is Chris, I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast, and this week I'm joined by the classic horror connoisseur Sean.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Deeper, deeper.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

And the paranormal paramour Binks.

SPEAKER_03 1:03

Let's follow up on a movie. But actually, before we get into the actual movie we're going to follow up, I want to talk about our upcoming collaborations. So we are super excited to be partnering with the local social group in South Florida, Miami Movie Goers, for an early screening of the upcoming new release Sting at the Miami Film Festival. It's really exciting. It's actually going to be on April 6th at 8 15 p.m. But we've got a social hour that's going to be happening just an hour before so that you can get to know us and the rest of the Miami Movie Goers. So details are in the show notes, and you can also get your ticket in the link. So get it before it's too late.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Looking at the trailer, it looks like it's going to be a comedic blast.

SPEAKER_03 1:41

Definitely going to be funny. And more importantly, we've got a new patron that I hope is from Miami, maybe, hopefully, so that they can go to this sting event with us. Davion, so happy to have you with us.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Welcome to the party, Davion.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Welcome, Davion.

SPEAKER_03 1:56

The movie that we're going to follow up, of course, is Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Naturally.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

I've been waiting for this moment. Sean, you weren't with us on that episode.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

I was not.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

What would you have rated it?

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Oh, there were for me a lot of problems with Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey. Reflecting on it, I can see where so many people feel like they had a good time just watching this dumb slasher film. But I feel like at the moment that I watched it, it just wasn't clicking. And maybe I went into it with the wrong state of mind, but just trying to piece together the characters and the storyline and how they were trying to tie all this together, it just didn't captivate me. There was too many things visually wrong with the film for me. I probably would have hacked it.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

It's okay because looks like based on our poll, 71% hacked it, but 29% slashed it, which is pretty shocking.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Nice.

SPEAKER_03 3:00

I had a camp old time. Binks, I totally know what you mean about poo being fuckable.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

There it is.

SPEAKER_03 3:09

There it is. Although, OJ, I just want to clarify, I don't think that he is fuckable. I just said that there are probably people out there that may be attracted to him. Like people are to Shrek. That was my exact commentary. So either way, I appreciate that you were trying to support what I was saying. I'm just really trying to rectify and like retcon my own statement from earlier this year. So some other comments. Hilarious concept was all it had going for it from Aladdin's 27. Yikes.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Hilarious concept.

SPEAKER_03 3:47

So that's like a compliment, or maybe like a backhanded compliment.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Yeah. Listen, I think it was better than that, Aladdin, but that's fine.

SPEAKER_03 3:54

Well, only psychosis said smash. I mean slash.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yeah, there it is. And I think we can all acknowledge that Binx was the Lorex that spoke for the Pooh lovers.

SPEAKER_03 4:06

I never would have thought that I'd come to a time where I'd be compared in this manner. But I'll take it, I guess. I have no other choice. It's fine.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Yeah, you really gave a voice to the people.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

You did.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Underrepresented communities, marginalized people. You spoke for them. They listened.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

And they listened, and they're here. The comments speak for themselves.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

So much so that we got an upgrade in the sequel.

SPEAKER_03 4:31

We're gonna get to that in a second. Okay, because I I knew that that was gonna come up. And and we're still talking about, you know, a good old follow-up. Look, I want to highlight Steve's comment here. The whole premise of leaving them behind and them going insane, epic. I have to agree. Speaking of retconning and and whatnot, this was a really cool concept from the original. I'll give them those flowers. Eye of Eric said the movie was entertaining but not good. Characters and plot were so disconnected. So interesting dichotomy there between those two comments, at least. But the most important one, I think, to get us started with this episode. Needs a good sequel because this one was bad. Lacked lineup, plot was okay, costume on piglet, meh. This is from Joel Worthington. And Joel, do we have a treat for you?

SPEAKER_00 5:17

We do. But Joel gets it.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

Joel gets it.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

And that's our follow-up. Well, we'll see if the sequel hits Joel because this week's film continues the story of Christopher Robin and his unhinged bear. Now, when last we visited the Hundred Acre Wood, Christopher Robin revisited his old stomping grounds to check in on his friends, only to discover a particular pig in bear had gone feral and developed a taste for blood. Now, a year after that very 100 acre wood massacre, Christopher attempts to piece together the remnants of his life as his former friends emerge from the shadow of their woods on a quest for vengeance. This week we're talking about the highly anticipated Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2. What were you both expecting going into this?

SPEAKER_03 6:00

I'll just say that the expectations for this film were on the ground, okay? I saw that they updated the look of Pooh, okay, but I thought aside from that, the film would be absolute garbage. And why wouldn't you believe that? I mean, considering it's a horror about Winnie the Pooh, of course, you're just gonna think that it's gonna be very, very low quality. I thought that we'd be seeing more unnecessary nip, ridiculous lines, and zero plot whatsoever, much like the first one.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Yeah, expectations on the floor, rock bottom is a pretty safe place to start coming out of the first film. But speaking to that, I think expectations going into this one, or even just questions, I feel like there's some serious questions that need to be answered in this one. So we're gonna see how the fuck is Pooh still alive? I wanna know. I want to figure out how that came to be, right? If they were able to kill Piglet, then Pooh should definitely be dead as well, right? These are all things coming out of the first film, but maybe Piglet is still alive, we just didn't see it. Maybe they bring Big Piglet back to life somehow. I'm also very curious how they will bring in new characters because, well, we all know Tigger will make its appearance from the trailer that we got. Will Pooh leave the hundred-acre wood? I don't know. Will Christopher Robin make his return? Did Christopher Robin actually escape the hundred acre wood, or did we just not see the whole picture in that cliffhanger that we got? Either way, this should be a ridiculous ride, and I'm just hoping that they can elevate this franchise with a bigger budget this time around.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

Man, you have so many good questions coming out of the first film. And let me tell you, my expectations going into that film were pretty low, and that movie had me in a vulnerable spot. I was going through a lot of hardship, a lot of grief, so I was ripe for a good laugh. Walking out of that with the joy that I had, knowing that that we were getting a sequel now and present day, I expected this, yes, to have a bigger budget. We have the redesign costumes and a recast of our main characters, but I wasn't expecting it to do much with that. I thought it'd be a continuation of what we had, and I thought, surely, I wouldn't look as favorably upon this one as I did on the original. I'm not in as vulnerable of a space as I was. But let me tell you, going into this movie, I sat down, I had my expectations, I went to go see it with someone else. I warned her, this is some dumb bullshit. You don't have to come with me to this. She was down anyway. And I think for me at least, I won't speak for her, but it started with a grin that spread into a smile and actually evolved into laugh out loud moments.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

I can see the laugh out loud moments for sure, because I can tell you that I had a lot more fun watching this one than I did the first one. I found myself having fun with it, I found myself laughing. I thought the kills, especially, and maybe some of the shots we get were just really they were good and they were fun, and it was a good time to watch. I think maybe less of the lore or the story, to be honest, as they dived deeper into all of that. I think that kind of drew me away a little bit. But I think what they were able to do with the visual aspect of this movie, the kills, just that whole ambiance, I feel like that was definitely a step in the right direction.

SPEAKER_03 9:22

Oh, absolutely. I gotta say, Chris, similar experience. I went with one of my closest friends. She had seen the first one because, of course, of the viral reel that we did. And she said, Why not? I'm gonna watch it. And she was like, Okay, we're definitely gonna do the sequel, right? And I said, Of course, we're gonna watch it together. So about five minutes into the film, we looked at each other and we were like, Oh, wait, I don't think they're messing around. As the movie continued to go, that kept growing, like that feeling of like, wow, this is an upgrade for sure. And by the end of it, my jaw was like to the ground shocked by how much of an upgrade this film was. Like you just mentioned, Sean, like it was the costumes, the acting, the gore, which I cannot wait for you to dive into because I know that's your fave, the kills, obviously, as well, like everything. Okay. I was so surprised that there wasn't even a small bit of distasteful nudity like the first one. But now, setting a little bit of expectations, there's still going to be cringe, like stupid one-liners, of course, but when it comes down to it, the film overall, it's incomparable to the first one. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

And I think that feeling of incomparability is the overwhelming surprise for me. It is absolutely wild, and I feel like this movie had no business doing what it did. No, right. Who do these people think they are? You can't just fire low with the first film and then just up the ante quite so much and still be successful. Like I was expecting almost Ginger Dead Man 2 levels of camp and poor execution, but here we are in a movie that dares to reframe the entire concept of its story, and that is bold.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

It is bold for sure. I was pleasantly surprised by how much better this film looks visually than the first one did. I mean, everything from revamping the costume design and the way that Pooh and the rest of these monsters, if you will, look, and just the shots that we get, the cinematography, the lighting, the set design, all that stuff was uh just a huge step up for me. Even though every time I see those ears, I can't not take it seriously anymore. You can be as menacing as you want. As soon as I see a little silhouette of Pooh's ears sticking up, I just have to laugh out loud. The visuals of Pooh look much better though, and Tigger looks great for sure. I would have to say my biggest disappointment, which I slightly mentioned earlier in this one, is how they played into the lore. I can respect them trying to re-imagine the plot, kind of build off of the plot, go deeper with the plot, but I just think the disappointing factor is specifically how they played into this lore, and I'm sure we're gonna dive deeper into that lore in the spoiler zone, so I'll save it for then.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

Okay, that's fair. Yeah, for me, I just feel like the whole movie is a surprise, but look, I think it's time to just get this out of the way. Because I know we started the year off with my insane comment about Winnie the Pooh, and Sean, you were talking about the visuals. So let's just give the people what they want early on and let's get into it. Because at the end of the day, the biggest surprise for me was this costume upgrade. And I want to say that I know I made a particular comment about what if Pooh looked a certain way. The fact that he now has a chiseled jawline is and is more humanoid is just purely coincidental. Okay, I called nobody up and I did not tell them to change the way that Pooh looked. It's just happenstance.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Interesting.

SPEAKER_03 13:02

But make no mistake, I want to highlight this. Although the ears kind of throw you off, I feel like him, owl, tigger, all of these characters are very scary looking. Like now I'm actually intimidated. Now I'm feeling very scared of these characters, and that factors into the fright factor here. Like, I don't think that this movie's scary, but I do think that you're going to find them more intimidating, way more menacing, and that really comes down to the kills and the gore of it all, too. That is increased exponentially.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

1000%. But I think the other thing that makes them more menacing are the performances from the rest of the people in the movie. Because in the first movie, we have a very small sample size of victims, and the acting was pretty rough in most spots. But in this one, there are so many people who can react to Pooh and Friends. There's a lot of ambiance, there's a lot of environmental tension in this movie because again, the set design looks so much better, and the reworked costumes do make them look more menacing. But for me, something that hit not in a way that really made it scary, but in a oh, I can understand how this is gonna really influence some people and whether or not they can like stomach some of this, even how creepy their voices are. We don't get much, and we had a little bit of voice action in the first film, but some of these characters that are introduced to us, they have some screen time, they have some talking time, and those voices were hidden.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yeah, almost narrative in some moments, it felt like, but this film is trying to get some reactions from people who may have adored these characters. The creators, the producers, the writers, directors, whatever have kind of hinted at this like wanting to ruin your childhood kind of theme, and some of the vision behind this just having fun with twisting these childhood favorite characters around and just making them horrific. And don't get me wrong, Winnie the Pooh was the shit back in the day. I loved Winnie the Pooh when I was a kid, and that's that's cool. These characters, as menacing as they were, they didn't necessarily ruin that memory for me. Even as realistic and dark as these characters have developed into for this film. I don't even know if realistic is the right term, but I guess more realistic than the way Pooh looked in the first film. I still couldn't feel fully immersed in it. Something about these characters really made me chuckle from time to time, as dark and twisted and as grotesque and menacing as they were in some moments. There were just also some moments, some mannerisms, some movements, some lines that just made me laugh.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Yeah, nothing wrong with a good laugh. I mean, there are moments that we see a particular flashback memory. There was a moment where I had laughed so hard, and I was like, what the fuck is going on? And it reminded me in some ways of when Binks and I saw the mean one and we were just talking shit the whole time. Except we were smiling with this movie, we were laughing with this movie, and not against it, like how dare you think this was a good idea. This movie was hidden in so many different moments, and I think overall, what really separates it and separates it, I think, as a really solid, campy horror movie is how it approached elevating its story. So, Sean, you mentioned earlier your feelings about the lore, and yeah, we'll get into that in the spoiler zone. But the direction they take this story, the way they frame this story, for me, it completely allows you to suspend your disbelief. Where the first movie had you struggle with that.

SPEAKER_02 16:45

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Where even the Winnie the Pooh cartoon, it's a cartoon, it's a story, that also makes you struggle with the idea of what are you seeing, what's real, what's imaginary. And I feel like this movie's approach, and honestly, the audacity they had to change things up this early in the franchise, it's pretty fucking original.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Yeah, for sure. I will give the film credit for that. Like being able to create this deranged and twisted version of Winnie the Pooh and trying to figure itself out and create its own lore and just keep building and building off of that. And the way they went, I I get it. It's original for sure. I'll give them credit for that. But at the same time, it also felt like it was paying its respects for multiple other slasher classics. You know what I mean? We saw a lot of little tidbits of things that we've seen across countless slashers, and I'm not just saying like inspiration, I'm saying like straight up fucking nods. You know what I mean? So I think it takes a lot of that inspiration. I think it turns it into nods, I think it's it's very self-aware of what it's doing. But yes, originality, it definitely gets credit for being able to build off of this story and really make its own lore behind it. So yeah, for sure. I see what you're saying.

SPEAKER_03 18:02

And I think once you discover what it is that they've done to essentially retcon this, it's no surprise to you when you kind of look into the director and find that there's a particular film that he loves and and took inspiration from because once you find out this is gonna be the movie that you're gonna think of instantly. We don't want to reveal it because that's a big part of the fun, but for sure I agree. It's not even like, oh, inspiration. No, this is like a blatant in-your-face nod that I can buy into though. I I think that it went pretty well. It's almost so bizarre to think that you would find that kind of blatant nod in a Winnie the Pooh film.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

There are so many blatant nods in a Winnie the Pooh film, and that's what is wild to me. From the very beginning all the way to its ending, there are so many Easter eggs jam-packed in this movie, and it feels like this is actually the love letter to horror. The first film, I get it, it's a fun idea. We raise our hands because public domain, copyright law, all this stuff goes down. But this is the first one that really feels like, oh, this is a unique thing that we're trying to do and really expand and pour a lot of love and a lot of talent into this runtime. And let me tell you, the ending of this movie was for me as satisfying as the rest of the ride through it. We do get to a moment in the movie's climax where I giggled because of some dialogue that's said, and then we get a very interesting kill, and I already saw Sean's notes on it, so I can't wait to get into the spoiler zone for it. But for me, this ending was like the perfect bow to wrap up this movie.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

Oh man, I I have a mixed feelings with the ending, or maybe it's just the third act or what have you. I'm not mad at some of the things and the events that take place in the ending of this film. I feel like the way this story starts to unravel during the progression of the third act as a whole is something that I'm not sure I'm a hundred percent on board with. At least the direction that they went in for it, I feel like. It's a bit of a tragic stretch for me, I think. And I don't know if it needed to be there. Maybe less is more here, maybe we needed it to separate itself and to really evolve from the first film. But I will say that mid-credit scene or whatever the hell we get right after the credits start to hit, it was giving some very Disney villain vibes. And I liked that. That was kind of fun.

SPEAKER_03 20:31

I love me a Disney villain moment. So I was such a big fan of that mid-credit scene, for sure. I loved it more than the ending. Not to say that I didn't like the ending, but I think the ending was okay. There were some moments that I was hyped for.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

Others that felt a little cheesy. One moment in particular, I was like, well, why did we even do that to begin with? It kind of felt like it was just thrown together without much of an explanation. There was a bow on it, sure. I don't know if the bow was tightly knotted per se until that mid-credit scene where it picked me right back up and also answered some questions that we have from the beginning of the film. It was like a full circle moment.

SPEAKER_01 21:11

You know, in my mind, looking back now, I completely was thinking of the mid-credit scene when I shared my feelings on the ending. To me, it's like the initial sketches, that mid-credit scene, all one big happy family. I didn't even separate it from the film. It's all good.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

I see what I see it now.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

Everything's coming up, poo bear.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

If we're looking at that, great.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

It sounds like we have some differing opinions on some aspects of these movies. I can't wait to see what our scores reveal. So we'll start making our way there. But for now, Sean, how would you describe the gore score?

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Wow, there is so much to talk about here, and I'm sure a lot of this stuff is going to come up when we dive into our favorite kills, but between the multiple impalements and the decapitations to the acid vomit, there has to be something for everybody here, and everybody. Loves a horror film that really puts in the work with the practical effects, and this one definitely delivered there. They did use some CGI with like the flames and stuff, but there is just a lot of gruesome practical effects, cringy moments, cool shots, and I think it's going to earn itself a high gore score, even though there were a lot of moments where it either just didn't show you or didn't show full on, you know, that would have cemented itself in a solid high gore score. This to me is just scraping by into high territory, but it definitely is high.

SPEAKER_03 22:37

Leave it to a Virgo. You know, you gotta really get to the boxes, you really gotta check off the boxes. And will you ever achieve it? I don't know, because this is astonishing to me.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

It's high. I'm just scraping by scraping by. What? Hey, in the words of Vin Diesel, whether you win by an inch or a mile, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 22:56

Well, let's see how thoroughly our other Virgo does. Binx, how would you describe the animal report?

SPEAKER_03 23:02

Look, short, sweet, and simple, this animal report's really fucking bad. Like I couldn't even tell you what kind of animals took a hit because, well, I think you can catch my drift here. Okay? It's really, really I'm looking dead at the camera. Really bad.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Wow, that is very unfortunate. And with that, we'll actually go into our ratings. Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey 2. Was it a hack or a slash? And I would like to start us off, if that's alright. My perspective of the first film is admittedly skewed, right? I know I found this during a time of grief in my life. Going into this, I expected it to be a campy bit, but I didn't expect it to actually really make smart moves to push the absurdity to new bounds while also elevating its overall quality. I never saw that coming. But in reality, this movie is a bop, it's a romp, it's gory in a way that almost reminds me of terrifier, and not in terms of quantity, but in terms of quality, flashes of the quality. This isn't like you're gonna walk out of the theater throwing up in a popcorn bucket. I wasn't nervous or apprehensive going in and experiencing the gore of this film. Now, where the first film won in its concept, this one I think wins in execution. And this is undoubtedly a circumstance where the sequel is better than the first. It's a slash, and I can't believe I'm excited for the rest of the Pooniverse.

SPEAKER_03 24:29

I am right there with you. I can't believe it myself. I just want to make what I feel is like a State of the Union address at this point because I recognize that the first film made me a little infamous. I didn't realize that my comment would get so popular, but here we are.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

Pooh bear, fuckable poo-bear.

SPEAKER_03 24:51

There it is. I know that a lot of people were looking forward to this movie to come out and for this episode in particular, just to hear my comments. And I'm talking people that don't even watch horror. Okay, so let's say this. I did not like the first one, and I was not just into nor poo nor the film. But when I tell you that when my friend and I walked into this theater to see this movie, we had no idea that we would be walking out with our jaws to the ground, shocked by how much fun we had watching it. And it's the whiplash of the upgrade that we got that really does it to you. You know, we're talking, I would say maybe an 85% increase in quality at the very least. An 85% increase is still a lot when you consider how bad the first one was. Yeah. It's giving Pooh Bear went through puberty and had a glow up. A massive glow up. We're talking like you know, in films when that person just walks into the halls and like the wind is blowing their hair back, and they're like, Whoa, but there's no fans anywhere in the hallway. That's this movie.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

They take off their glasses, they let down their hair, all of a sudden they're hot.

SPEAKER_03 26:05

I'm just saying, you've got it, spot on. That's Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey 2. 120%. And you have to give this film credit for recognizing its pitfalls in the first film and daring to wreck on itself. They did it so well. We've all mentioned it here. It's pretty daring to do something like that. There's a plot where there previously was none, and that alone gave this film major bonus points for me. So I'm not one to be head over heels for the camp. We know this about me, but I have to be honest. If this is the benchmark, then sign me the fuck up. Because this film was shockingly a slash.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

She said, take me, Pooh Bear, I'm ready.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

Sign her up.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

I did not say that.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

Pooh Bear swept you away.

SPEAKER_01 26:48

Pooh girl thinks is a Pooh girl.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

I have no comment. Listen, we we said it before. I wasn't on the episode for Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey, the first film, right? But I think based on what I said earlier, you both know where I stand on that one. It wasn't my favorite watch. There were just a lot of problems with the first film. This one, however, seems to have attempted to turn this franchise around. Everything in this film seems to have greatly benefited by the significant budget increase after how poorly the first film did, how they even were able to achieve that much more of a budget. So maybe the stars aligned, I don't know. But the visuals, the striking cinematography and lighting to the set design, the costume design, it was all a definite step up. The way Pooh looks is much more disturbing than its predecessor, in my opinion. Something about those ears, though, I'll say it again, something about those ears just kept taking me out of it. But hell, even the kill count significantly increased, giving us more of what we want in a slasher film like this. And even though I think the story and the lore was a little bit off-putting, I think this one was just good enough to get a slash from me. I'm still trying to figure out whether or not this one feels good because of how much better it is than the first film, but we'll let it go. It's gonna get a slash. I'm surprised as well, but it's a slash.

SPEAKER_01 28:22

Not the pity slash.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

It's a pity slash because I'm still trying to figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

Not the do I love you by comparison or do I just love you.

SPEAKER_00 28:30

It's fair. It's a fair statement.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Alright, well, nevertheless, Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey 2 has earned a universal slash and it bodes well for the rest of the Pooh Universe. Now you can find this movie on a limited theatrical run right now. Otherwise, check the link in our show notes to see if it's streaming by the time you listen to this episode. Go ahead and check it out, then join us in the second half so we can break down these spoilers together. We'll see you in a bit.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

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SPEAKER_01 30:17

Welcome back, folks. You are now entering the spoiler zone for Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2, which has earned a universal slash. Now we have a lot to discuss, there's a lot to dive into, but before we get there, Sean, let's go through those kills.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

Well, we talked about the gore, and where there's gore, there's bound to be death. And boy, does this film not disappoint. Because we have 86 fucking kills in this film, and that's not even including the what six or seven deaths or so that they edited out of this film. So we'll have to see what those look like in the director's cut or extended cut or what have you when that releases. Either way, there are plenty of kills to talk about. So between Pooh, Tigger, and Owl, what were your favorite kills?

SPEAKER_03 31:05

It's a tough one to say. I want to first just acknowledge, not necessarily favorite kill, but you said you named them, but I first want to acknowledge how stunned I was that Piglet was even in this film because I was thrown off.

SPEAKER_00 31:20

Question answered.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

They really oinked that boy up, too.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:24

But I prefer his look in the first one more than the second. I think we talked about that after the film, right? Pooh got hotter at the expense of Piglet getting uglier. And that's not fair. You want to lift your best friend up.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

Maybe you don't get to come back looking as good as you did before.

SPEAKER_03 31:40

What happened with Pooh? When you regenerate like that.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

I know. He got crushed between the cars, and like, how the fuck is that guy still walking? I don't know, but they didn't fuck up his face. It's a stretch.

SPEAKER_03 31:51

Well, maybe you know, he did a little physical therapy afterwards and really recovered. He slimmed down, bulked up, just smidge, you know. He did a lean and toned up at the gym.

SPEAKER_01 32:01

But also, all the things that we saw are a movie within the universe of this movie. So Pooh never really died. Piglet never really died.

SPEAKER_03 32:09

I guess that's true. The problem here is that we don't necessarily know what actually happened in that movie, and right, what was just dramatized. So that being said, with Piglet being shotgunned in the face, that was a sight. That was definitely a sight.

SPEAKER_01 32:29

So much so. Okay. There are a lot of group kills that I think were phenomenal in this one. And it's really tough. I think even when I was thinking about like what are my favorite scenes in the movie, it's really tough to not gravitate to any of these kill scenes, right? We have honestly something that I think rivals the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Party bus, which is the rave.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

Oh my gosh, the rave.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

There are at least like 50 fucking kills in there that you could just pick out any one of those to be your favorite. This is just an honorable mention. I think maybe I'll find my heart as we discuss more of the kills on like what's a true favorite. But there is a raver who climbs into what looks like an incinerator trying to just find cover and trying to pull a fast one and conceal himself, only for the dials to get turned and him to be cooked alive. That was a rookie move. That was a rookie move to hide in that incinerator.

SPEAKER_03 33:22

The moment he opened that door, I was like, oh, he's gonna get cooked for sure. That entire rave scene though was giving murder on the dance floor, saltburn moment. Okay, if you know, you know. As it was happening, my friend and I were like dancing in our seats a little bit, literally singing the song as it was occurring, which is extremely fucked up. And a part of me was also like, Did this really have to happen? Probably not, but it was done for the flavor to have like a mass kill count all at once, and I'm not mad at it. I'm just saying, did it have to occur? Probably not, but we'll take it.

SPEAKER_00 33:57

You're talking about the rave scene in general?

SPEAKER_03 33:59

Yeah, here's why though. Is it that Pooh already figured and knew that Christopher was gonna be there?

SPEAKER_00 34:06

Maybe. Maybe we're looking too far into it because this whole world is just a little bit wild as it is, but that rave scene was one of the fun moments. I mean, you've got so many kills, you've got Tigger throwing out these one-liners that are absolutely hilarious and campy, and there's just so many iconic kills in that whole scene of just ravers getting chopped up, killed, decapitated, stabbed, what have you.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

Dude, the moment that Tigger says, dance bitch, oh my gosh, why was he the Freddy Krueger of this movie?

SPEAKER_00 34:40

Oh, he totally was the Freddy Krueger of this movie, for sure. It was great.

SPEAKER_01 34:45

Pooh might be the Michael or the Jason.

SPEAKER_00 34:47

Yeah. Pooh was giving definite, yeah, both Michael Myers vibes throughout the film. Then, you know, you were getting some Jason Voorhees for sure.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

And Owl, is Owl the Norman Bates in the movie? The one who talks? No.

SPEAKER_03 35:00

No, because Owl is like the major puppeteer. The Hannibal Lecter. He's Hannibal Lecter. That's a good one. Because he's like planting the seeds. He's the one that's really The Wise Owl. The wise owl is managing everything, so for sure. Or the Pamela Voorhees. What's the zodiac sign? Oh, I'm not gonna slander anybody in that way, but I have one in mind. It's Virgo. I have another kill that I want to highlight for sure. I have several because we have so many.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Yeah, there's plenty.

SPEAKER_03 35:31

But I'd actually say that my favorite one is the cop that goes into the house and gets essentially bitch slopped by her own hand.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 35:41

The audacity. Hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 35:44

You're getting your arm ripped off and getting beaten to death by your own severed limb. Like that's just fucked.

SPEAKER_01 35:50

It's giving the childhood game stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself.

SPEAKER_00 35:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 35:55

It really threw me back. Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 35:57

That was great. Even the raver that got decapitated by the bear trap, flung into the air, and then straight up batted into oblivion, fucking home run out of the park.

SPEAKER_03 36:10

I want to say it for Chris, and correct me if I'm wrong, but if if Pooh wants to try out for the Marlins, okay?

SPEAKER_01 36:15

Bro, we got a spot. Come on, Pooh Bear. Come on.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

Come on down.

SPEAKER_01 36:20

Come on, come on, Pooh Bear. Oh, well, yeah, no, that moment when he fucking hits a line drive from that head, fantastic. I was literally like, what the fuck is happening here? It was excellent. And then I thought, imagine Art the Clown in this scene. Right? Can Art have cross over into the Pooniverse? Is he the Deadpool?

SPEAKER_00 36:43

That would be interesting. Listen, anything's possible in the Pooniverse.

SPEAKER_03 36:47

Anything's possible in the Pooniverse.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

I want to give another shout-out. When Pooh takes a pipe and impales the raver through the mouth, because then it immediately reminded me of not only House of Wax with Paris Hilton, but Freddie versus Jason, the first wave of partygoers and like little cornfield ravers that Jason encounters before mowing down the rest of the team.

SPEAKER_00 37:10

Oh yeah, absolutely. The second kill that we get, right? That blonde girl, I don't know if we ever got her name in the film, but just getting her ankle caught in the bear trap, cringy as fuck. Can't even imagine the immense pain that you might be in going through something like that, and then just dragged into the woods, the foot then just completely snapped off, arms broken, one by one. It was a hard scene to watch, and the head just being crushed into the bear trap. I felt every bit of emotion and pain that that girl went through because that was the to me, that was the hardest kill to watch. And it set the tone for this film, let me tell you.

SPEAKER_01 37:53

When I was watching it, I was mentally comparing it to the bedroom scene from Terrifier 2, although to a much lesser degree.

SPEAKER_00 38:02

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 38:02

It was at so pain-staking. We're really dwelling on this pain for longer than we probably should. But also shout out to her friend who was burning alive in an RV in the campiest fucking burn scene I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

There was no hope.

SPEAKER_03 38:18

And that was also the moment where I realized, like, okay, the effects are gonna be insane here. So props to her. One kill that I also need us to highlight is Thin, that owl, is hiding in the leaves. Just the most beautiful scene in like cinematography. But the moment that he kills him by spitting out that acid on his face, I was like, the fly.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

Yeah, the acidic vomit.

SPEAKER_03 38:44

The acidic vomit.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

Remember that?

SPEAKER_03 38:47

Good times.

SPEAKER_01 38:48

Yeah. Shout out to last spooky season. Another one that got me was actually one that reminded me of a couple different Halloween kills. And that was Christopher Robin's mom when her face got pushed into the dishwasher because for some reason these chuckle fucks decide to put their knives in an absolutely dumb way. Who puts Blade up? No way. Again, these people in the movie do because you need this kill, apparently. One thing it reminded me of was the corkscrew kill.

SPEAKER_00 39:17

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 39:18

So it reminded me of that because of the kitchen of it all. But then it also reminded me of Halloween Kills when Michael has broken into that couple's house. Sandra is already like throat slit, dying in the corner, while Michael is just taking knife after knife after knife and just stabbing it into her husband as if he's a chopping block. That's what her face with the knives was giving. And a little bit of hellraiser.

SPEAKER_00 39:42

Okay, so you went Halloween, and I immediately just thought of the Chucky series. Just the fucking blades sticking out of the dishwasher and just going right on top of it.

SPEAKER_02 39:52

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 39:52

Adios. And was that not the mom in that? Absolutely was. Man.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

Why do these people hate moms? Treat our moms better. I also want to break down though our little oh bother moment when Pooh Bear bites the dust.

SPEAKER_00 40:06

Oh yeah. Listen, worst kill. Worst kill in the movie for me. It just like everything about it, like, okay, you get axe in the head, that's cool. The fight scene was lackluster to me at best. And then you're gonna tell me that this motherfucker grabs an axe and comes swinging at this near invincible fucking poo bear, and he just turns around and just like, oh bother, and just lets it fucking happen and gets fucking just his freaking whole head cracked open with this axe.

SPEAKER_03 40:38

I have to agree with you, Sean. It kind of threw me off. I almost was like, wait, is he hypnotized? Did this actually happen? Where's the therapist mixed in on all this? And the and the reason I was so like not believing this moment is because Christopher Robin does not have the kind of strength that it would take to split a Pooh's head in half. If you're telling me that Pooh's head could just split easily like that just from one swing, then I don't understand how the hunters couldn't take him down, how anyone couldn't couldn't take him down by just one simple fucking hack to the head.

SPEAKER_02 41:18

It was too easy.

SPEAKER_03 41:18

There's no way that Christopher Robin has that much strength. Now, if we want to argue that realizing that his humanity of some sort was a weakness to him just seems like a cop out to me.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

Let me take you back to the fairy tale solution of true love's kiss. True love's kiss solves almost everything in these fucking fairy tales. And I want to say that the horror parallel of this is a relative killing another relative. Because let us hearken back yet again to Halloween, H2O, Lori and the fucking axe decapitating Michael Myers. Listen, the strength isn't always there, but Pooh ain't got a lot going on up here. We know this. All he has is anger. So you know what? Was it a little lackluster? Sure. Did I give a fuck? No. Because the oh bother? Absolutely fucking hilarious to me. And it was the one little bit to hearken back to the Winnie the Pooh of it all that I think I personally needed. Because listen, we didn't get him feasting on honey in this movie like he did in the previous movie. We didn't get a whole faceful, mouthful of honey. I almost feel like the whimsicality of oh bother. It's silly, it's dumb, but it's okay for it to be silly and dumb because it's fun.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

Yeah. I like the humor. I like the tie back to Winnie the Pooh of it all. It was just that it felt too easy. Like one swooping kill. There just didn't seem like there was enough of a battle at the end. Like other people were dying for sure, but I just wanted a little tiny bit more. Give me like 30 seconds, 45 seconds, some struggle, and then maybe lead up to that. But that's it. That's all.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

It's fair. I can see wanting more and maybe even expecting more. Because perhaps the upgrades that we get in both the costume design, the creature design, and the gore almost demand more brutality and more intensity. I think we get that brutality from a lot of the creatures, but when Piglet gets his face shot off, that was just very simple, very straightforward, gush of blood. And then I think we see his corpse kind of spewing blood out later.

SPEAKER_02 43:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:24

But I really want to take a moment to pause and just soak this in. Not the fake blood, but just how fucking great these creatures looked. Because Sean Harrison, and Sean Harrison worked on World War Z, the Harry Potter films, the Game of Thrones, did the creature design for this movie. And listen, Binx, we talked about what if Pooh had a more chiseled jawline. Mac's not here tonight, so I need to pull out his weekly they went hard in the paint on these creatures. Piglet, I don't know what the fuck was going on, but Pooh looked jacked. Tigger looked jacked. Absolute phenomenal.

SPEAKER_00 43:58

Yeah, I think the character. The characters definitely looked great. I will say, as creepy and evil as the owl looked, there were there were just some there were some moments, you know, where the owl is like fluttering its wings and I could not I'm sorry, I could not buy into it. It felt really comical. Only when it flew, only when the owl flew. It was just too much. Like we don't get to see a lot of the owl flying. We maybe hear it, we hear like a swoop from above, something like that. But there's like I think one or two moments where we get this tiny little glimmer of the owl like maybe landing from flying and the wings are like fluttering or whatnot, and it just fucking was super funny. I don't know why. It was just like the body shaking of it all that just I was like, there's no way those wings went into the air. Impossible.

SPEAKER_03 44:49

Yeah, definitely a little too campy on that front. But considering the grand scope of things, I'm gonna give them a couple moments here and there, and if it's the owl, fine. But speaking of the owl, it's overall for me the cinematography was way better than I expected. Like some of the composition of the shots where you're introduced to a lot of these characters was stellar.

SPEAKER_02 45:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:13

I mentioned the owl in the leaves when it was super dark, it's just a silhouette. I think super intimidating. Taker's intro, intimidating, loved it. One in particular, and maybe my favorite of all, is Pooh's smirk when he enters his old childhood room, and you kind of see the bunk bed that him and Christopher shared, but there's his smirk, and then the reflection of his smirk on the picture of Christopher Robin, real stellar.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

I loved that moment, and I loved it so much because at a very early point in the movie, and this was actually when they had the sketches that were almost like previously on Winnie the Pooh, and they're retelling the story of everything that happened. They draw such a parallel between Pooh and Christopher, the boy and his bear. And I wrote, not Pooh and Christopher having a parallel, they're the new Michael and Lori. And little did I fucking know they'd be the new Michael and Lori because it's not just a picture of Christopher Robin, it's a picture of Billy. And that is a moment where his identity is confirmed. It's already heavily implied, and the moment we get to this janitor saying he didn't tell me why he needed them, and we would discover that the kids were being abducted for this experimentation, then I was like, what if the kids are the animals?

SPEAKER_00 46:35

Yep, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

And Pooh is the brother.

SPEAKER_00 46:38

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 46:38

And then I thought, no, that's just fucking wild. There's no way this movie's gonna actually have the audacity to do that shit. And then they did. They did, and then they used this great cinematography to fucking set it up and to confirm it, to confirm it without beating you over the head with it.

SPEAKER_00 46:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:54

Because I think they could have been way more heavy-handed with that.

SPEAKER_00 46:57

Yeah, they definitely did. And I'm with you. The cinematography is great. I'll accept that. And I called it too. I was like, what if Pooh is gonna be this kid's brother? It's this whole thing. That was like the one thing in the lore that I was like, does that specific thing have to be in there? Can we just let this be like this demented thing? I love the fact we start to realize that these things were never lovable creatures. These things were never like these happy-go-lucky Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore wandering around the hundred-acre wood and Christopher Robbins in there having tea time and having a great time playing imaginary, whatever the fuck. But in reality, he just was shutting out the fact that these things were fucking grotesque, evil fucking creatures from the get-go. Like that's kind of what it hinted at. I'm cool with that, but I just didn't really buy into this whole tragic story. I just I didn't like it that much. Like, I don't want this to be this tragic thing of this kid getting kidnapped and then being experimented on for these mutations and turning these kids into these things that turned into these monsters. I get you have to kind of tr try to find some kind of origin story, but was that the right way to go? Could they have done something different? Did they need to share that aspect? That was the one part of the lore that just started taking a wrong turn for me.

SPEAKER_01 48:20

Not unlike the wrong turn films.

SPEAKER_03 48:22

That's a pretty hot take, I'm not gonna lie. Only because can it be said then, what are the stakes really, though, if they were just, you know, friends or whatever? A. And then B, I think it grounds it a little bit more in reality than this fictional world where okay, these animals just talk. And and that's where I think the Pooniverse in general is going. They're bringing these stories and they're bringing it into our real world. Nothing fantasy of the like. And because Pooh is Christopher's brother, it really closes the loop on Christopher's character and his arc because he goes from someone who's traumatized, trying to find some sliver of hope, still deep, deep down trying to understand what happened to his brother. So much so that he's encountered with his brother the whole time and just deletes the truth. He's like in major denial about it as well. And it's like discovering that Pooh is actually his brother the whole time shoves Christopher into like I don't know, like having to face all of his trauma all at once. And now it's like, okay, so now that you've done that, what are you gonna do about it? Are you gonna let this keep going? I feel like the stakes are the fact that he is his brother. If he wasn't, then I don't know if I would be as invested with Christopher as a character.

SPEAKER_01 49:45

You know, I said it once in the original Blood and Honey episode, and I say it again. You're my brother, Pooh. I loved you. That is exactly what this shit is. You almost need that tie. And here's what it is Binx, you mentioned the stakes being there and that emotional connection and almost grounding it in reality. Sean, to your point, I understand not really liking the vibe of it. And I think as you're explaining that, I'm considering Michael Myers. Do I need Michael Myers to be Lori's brother? No, not really. I'm just used to it because that movie came out before I was born. So me watching Halloween, it's Halloween one, Halloween two, bam, they're brother and sister. But then when we get more of an explanation and a look into the psychology and Rob Zombies remake, I'm not a fucking fan of that, right?

SPEAKER_00 50:34

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 50:34

But I think it's because that is a person, and humans are monsters and humans are menacing. But this movie, no matter how you slice it, even binks to your point of them bringing the fantasy into the reality. These are still fucked up looking creatures. And it's not like they're animals that are CGI like fucking Paddington bear. They're monsters in masks. And there has to be some kind of explanation for that, which I think was a shortcoming of the first film. Are they just people in masks hanging out with a kid? It's a little bit weird. So I love that they gave this full explanation. I don't need the over-explanation for humans. I want more mystery there because we're supposed to not expect that shit from a normal-looking person. But for a monstrosity like Pooh Bear, like Piglet, especially Piglet in this movie, I want to know what's up. I think it was a really elegant way to answer those questions and put it all to bed. Because listen, all they did was check the box of okay, I don't need to worry about this anymore.

SPEAKER_02 51:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:35

That's the first section. The second section, abducting children, it's giving the black phone, it's giving five nights of Freddy's.

SPEAKER_00 51:43

It's just a lot, it's heavy. And here's the thing forever now, in every variation of every installment of every film in the Pooniverse, where Pooh shows his face. I'm never gonna look at Pooh the same way again. That's fair. Not the not not the cartoon character, but this character. You know what I mean? Like for it's forever now a mutated child, which is like I don't know how I feel about that. That's the whole thing. Could they have handled it uh differently? Like trauma I get, could they have handled it differently? Could they have gone off the rails and did this whole thing, like what's that movie, shrooms or whatever, where this person is like getting chased in the woods, getting killed, presumably by this like unknown entity or unloan killer, and the whole time it was this person tripping out on shrooms that was in the group the whole time. You know what I mean? Could they have done something crazy like that? Was this all in Christopher's mind? Is he really doing this somehow? I'm not saying I have the answers, I'm just throwing an idea out there. But the kidnapping and the mutation of children, was that the way to go? I don't know. That's just me. Maybe it's my own thing.

SPEAKER_03 52:50

I see what you're saying, Sean. I do, because like I said earlier, I actually thought at one point it was like, whoa, is it are we doing like a get out moment here where Christopher's like in some type of trance still and pictured a good amount of this, which I'm glad it wasn't, because then that would be a major cop-out that I think would have killed the whole film for me. The alternative to that too is just like, yeah, because at this point you have, or do you have some kind of empathy towards Pooh and all of these people because you now recognize that they became these things not by choice, like they were forced to be these things, and so you're like, oh, but I feel for them a bit.

SPEAKER_00 53:27

I don't want empathy.

SPEAKER_03 53:29

Of course you don't want to have empathy, especially when they're doing all kinds of heinous things.

SPEAKER_00 53:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:33

So I get you on that front. I I definitely do. Can we just say though, when that whole plot twist was revealed, I guess, or whatever. Although my favorite scene for sure, didn't understand most of what was said, and I and I recognize that that's because I'm not from the UK, like I don't frequent with a lot of people that had those accents to begin with. So it's really that, and I get that, but it was like, man, this is one of those moments where I thought I I wish there were captions a little bit, because I'm having a hard time understanding every single thing that he was saying. He also was acting helle calm and like super cool as a cucumber, revealing this whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 54:07

Like, sir, do you know what you're admitting to right now? And also, I was like, Christopher, did we not see him grab the gun? Did we not see it? I mean, I know the audience is focused on his face. Sir, you have a view of the whole room. What are you doing, bud?

SPEAKER_03 54:21

Now, I do want to say I really love that they dared to do a healing the inner child moment at the grave when he was just facing his younger self. I was like, wow, really getting emotional here. Healing your inner child like that. That's a cutie moment. But again, empathy, like you're saying, things that we probably shouldn't be having in a silly film like this one.

SPEAKER_01 54:43

Yeah, if Pooh had therapy, this would be fine. This movie is just a cry for give your kids therapy. When they go through trauma, don't ignore it. Send them to a therapist. Don't fucking lead them to exile in the woods. For sure.

SPEAKER_03 54:57

And now that you said therapy, let's talk about the therapist. She was a little sensual at one point there. I was a little like, hmm, this hypnosis is getting a little too I don't know, the enunciation was getting a little too much. I also thought that my friend also thought that.

SPEAKER_01 55:11

It went from hypnotic to erotic very fast.

SPEAKER_03 55:14

It really made me think that maybe she was in on something, or maybe she had a bigger role to play, and she really didn't. She really was just a therapist that was trying to unlock this one particular memory. It was something about the setting of her room as well. Like it was just giving very ominous vibes, potentially a red herring moment that I fell for. But I just wanted to highlight that. Did anyone else get those vibes or from her? I it was a little bizarre.

SPEAKER_00 55:39

I don't know that I got a red herring vibe, but it I definitely got the weird, like sensual vibe of the hypnosis and just like the way she was just saying, You're gonna like you're gonna feel weight lifted off of you, and you're gonna dive deeper and deeper and all this stuff, and like come to me, you know what I mean? Like, focus only on me. I don't know, but I guess that maybe that's what you gotta do. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 56:01

It was a lot, it was weird.

SPEAKER_00 56:02

But it was a good it was a good sequence of scenes, right? The memories and diving deeper into that, that was a very cool way to give you some substance, some flashback, some story building, if you will.

SPEAKER_03 56:14

For sure. Which I have to say, Christopher, the character I mentioned, obviously going full circle, but I want to talk about Scott Chambers in particular, the actor that plays Christopher. What an upgrade in terms of acting, which is crazy because he was the producer of the first film, and now he's our lead at this point. Good thing though, I feel like his acting was top-notch when you think about the film that we're talking about, okay? And and again, this is just another one of those things that know the long list of major upgrades. He had depth. Oh, yeah, he was giving range, and I loved how Christopher was portrayed as someone who like has gone through a lot of trauma but was still smiling, had a little bit of hope, was being silly with his little sister. It was kind of nice to see that despite something so terrible, he really was trying to be better and to move on. And it was then so heartbreaking when he couldn't every time that he tried, he was met with no one wants you around, we don't believe you, we don't believe you like that. We'll break someone. So I think that Scott Chambers portrayed that so, so well.

SPEAKER_00 57:23

Oh, a much better Christopher Robin than the first one, for sure. Hands down.

SPEAKER_01 57:28

It was such a great performance, but I feel like he was the definitive Christopher Robin. Like this other guy, this clown in the first movie, couldn't stand it. No, absolutely not. He was pitiful, he made no efforts, he didn't do shit, but this Christopher, he was getting the job done.

SPEAKER_00 57:43

For sure. So there's like this moment where Christopher is, you know, he's had it, he's going after Pooh, right? And he's like yelling, Pooh, Pooh, you know, and I don't know, I've just been like diving back into The Walking Dead because Ari has never watched the series, so I'm like, oh, let's just re-watch this series. So we're already in season six, nevertheless. So we just like blowing through it, but I just could not, I just the Rick Grimes of it all of just Garl, Gorl, you know, like the the whole series is just Rick yelling, Garl, and he's just like poo.

SPEAKER_03 58:18

Now that you've made that connection, a hundred percent can see that if Mac were here, also it was pretty funny. The constant screaming at that point, I also was like, why not just scream Billy?

SPEAKER_01 58:29

You know that it's him. Yeah, you mentioned screaming, and I'm thinking about the absolute monstrosity in a great way that was the opening of this fucking movie. We talked a lot about we're you know, we're kind of going back and forth on a lot of the characters here, but I mentioned earlier that I think the success of believing how menacing these characters are comes from how afraid everyone else is in the movie. Look at these three random women in an RV camping in the middle of the woods, they have a Ouija board, they're summoning the spirits of the hundred-acre wood, and they get absolutely wrecked.

SPEAKER_00 59:08

Annihilated.

SPEAKER_01 59:09

What a way to open it up. It was like for me, the Friday the 13th, 2009 opening kill where it's a Friday the 13th movie within a Friday the 13th movie. That's what this felt like. Yeah. And Binks, yeah. How about your boy having all that muscle to flip over that RV?

SPEAKER_02 59:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:26

I I play the fifth, but I'm just saying strong. The strength is there. The strength is there. That's all I'll comment. Here's what I'll say about that intro, though. I think it's very cool that in a way they pulled an Evil Dead 2. And I remember I mentioned this to Chris when we left the theater because what that opening scene was was tricking us in a way to think, oh, are we doing this again? You know, we've got the the girls out in the middle of the woods and the whole nine, right? Like we're just doing this one more time. We're not, though. It's just setting the scene a little bit, recapping, like, yeah, that's the first one, but we're gonna plot twist, and now we've gotten to the retcon. And that's technically what Evil Dead 2 was. It tricked Chris and I out where we were like, wait a minute, I thought we were gonna continue with the story. JK, we're doing here's what you missed in the last movie. All right, here we go. New plot new plot, new characters. So new plot, who dis. Yeah, it reminded me of Evil Dead 2 for sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:22

Yeah, it was it was the evil dead of it all, and then you said it earlier, I think, Chris, the scream of it all, and just like making this, you know, whatever happened before part of this movie within the movie, like stab and scream, and very self-aware being one of the major influences, Texas Chainsaw Massacre being a huge influence. So I don't know. It was very cool. The opening scene to your point, very cool, visually, very cool. Even just that one still shot of the lit up, you know, RV across the little pond and just the moonlight coming out of the trees behind it perfectly. Just really beautiful. Some of the work they did and the shots they gave you are just very stunning.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:00

Absolutely stunning. And what's even more stunning is it managed to do all that? Quite literally, by Pooh.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:06

Go figure, of course. Look, we're talking about the opening scene. So it's a very interesting way to segue to the worst part of the film for me, which is the ending, but the specific part of the ending that I'm talking about is what the hell happened with Bunny? Okay, what really happened there? Here's my thing. So Pooh encounters Bunny. They have like that awkward moment, and you're like, holy shit, is Pooh gonna fucking kill Bunny right now? And then Christopher goes to the house, finds that his parents are brutally murdered, and it's such quick moments and s and snapshots of their deaths that me personally it was a little hard to tell if Bunny was there or not. I just saw like a white like I I just wasn't sure if that was Bunny or if that was just like a white cloth or the dress of the mom. Point being, then it's discovered that Bunny was taken by Pooh. Okay, sure. So then where was she this whole time? Because at this point, Pooh is running around doing all kinds of other things after he's already taken her.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:07

This is true.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:08

The cops the cops just show up with her and everything's fine.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:12

What was the point of taking Bunny to begin with? Okay, here's what I bet. She ran down the street to the Mackenzie's and called for help.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:19

Yeah, like was she taken or did she run, hide, defend?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:23

Okay, fair. I don't think it's really specifically said either, whether he was taken or not, but you're telling me that she outran Pooh after full-on athletic adults or just like, you know, adults weren't able to he didn't even chase her.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:40

It's like Michael Myers not killing kids except for that one kid in Halloween, and then Halloween kills, and okay, I get it. He kills kids now. But before that, he like walks away from babies.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:50

Wait.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:50

And this is also his little sister who's kind of innocent, and she has the stuffed bear, which is his bear.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:55

There we go. I was gonna say, may I think it's that. Maybe it's like oh, he recognized the bear. Again, we're tapping into the humanity of Billy at this point, sees the bear and is like, hmm, you look familiar. What's happening here? Enough time to run, which is why she throws the bear outside the door. Ah, fine. It really came off like this big, like, oh my god, she's okay moment when quite frankly, I forgot that she was really gone to begin with. So I feel like it was a little unnecessary. However, odd that her name is Bunny or she calls herself Bunny. But the next character we're gonna meet is Rabbit. I wonder what's gonna happen with that one.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:32

Oh no. Oh no. Well, that should be interesting for sure. If you don't know by now, obviously the worst part for me is is just that one aspect of the lore. We already dove into it, right? Like I'm just not into the whole kidnapping, turning little brother into Pooh himself, right? And being part of this whole, you know, crazy thing. Uh I'm okay with the unchecked science thing. Obviously, that's like a Frankenstein type nod as well, but yeah, I don't know. It's just that one thing that I just can't get past. I just don't know if it needed to be there. I'm still trying to find an avenue in which the film could have taken to get us to the same outcome and still have a successful film. It just didn't sit right with me.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:13

No, it's fair. Man, if I think of the worst part of this movie, I don't know that I truly have one. I think there's maybe some moments of the gore where it's a little bit like a bad, the mean one blood splurting effect, and it looks a little sloppy. But overall, pretty good considering, and I'm just nitpicking here. I died laughing when Young Pooh, Teen Pooh, was rebirthed from the earth. And just how fucking goofy Young Pooh looks with that mask with that prosthetic on the head, with like a dangly little humanoid prepubescent body, fucking hilarious to me. This movie was a lot of fun and it made me smile, it made me laugh. But I am so taken aback by what a great experience this was that I'm hard pressed to find anything wrong. And really, honestly, truly, I would actually go back to the theater to watch it again.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:07

Honestly, if the show times weren't so s sparse, I would be down for sure. However, since that's not the case, what's gonna happen is I'm sure it's gonna hit streaming soon, and I think I'm gonna save it. I'm gonna savor this moment and want to wait to re-watch it until more of the Poohiverse comes out, or even potentially Winnie the Pooh 3. I think I'm gonna do that because I want to ride the wave and the hype of how shocked I am that this movie was actually good. And I'm afraid that if I watch it again, will I feel differently? I just don't want to risk it.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:40

Yeah, I would definitely watch this film again. I don't know that I feel like I need to watch it again, but I definitely do want to see whatever extended cut there is to see the extra kills that somehow didn't make it onto the movie. So I think it it has some rewatch value. It's definitely got some nods, some Easter eggs, it's got some good kills. It's campy, it's gory. It's definitely something that you could throw on. I don't think I'd go to a theater to see it again. I would definitely wait for it to be available to stream. I might not even find myself watching this unless I had somebody that hadn't seen it that was interested in watching it. You know what I mean? Like I just not something I'm gonna keep in a rotation by any means, but if it were to come on, if somebody were to suggest watching it, I wouldn't oppose.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:26

Well, for now, there you have it, folks. Opposition aside, Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey 2 from 2024 has earned a Poohersal slash. And we certainly had a robust discussion here, but it doesn't end here by any means.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:39

We definitely want to know what you think. Are you ready for the rest of the Pooniverse? Let us know. You can join in on the conversation by hanging out with us for free in our Discord. Click the link in our show notes to sign up.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:48

And if you've enjoyed this trip through the hundred acre wood and taken a dip in the honeypot, consider becoming one of our patrons. Visit patreon.com slash hackerslash to enjoy more of the show with early access, extended episodes, bonus content, and live shows.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:02

We'll see you next time, folks. And remember, all things truly wicked start from innocence.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:07

Fuck it, let's bounce.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:09

That's my line.