420: Bambi: The Reckoning (2025)

SPEAKER_04 0:04

Did I just watch a gothic tragedy? Is this your moving totalist, Bambi?

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. They're here. 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 0:28

Total joke, a waste of time, or slash. Totally killer, pun intended.

SPEAKER_02 0:33

We leave horrors for everyone and ads were radius movies with the 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. This week I'm joined by the super flights-based guy Mac.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

You're getting deported, aren't you?

SPEAKER_02 0:48

The classic horror connoisseur Sean.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Thanks, Grandma. That's not creepy at all.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

And the paranormal paramour, Binx. You can choose your partners, but you can't choose your in-laws, am I right? This week we're taking a look at the latest Universe expansion, which sets its sight on cyclical trauma.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

And if you support the show, you'll also get to check out our B-side at the end of this episode where we get into some childhood stories that could make for some wild holiday horror flicks.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Now, when last we visited the Twisted Childhood Universe, we were dropped straight into Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. And while we've also seen this universe's take on the Hundred Acre Wood, this week's film actually imagines a different wooden tale. When this film was first announced in 2022, audiences were promised a darker interpretation of a tale popularized by a 1942 Disney film. And this film imagines what happens after a mother and son crash in the forest and find themselves stalked by a deer, transformed by grief, rage, and vengeance. This week we're talking about Bambi the Reckoning. What were you all expecting going into this?

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Oh man, listen, if there's one thing we can expect from one of these movies, based on what we've learned from previous installments in this Puneverse, we're going to get some sick and twisted version of this childhood tale, right? It's going to be dark for sure. It's looking to literally ruin our childhood. So yeah, I'm just expecting exactly what we were set up for and what we what everyone was expecting, which was just a darker twist on this tale. But what I was trying to wrap my head around is how this is going to unfold. Like, is this going to make sense? That's what I'm thinking.

SPEAKER_04 2:32

Yeah, I'm right there with you. I was hoping for like a standard creature feature because what I didn't want to happen was Bambi suddenly talking or some like mega weird shit going on, right? Because frankly, so far this universe has been doing the most. So I was expecting it to be silly, sure, and maybe cheesy dialogue, the things that we can, you know, gather from a bee horror puniverse type vibe, but I was really hoping that it could just keep it safe, be simple. I figured, well, at this point, there's also been some upgrades, right? Like Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey 2, and Peter Penn and Neverland Nightmare. Like they both got a little upgrade in those budgets. So I don't remember much of seeing the trailer. I feel like just maybe the couple posters. It's been what seems like a lifetime since we got a teaser for it. So I was like, well, at least it won't be like really bad CGI-wise, I would hope.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Honestly, I wasn't even afraid of the CGI. I just like wasn't sure what we were getting into because I've only seen Peter Pan so far. I'm not really caught up on the Pooniverse at all, aside from Peter Pan. So I was kind of expecting something like Jack Frost with worse lighting, worse breath, and cute accents.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Man, okay. Well, listen, based on the teaser that we got, what it seemed to me was that we'd have something of a little bit higher production value. So a little bit of a bigger budget. Obviously, Blood and Honey 2 took off in a far stronger way. I think Peter Pan Denverland Nightmare is a little bit underseen and I wouldn't say underrated. I think it might be appropriately rated, but also it's just such a departure from Blood and Honey itself. But what was interesting here was going into this knowing what an absolute devastating movie this is originally. Like obviously there's the actual story, but then the Disney movie that we all generally grow up with is so fucking sad. It's it certainly has its own little Lion King moment. So going into this, I really expected this movie to be super exploitative of that emotion. And not that it would do so in like a serious and compelling way, but definitely that it was going to go very hard on that angle. So when I was watching this, I found myself immediately hooked by this classic storybook opening that we get for so many of the other Puneverse movies. I'm a sucker for the narration and the animation at this point. But to no one's surprise, we do get caught up in the lore of Bambi. And it's interesting that this almost in a way, at least for me, I'd be curious how you all interpreted it. But it felt to me as though this movie takes place after Bambi the cartoon ends. So watching this, seeing basically the Bambi that we all know and love really wrapped up in just like the introduction of this movie actually made me way more interested in where the fuck it was going the rest of the way through.

SPEAKER_04 5:39

Yeah, I agree with you. I think that honestly, Bambi has every right to kind of go off its rocker, right? To go completely savage. This is a movie that we know to be extremely sad, and the things that happen in the original Disney cartoon are, you know, stuff that, like, in hindsight, you're like, man, I was a child watching this, and you know, of course, it's light and whatnot. But I feel like the idea and the concept of making Bambi a horror film seems more like it just makes more sense, I think. It seems more fitting than maybe other IPs that we're gonna get in this Pooniverse. And so this concept of nature and animals kind of taking its vengeance, although we we kind of see that a bit with Winnie the Pooh, it just feels right here. This is a standard, like that's what creature features are to an extent. And I felt like I didn't realize that going into it, that I would probably be feeling like, wow, who am I rooting for here? Like, why am I so invested in what's going on? Until we started to see that opening sequence. You're the narration reminds you of the story of Bambi, and then you're kind of getting to know some of these people, these villains in the movie. And the next thing you know, you're like in the trenches of this film, it ends, and I'm like, wait a second, this is Puneverse. I was really stunned. Right?

SPEAKER_02 7:01

Okay, the Puneverse uh really went in a whole different direction here. And I'm liking the diversity and the spectrum of the palette that we get for the Puneverse. But honestly, Binks, you mentioned just like the nature of everything, it makes me think, holy shit, what if we got a Ferngully 2 Puneverse movie? You know what I mean? Like, take Ferngully as a whole and then give us a horror movie based on that. But I just gotta like really quick just spike in here because I I don't I'm curious to see how you end up feeling later on in your rating pinks. But for me, this is a movie that was it's sure somber and serious in the beginning, but then also it has for me what felt like more camp in some sections than other Puneverse movies did. And it felt like, okay, this is a serious premise, but also we're being a little silly, goofy, funny about it, and I'm not mad at that. So it was like this really interesting spectrum of feelings just sitting down for this one.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

It's so interesting to hear like such a strong reaction, especially to the beginning of the film, because I was kind of thrown off a little bit there, and I think most of this is due to the synopsis, because I think when you read the synopsis before watching this, it reads like Thankskilling almost in a way. Where I'm waiting for a little bit more camp this whole time. Well, I'm just like hoping, like praying. After mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become haunted by Bambi, a mutated deer. A mutated deer? Is this not Sharknado? That's what I'm hearing here. And so it's so serious. And this is like the whole universe, I'm assuming. I've only seen, like I mentioned, one of the film, although I realize now that I think Popeye counts. So maybe two films. It doesn't count, does it? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

So I've got Popeye is not part of the Twisted Childhood universe. That was a separate entity. Okay, perfect. And uh it happened to be, Popeye happened to be in public domain.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

All right, excellent. So I've only seen one and then one adjacent, but this one is just it's so dark while you're watching it. One, visually, but two, like it's got a dark tone. It takes itself really seriously. And I think the topic here at hand, depending on how you think about it, like mutated deer hunting people, this should be absolutely camp. But when you go back further and you talk about the original film, like you mentioned, it's dark. When you go back and you read the novel, which I have not done, but there is a novel that the original movie was based on, and the symbolism inside that novel is also quite dark. Hint, it was published between World War I and World War II. Okay, so it is there's some darkness in there, and it's actually a very, very timely kind of topic to bring up in, I feel like in 2025. But you know, it's a lot here, and it's visually, like I mentioned, really dark, kind of hard to see exactly everything that's going on all the time. It's probably pretty helpful though, you know, when you're dealing with a large CGI deer and uh it's razor-sharp teeth, I'm assuming you so I don't know. It's kind of it was kind of like a mixed thing for me where I was expecting cheese and it wasn't really cheesy, at least at the surface. It was very dark, but at the same time, I don't know. Do I want Bambi to be so so dark and so deep? I'm kind of I'm kind of torn because I think we're all scarred from watching the original film.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

Oh my god, what if they did Fox and the Hound? Oh shit. Never mind, we're gonna get there on the B side. We're gonna get there in the B side.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Um there. But you know, a lot of these stories are dark just in and of themselves, just coming from the novels. So we know that. So there's you know, there's an evolution of that for sure. But yeah, I don't know. This one, a lot of mixed feelings for sure. I think, you know, you the one thing you can't really argue is that this movie, despite the amount of camp that might be thrown in there, is just plain sad. It's just a sad movie. It starts sad, it ends sad. I think the problem is that it kind of loses itself somewhere in the middle with like too much going on, too many characters, you don't really care about any one thing going on in the movie, or at least that's the feeling that I got from the movie. And I don't know that it's necessarily a pacing thing because it's like a buck 20, you know what I mean? So how could it really be a pacing thing? But I do think that maybe there was too many, I don't know, stories or subplots going on within the main plot. Those things kind of made the movie drag on a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Yeah, I don't disagree with you from that respect. For me, the biggest disappointment in this movie is some of these characters, actually, most of these characters, almost all of these characters, except for one central one, and we'll talk about her in the spoiler zone. But for me, it was just like, man, why am I walking into this movie and disliking someone more than I dislike even the characters in Peter Pan? Because that was just a fucked up movie. Like, I don't want you to make a movie where I'm rooting harder against one of the victims in this movie than I did against Peter Pan as a whole. Like, that's just you you really have to do some work here. And I feel like it takes a spectacular level of effort to achieve someone so unlikable. But I think even outside of the characters, what was interesting for me was how much the grief angle still works without feeling like it was overwhelming for the movie. So even though I could be disappointed in the characters, I wasn't just fucking bummed out and sad the entire time. Because to your point, Binks, I think I did find myself rooting for Bambi in some moments. I think this attempt to really got me towards like the third act of the film, and we'll talk about that later. But like my detest for a lot of these characters made me root for Bambi the way you root for Freddy, Michael, Jason, etc. Obviously, I would root for the killer.

SPEAKER_04 13:02

Of course. But I'm right there with you though, and I appreciate that this approach was a who's the real monster of the film, right? Like who's the real villain? I think that that's a great twist, and I'm here for it, not just because I love animals, obviously, but because again, it's very similar to the original Bambi, where in a way, like you can see the terrible things that we probably like the Bambi goes through, sure, but in general, we know that nature, we haven't been the kindest to animals, get mistreated all the time. That's literally why we have even an animal report here. So I think you go into this with the context of all the other movies before it, where whoever the title is, whatever the IP is, it's horror, they're the villain, they're the monster, they're the slasher, you know. And I think this movie will surprise you in some ways. So I was actually surprised by the fact that I really was glad that I hated most of these characters. I was down for it. I think it's intentional and I think that it made for a good time. When there was silly camp, I was laughing. I wasn't taking it too seriously and I was having a good time. When it was sad and we actually got to the plot in the heart of it, I was getting a little emotional. I almost felt like I was going insane, actually feeling things for what is a Puneverse film. I have to drive that home because I think it'll be pleasantly surprised. And I can't say with full confidence that every movie after this in this universe is going to be like this. But if there was gonna be one for the IP, it makes sense that it would be Bambi. Because it's not too far of a reach. I feel like if you removed Bambi from it and you just gave us this scenario, it would make sense for any other kind of film. It's not like, I don't know, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but like something to the extent of, you know, that you can see it in any other different universe. But kind of.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

But maybe it should have been. Maybe it should have been Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the toxic waste of it all. Come on.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

That's a there's another one that can definitely be flipped into a horror movie. But listen, I don't think it's surprising that we would be rooting for Bambi in this one. I think that anytime you have some kind of revenge ploy, like we all know what happens in Bambi. And if you haven't watched it in the hundred or almost hundred years or however long it's been, like that's the that's on you. So we all know what happens to Bambi and his family. So the fact that we're rooting for Bambi, I don't think is like a surprising element. I think what is surprising for me in this movie is that we actually get to see, and I don't know why this is surprising, but I you know, I'm watching the movie, and then when certain things are introduced, I'm surprised to see some of Bambi's friends come into play in this one, which is kind of cool. But I think also because of this, I was also left just a tad disappointed that we didn't get more of those characters from the Disney classic. You know what I mean? Like you gave me a taste, but give me more.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

Yeah, I was for sure waiting to hear the word twitter pated somewhere in this movie.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Well, I'll give it some credit for surprising me because my, you know, like I've mentioned, kind of little investment into this universe so far has left me thinking that maybe they're all just incredibly going to be convoluted stories that are overdone and overthought in a way. But here, it's not the case. They kept it simple. And that was the real nice twist. And, you know, to go back to what we talked about earlier with animals, if there's animals that have been wronged in a film, even if they haven't been wrong, if there's just animals in a film, chances are humans are the bad guy in in reality. I think that maybe that's just me. I think we all could probably agree at this point that we know that we're the worst. Because, you know, sorry about the planet, I guess. So yeah, I think it was just nice to see, hey, we got a creature, something bad happened, that creature is out for revenge or blood or whatever, and maybe it's just having a bad day, and it's gonna do its thing. And so, yeah, keep it simple, add a little bit of an explanation as to why this would have occurred, because you know, we've already suspended disbelief, but you know, we're gonna tie it all together, and that's okay with me. And I think that worked out really well to just make it straightforward.

SPEAKER_02 17:21

Yeah, it absolutely did. And man, I'm even just thinking about as you're talking about how animals as a whole you put them in a horror movie, and then humans end up being the real monsters. There is enough in here, especially when you look at the design of Bambi, where you think, okay, as a creature feature, this should look gruesome, this should look menacing. And I think there's certainly stuff in here that I think would gross out some people, or I wouldn't say scare anyone, but maybe startle you a little bit. Maybe they're just things you wouldn't want to see. But what I will say is this movie leans for me so far into the comedy that there's nothing in here besides like some I would say some great kills or some violence that would plant it as a horror movie because it goes from being like a drama, a little bit of a family drama, and then straight into some comedy because I feel like Bambi changes sizes like the Grinch's heart. Like every once in a while, he's just suddenly bigger or smaller than he was in a previous scene. And that's probably not accurate, but at least the framing of this movie makes it feel that way. And oh my gosh, I never thought I'd see a deer interact with a doorknob. There's just a lot here that I cannot wait to talk about. But what I will say is as a horror movie, these Puneverse movies lean into absurdity sometimes. That didn't happen enough in Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. It that was a very somber, very serious horror movie. But here I was delighted to see that okay, we're away from the predators of it all, and we're looking at humans as different types of predators, and now it's actually a little bit funny.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Yeah, I think if I were to have seen this movie as a child, it might have scared me for sure. I think there are some interesting moments. There's some scenes like if you're a child watching this, definitely, but I don't know that this movie is gonna really scare much of anyone these days if you're not a child. There is some camp for sure, but I think it goes more for shock value with some of the kills for sure. It's really just trying to give you kind of like this wild time. It's trying to lean into some of the gore and the effects and things and give you that shock value with the kill count and all of that. I think it definitely tried to like give you this menacing, mutated version of Bambi. We'll probably dive further into it. I don't know how everyone feels about how Bambi actually does look in this film. And I don't know if everyone has seen the latest Welcome to Dairy episode, but I think that the galoo may look more like a menacing Bambi than the Bambi in this movie. So that's something to be said. But yeah, not the most frightening film. Definitely some shock value, though. Be prepared for a wild ride.

SPEAKER_04 20:10

That's funny. I actually just finished watching the latest episode, and I was like, wow, this couldn't be more fitting. Because yeah, I completely agree with you. I feel like this is an opportunity where maybe practical effects would have been really cool to, you know, add some real fright. But I think that they could be intimidating. I'll give them a little bit of that. It's just that when you go into this, you're already disarmed because it's Bambi reimagined. And I've talked to a few friends of mine that aren't really big into horror, but they've been watching these movies because they feel like they can go into this and be fine because it's Disney movies. And so, you know, I I get it. I completely get it. I actually think that this movie had an opportunity to be a little bit more ominous and unsettling because it's in the forest. You know, a majority of it is in this dark, dark woods. You can't really see a damn thing. And that might actually be a detriment in some ways because of, you know, on the production side of things. But if you were gonna film it and, you know, light it so dark, I think it could have been a little bit creepier. But then again, at that point, like you said, Chris, I guess I could see what you're saying, where it's like you do a little bit of that, then you're like diving a little bit further into like the real serious tone. And so that kind of ruins the balance that they've been having with a little bit of fun and camp here, a little bit of sadness there. So I'll take it. But folks, if you really are wondering if Bambi the reckoning is gonna be scary, at least take it from me. I think you'll be all right.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

It is a tough one though, because a creature like this you have to show. And anytime you're gonna show a creature in its entirety, it's gonna be less scary, basically like two seconds after seeing it. But, you know, inversely, if you imagined we would get a glimpse of like parts of a deal. Here and there, it just might not work in the same way. To see like a huff or hear the little sounds that deers make, or maybe see like antlers from an angle so you don't get the whole thing. Like I don't know that that would have been really effective. So it is one of those where you're just gonna have to see the creature, but that inherently is going to make it less scary. And that's okay because, like we've said, we want to root for the deer, because you know, deer are constantly wronged. So that's okay that it's not that scary, I guess. But it is not what I expected this deer to look like, that's for sure. I think I I had thoughts about what were going to happen, and I wasn't sure if this was gonna be one of those where it was gonna be a human wearing a deer mask or something, you know, not in like a cheesy kind of way, but kind of like how mutated is this deer? Is it mixed with a human? Is it uh gonna stand upright? I didn't really know what to expect. And so to get just a massive steed with razor sharp teeth running through the fields causing havoc was actually kind of cool. I kind of liked that. It was almost like a shark deer in a way, with how brutal it was. But this story is also just not what I expected. I expected it perhaps to be campier, like I've mentioned, both in good and bad ways. Because I think had it been so explicit that Bambi was out for vengeance to the point where Bambi was speaking or something, or the characters commented on the idea that it was out for vengeance, that would have been too cheesy. And so I love that with the story they give us at the beginning, like here's your exposition, we're done. Dive right in, let's just see what happens, let's see a deer mess some people up. I'm kind of here for it. So while obviously the story is ripped from the classic movie that is based on a novel that none of us none of us have read, I still felt like it did its own thing. In fact, they didn't have to call this Bambi and it would have worked as a creature feature horror film.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Yeah, man, I don't disagree. Obviously, when you're looking at a Puneverse movie, you're gonna get so much from other genres and the original source material. But what I can appreciate is even the difference in tone that Bambi has in relation to its other Puneverse properties. So now we're on this fourth film, and it is honestly a little bit of a doozy. I feel like you get a little bit of like emotional whiplash going from Blood and Honey to Blood and Honey 2, and then to Peter Pan, and then you come back to this. But I think this for me is a little bit of a sweet spot in terms of its tone. And I can really appreciate obviously, you think about how man interferes with nature. Again, give me a Ferngully horror movie, and I think this movie would actually pair very nicely with that. But even when you have Blood and Honey and the way that Christopher Robin interacted with Pooh and the gang and them going feral afterwards after he goes away to college, there's something in here about like the lasting impact of humans connecting with nature and for better or for worse. So I can appreciate that yes, this does just take Bambi and makes it a horror movie, but it also makes it fun at the same time, which I think if you were if you were to sit me down and tell me there's gonna be a Bambi horror movie, I just would have expected it to be way more of a bummer. So, originality, I mean, listen, it's not something that you're gonna go to these movies for, but I encourage you to look a little bit deeper and try to have a little bit more fun with it.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

I mean, I'll give it to the writers in this one. I think it's definitely a twisted version of the classic that we're used to. It definitely flips the story on its head a little bit. It gives us this evolution of this story, it takes it a little bit further to a to another extreme. So you gotta give it up to them for really developing what this story could look like because obviously it is something.

SPEAKER_04 25:52

Absolutely. And I think that although I agree that they kind of played it safe here, it worked to its benefit most definitely, and they didn't change up too much, but changed what they needed to for this to make sense, not only as a horror adaptation, but also within within this Puneverse thing. What I feel surprised me the most in terms of its originality was actually its ending to an extent. Because y'all, I'll say it now. I can't believe that I even cried at the end of a Puneverse film. It took me from a very high to a very low real quick, and I was shocked by that ending.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

Okay, Binx. I have to confess that I did not cry, but my eyes did water. And I'm curious if it was the exact same point where you and I were connecting on this. Maybe it wasn't. There's no other point.

SPEAKER_03 26:48

No, no, no. No, there's a particular point.

SPEAKER_04 26:52

And I think it's that. I think it's that.

SPEAKER_02 26:54

Okay, you heard it here first, folks. Binx and I were getting emotional in Bambi the Reckoning. And was it about Bambi? Who knows? But when you look at the ending of this movie, I think it's really interesting because it it again, I mentioned this earlier in the beginning of the episode. This movie is about generational encyclical trauma, and it's about obviously makes you laughing at me.

SPEAKER_03 27:18

I'm not laughing. I'm like, I'm actually trying to keep it together. I don't start crying right now in this recording. Crazy.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

I know, I know. I didn't expect Bambi to get this deep. But this movie at its surface could absolutely be about okay, these folks are taking a childhood icon and then playing with that and making it more horrific, etc. But this is also in a lot of ways about what the exploration of what harm is done, what innocence, whether that be from an animal or from a child, what happens at the intersection of that and just human cruelty and adult cruelty, etc. Like there's so many different layers to this, and I feel so silly saying that about a Putiniverse movie, but fun, it's fun, but also it's sad, and it's rough, it's rough watching trauma pass down and down and down, and then honestly, I think the final moments of this movie absolutely underscore the cost of everything that you've seen leading up to those moments, and man, it just yeah, I want better, I want better for almost everybody involved.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

It's truly just terrible that it's animals, I think is the hardest thing because I can be here for any movie that ends really bleakly, right? Like, if you know, like if it's just humans, fucking do it, man. Like, I don't care. Let's end on the lowest note possible. That's totally fine. I'm here for those unhappy endings. But this one was like one that you kind of like love to hate because it does end on such a low note. This movie does not end happy in any way. It starts sad and it ends fucking sad. And so whether that's good or bad, I don't know. It definitely gets emotions from you for sure. I think for me, it's only because it's animals.

SPEAKER_00 29:09

Yeah, who cares about the people in this movie, honestly? Like for the most part, you you just don't care about them. I think you should go watch Jurassic Park and root for the dinosaurs the whole time, honestly.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

Who doesn't root for the dinosaurs?

SPEAKER_00 29:21

I think if you're watching like a traditional, you know, adventure kind of film, you're watching it, you're like, oh my god, those dinosaurs are gonna get them. Good. That's how you should think about that movie, okay? And that's how you should think about this. And by the time you make it to the end, I mean, come on, who doesn't feel that way like five minutes into this film? But by the time you make it to the end, it just hits you in the feels and then it just quickly walks right away. It's like, good, here you go, have a great day. And I hope that was on purpose. I hope they claimed that. I hope they like they're like, Yes, this is the way we wanted you to feel now think about yourself because it was effective. I think I kind of had a moment at the end, I'm not sad, but I was just stuff like, come on, that's that's brutal. You guys did us like that. That it would that surprised me.

SPEAKER_02 30:03

Yeah, there's another part of the ending though that I thought, man, that's some bullshit. I can't wait to unpack it once again. But it's time for us to start making our way towards our ratings. Now, before we actually determine the hack and slash status of this movie, Sean, how would you describe the gore score?

SPEAKER_01 30:19

You know, this movie really leans into the gore, I think, with some enthusiasm. I'll give them that. I think it helps to really show Bambi's primal rage in this movie. I think there is a healthy mix of CGI and practical effects, making some of the kills more appealing and not just some really low budget bullshit. You know what I mean? So overall, I think this one has plenty of gore. It's not tame by any means, but it's not gore porn either. So I think it kind of ends somewhere as a solid medium gore score.

SPEAKER_02 30:51

Well, what about the animal report?

SPEAKER_04 30:54

The time has come. I mean, I feel like my entire animal report career has been leading to this. This was repugnant. It's it's not good, obviously. Not even in cartoon mode. It's just genuinely the worst. It's just genuinely the worst. So prepare yourself. And I mean that in every sense of the word please, please take care of yourself while watching this. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 31:20

Well, let's go ahead and get into our ratings. Bambi the Reckoning from 2025. Was it a hack or a slash? I'm just gonna kick us off here, get it out of the way, short and sweet and simple. This movie is fun, it's sad, but it's fun, it's simple. And for me, where it shines the most is not overstaying its welcome. It gets in, it gets out, it gets it helps you get on with your life. And for me, it ends up being one of the cleaner entries in the Pooniverse. Again, it's not, I think, my number one by any means, but even when the CGI wobbles in this movie, and ooh, let me tell you, it's super wobbly. This is like a jello mold wobbly with CGI. For me, the movie still keeps delivering satisfying campy moments with really tight pacing. So between all of that and then doing just enough to play with your emotions just a little bit, man. That's a recipe for a clean punaverse slash.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

I have so many more thoughts. I am so surprised that I am torn by this movie. Just listening to you guys talk about it has put thoughts into my head. But while watching it, I'll be honest, it was really enjoyable for me. And I think there's some stuff I really respect about it. There was some stuff that pleasantly surprised me about it, but I'm missing out on the humor. I don't think it I didn't think it was funny at all while watching it. And so it kind of catches me off card to hear you guys describe it as being humorful because I wanted more camp. I wanted one of two things. Okay, I wanted Jaws or like a full, campy mutant deer. Put some green glowing here, you know, and there. I don't know, whatever you gotta do to make it even campier and sillier. And I think I'm still like a little scarred from watching Peter Pan. Maybe that's what it is. I just went into this with a little bias, but you know, it's their own fault for having done that movie. So I'm torn because I like the simplicity, I like the fact that it's a creature feature, but it was so dark, and I mean that both visually and not. I think visually it was tough for me because it's just a lot of shadows. And then when you see Bambi, you see too much Bambi. Or not enough Bambi, apparently, because like you said, Chris, he changes sizes all the time. And I don't really care. It's you know, it's a mutant creature feature. I'm here for it, whatever, make him change sizes, whatever he's gotta do. But there's just something missing here. And I feel like it was like a lack of really like a full direction that they wanted to go in. Or perhaps they did, and I just didn't agree with it. I think that's probably the more likely scenario. Like we've all mentioned, the characters-who cares? I don't really like any of them. Maybe one. Maybe one's decent. The rest of the characters mostly annoy me, mostly get on my nerves. Like the weird little family drama in most cases was like, okay, I'm ambivalent. In some cases, I actually did enjoy that they went a little deeper, and I was here for that. Not as deep as Peter Pan. We didn't need to be scarred once again. Thank you, filmmakers, for making that choice. But it just it was tough. It's just not something I found enjoyable. And I know our patron Rob is not going to approve this, but for me, that pushed it into hacked territory.

SPEAKER_01 34:27

I'll back you up, Mac, because Bambi really feels like it wants to be one of the crown jewels in this twisted childhood universe. I think the ever-evolving Puniverse that keeps feeding us these public domain fever dreams. And listen, honestly, the ambition is there. You can feel that this movie is trying to find that sweet spot between creature feature and nostalgic chaos, but I think instead of landing as one of the stronger entries, it lands comfortably into mediocrity for me. It is just kind of like an okay film. Like it's like there's moments that it pulls on your heartstrings, but it's literally just the very beginning and the very end, and everything in between is just kind of whatever. I think that part of the problem with this movie is the story itself. I think it's a little too tangled for its own good. I think it feels convoluted with too many characters to focus on and not enough fucks given. So we never really get a reason to care about anything in this movie until the very end. And look, I was here for a rabid drunk on vengeance Bambi tearing through the woods like nature's pissed-off hitman. But when the movie leans into that energy, it's a blast. By the end, I feel like all of that momentum comes crashing down. And I think there's no real sense of payoff or justice. It's just a bleak finale that feels like it wandered off trail and never found its way back. So listen, I think it had the horns, or in this case, the antlers to charge, but it ultimately, I think instead of delivering a killer bite, it just sort of fawned it in. This one for me is a hack.

SPEAKER_04 36:10

Damn. Wow. Okay. Well, I can see where both of you are coming from with this. And I I mean, I can see it. I can see it. I just think that ultimately, if I were to really look at the full picture here, I'm just genuinely surprised that they're even pulling this off. Okay. That we've even got four movies in this bitch. Okay. It's incredible. We're living in a time where our favorite Disney characters and films are in the horror genre, so that we can be here talking about it, whether it's good or bad. And I think that with this particular film, like we've been sharing, it's so different because right off the top of my head, if I were to look at like a filmography of all the Disney movies, I think Bambi tends to be the one that everyone says, like, that's the sad one. That's one of like the top three ruffins, you know? And so I'm really glad that they brought this into the horror genre because in a way it was the easiest one to do. And it almost feels like French cinema where it's like, yes, the bleak ending to an extent that I'm it definitely has. But I think that there was some moments of levity here that made me have a good time that helped the fact that I couldn't stand most of these characters that really like helped pass the time so quickly. This was such a fast watch. I didn't feel personally, I didn't feel a moment of the runtime because again, like you said, it's a buck 20. And I felt like, okay, we're moving along. These kills are crazy and insane, they're intense. There's moments where there's a little bit of camp here and there. And the plot for me actually felt so simple because at that point I gave up trying to follow some of these characters. I'm like, I know what I'm following, I know who I'm rooting for, and I just want to see it to the end. I like the whole idea that, you know, it's putting humans in a place where you have to reflect and think of what, you know, who the real monster is, like, what if nature were to fight back? That kind of idea, I think, is always interesting and fun and different with horror and a stable, of course, for creature features. But ultimately, I mean, if I were to really, really think about this movie, sure, I guess it's not like the greatest of this year, but it certainly was a lot better than other horror films that we've reviewed this year and new releases. That I stand on business. So for me personally, I can confidently say that this is a slash and one that I would revisit on Thanksgiving every time.

SPEAKER_02 38:51

Wow, it's a Thanksgiving miracle. And with that, Bambi the Reckoning has earned two hacks and two slashes. But there is so much more to discuss when we return from our break. Now, we have to still figure out where Binks and I almost cried together in the spoiler zone. So go ahead and check it out and we'll see you in a bit.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

This episode of Hacker Slash is brought to you by the Forest Friends Rescue Fund. At Forest Friends Rescue, we're working tirelessly to restore peace, harmony, and significantly fewer antler-related fatalities to our woodlands. After the unfortunate events of Bambi the Reckoning, we've seen a dramatic rise in orphaned critters, traumatized hunters, and at least one squirrel who now insists he's seen the face of God. But we can't do it alone, folks. For just $5 a month, you can help rehabilitate innocent wildlife affected by the ongoing fawn-fueled carnage. Your donations go directly to essentials like therapy for shell-shocked skunks who can't handle jump scares anymore, Kevlar Vests for Rabbits because hopping isn't the only thing they'll be doing this season. And of course, anger management classes for deer since going full reckoning is not a healthy coping mechanism. Sign up today and we'll send you a commemorative I Survived Bambi's Bad Mood tote bag. Perfect for carrying your groceries or your regrets. So please, help us help the forest. Because if we don't act now, the only thing left standing will be one very angry deer with a grudge and an impressive kill count. Well, this one is one of those films where it only seems fair to count both animals and humans in this kill count. I think that's only fair. I think we have equal rights for humans and animals in this one for sure. And I think given the animal report, you know, you get the idea. This one is fucked. So with 17 kills and probably a hundred or so more shown in skeletal remains lying in Bambi's lair, there is bound to be something to sink your hooves into. We get a healthy mix of vicious and brutal deaths caused by animals, and also sad and depressing animal deaths caused by humans. So let's get into them. Which one of these kills are you behooved to talk about?

SPEAKER_02 42:01

Okay, I'm just chomping it the bit. And Binks, you're gonna get you can go first. However, I want to just insert here that Nathan in our chat just threw down the pun a little while ago. Fawn but not forgotten. And I'm sorry, it's just wow, what an incredible phrase. I feel like it needs to be on merch. Fawn but not forgotten. R.I.P. Bambi and Bambi's mom and Bambi's wife. Nothing good for Bambi going on in this movie.

SPEAKER_04 42:30

Not a single thing. I'm distraught. But, anyways, Chris, I hope that this is your favorite kill because it certainly is mine, and it should be everyone's that watches this movie. There's gonna be a lot, actually. Let me not make that bold statement. But the one that should have had you cheering like crazy was Harrison's kill. Because fuck that kid to the end of the earth. And when Thumper and his friends came out to play that, what I was having it when he kicked that bunny. I the worst. I was about to lose it. I was about to lose my mind.

SPEAKER_02 43:05

I need you to know that 90% of my notes for this movie are fuck Harrison specifically. Absolute son of a bitch. Kicking the rabbit. Oh my god. He this is where he got up there. He was like neck and neck with Peter Pan. What the fuck? Worst character in the Pooniverse. Harrison specifically. Straight up. I don't even like, yeah, I don't even like that we didn't get to see the completely dead body. If they bring this motherfucker back in the Pooniverse monsters assemble, I'm a fucking riot. Because remember, Bambi's gonna be Pooh's steed.

SPEAKER_01 43:40

Oh yeah, but what but what timeline does this take place in? You know what it is. Who fucking knows?

SPEAKER_02 43:45

You know, who fucking knows?

SPEAKER_01 43:47

I don't know if it takes place after. We don't even know that Bambi's alive.

SPEAKER_02 43:50

Yeah, but listen, this motherfucker was undead. Undead with that spine out, and he got shot how many times in this movie and sub suddenly doesn't die and The very end of the movie when he can be at rest knowing that his child is free. Okay, sorry, that's neither here nor there. But if I wanted this kid to expire first or best, and I was satisfied that he at least got one of the better kills in this movie, for sure. But when he talks about his grandma being annoying, when he throws something at her and tells her to shut up, I would have got in that movie and killed this kid myself.

SPEAKER_01 44:25

He's literally a piece of shit.

SPEAKER_04 44:27

Let's talk about that too, okay? Because as we've all experienced in our lives, dementia and Alzheimer's is very sensitive in this house. And when I clocked that she was, you know, suffering from that, A. B, that he was addressing her with that kind of behavior, it's not even a chunkletaso that would have happened to that kid. I would have hit him with a baseball bat.

SPEAKER_02 44:50

Yeah, no, I would have. Okay, y'all haven't seen some of y'all haven't seen Silent Night, Deadly Night. Binx, I want you to know that there's a D-Rantler kill in that movie. I would have done that shit to this kid. Fuck that.

SPEAKER_04 45:02

Oh my god. Incredible.

SPEAKER_02 45:04

Okay, but I do want to give a remmer up because obviously my favorite death was Harrison's death. But Binks and I have the same favorite death again. Harriet's Casey Becker, slow-mo Chasey. The Casey Becker of it all. Yes. Just to be bisected. That was pretty great. Because also, fuck Harriet, too. The way she was being aggressive with Mary, and I by aggressive, I mean just like anything less than just super sweet and caring for this old woman who has dementia. Come on now. But this is the spot where I felt the CGI. Like I obviously I'm here knowing that we're gonna get some rough CGI in the movie of this lower budget. That's fair. You opt in for something like this, but the blood cut me off of her it was when yeah, it was a little it was a little interesting, but it was still fun.

SPEAKER_01 45:53

It was still fun to see her literally get ripped in half. I also thought the I think I don't even know if this would be like a campy aspect of it. I just thought it was fucking for some reason hilarious that somehow she was still semi-alive after being ripped in half and had to be mercy killed. Do you know what I mean? After all of that.

SPEAKER_02 46:12

Several hours later.

SPEAKER_01 46:15

What have you been doing? Losing half your body just sitting there wild.

SPEAKER_04 46:19

It's funny because I mentioned that if the movie in general to me felt like it was constantly too dark. Like I had to up the brightness a little bit on my own screen. But it when it was very bright for a night shoot, it was during that kill where maybe they needed it to make to be darker, they needed to make it darker so that the blood wasn't so obvious that it was CGI or looking so goopy. But the slow motion of it all, and like dedicated to the slow motion of it all for like a whole while was the camp that I loved and I thought was very funny and efficient, with you know, kind of keeping to the pace of like the kill of itself and the whole film. But I thought that was great. But again, we mentioned not respecting Mary and how incredible of a woman she is. When she came out of the woodwork and said blah, blah, blah to good old Michael, another piece of shit. I said, Let's go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:16

Yeah. Okay, I just want to point out that in the spooky season, I did a little bonus episode with Sean and did a little blog post, etc. And we're talking about different continuities within the Halloween timeline. And when I asked the people which ones do you like, like which continuity, which timeline is your Halloween timeline? I did call one, which is the Blumhouse trilogy, a grandma with a shotgun. Little did I know, just one holiday later, we'd be getting a grandma with a shotgun. Incredible. Also, what the fuck is up with this movie being a Thanksgiving movie? Okay, we're gonna get there.

SPEAKER_01 47:52

It has no place. It has no place.

SPEAKER_02 47:55

It's just incredible to me that this is a Thanksgiving movie.

SPEAKER_01 47:58

Yeah. Amazing. I will say, look, I want to know one, I think one of the crazier kills was Eddie, and I want to talk about it because there's an evolution to this kill. And first I want to know why did we start with the fucking knees? Why were we like literally eating the knees? For what reason? I will never know. But then after eating the knees, we're literally stomping on his back, breaking the back, and then after all of that, getting his head fucking bit off.

SPEAKER_04 48:33

Just starting at different, you know, areas of the body anatomically, like really making sure that there's no ability to run away, give it a little bit of back pain, and then all right, I'm done. Let's just cut to the chase. It's a weird order for a kill.

SPEAKER_01 48:46

It was wild. I just can't get over the knees of it all. You know what I mean? Why did we go for each knee like that? Like it was a very specific choice, you know? You can't crawl away from me this time, buddy.

SPEAKER_04 49:00

Man, no, but they really, these kills were kind of crazy at all angles and constantly. I mean, even was it, I think it was Joshua? Was that the the that just like was just walking all of a sudden, like boom, shot to the head. I was kind of I was kind of like surprised by that one. That one threw me off. I was not ready for it.

SPEAKER_01 49:19

But also, kid, like that's kind of what you get for walking around in the dark forest. That's the friendly fire, that's the danger that you go into the forest during hunting season, you might get hit with a stray bullet.

SPEAKER_04 49:31

For sure, for sure. So, Sean, you mentioned earlier that technically animals are a part of the kill count, right? I mean, with the animal report being as again, I want to use the word repugnant because that's really the fitting word there. As repugnant as it was, we mentioned a little bit, Bambi's kill, okay? It's that I was so stunned that Bambi died and like really heartbroken that Bambi died. Chris, let's see if it's this moment. But it's Bambi's little kid, you know, the fawn. The cry, the cry that the fawn. I'm gonna start crying again. What that's the moment. What's wrong with that? What makes it the worst? Listen, I have to laugh because I will lose it. The director has no right, the writers have no right. How dare they? Because that's crazy. That sound effect is guttural. What? And then I'm like going through a lot of things right now at that point because I'm like, wait a minute, Bambi's not supposed to die, he's supposed to be postied. So what's going on here? Where is he in the Avengers movie? He's gotta be there. And now I'm like, wait, but he also has survived so much up until this point. And this stupid ass motherfucker Michael comes out here out of nowhere shooting up a storm, and that's what takes him down. I won't have it. I won't have it.

SPEAKER_02 51:03

Also, it was like just the kneecaps, you know? Just the kneecaps. I can't. I can't. I mean, he was shot in other places, but like I think he'd already been through so much. When you run around as a mutated deer and your spine is exposed, I feel like you can take a couple. You know what I mean? Like at least be able to take as much as 50 Cent did.

SPEAKER_00 51:24

Oh gosh. That that moment, you know, I'm curious though, if we're supposed to believe that like there was previous damage that cumulatively added up and took down Bammy, and this was just the final straw that broke the deer's back, but at the same time it doesn't really add up. And I hoped at the end we would hear his growl, like right as the as the credits hit to bring him back, or something to give us a little hope instead of just another Bambi origin story all over again. That's it's bold. You know, I think you're not allowed to do that and kick a bunny in a film. You can't show us both things. Okay, you have to pick one thing, one evil thing that we're supposed to forgive you for. And uh it's really hard, I think, because Bambi's horrendous, destroying everything. He's got those teeth that are just crazy to look at. But at the same time, we all root for him because we know he's right, you know, and so to make it to the end and for the other humans who are reasonable to think to themselves, yeah, let's give him back his kid and just get out of here and let him live his life. Cool, lesson learned. All right, like we're we're here with it. We've got the moral of the story. Let's let him go off into the forest and protect the forest at this point. Why torture us in that moment? Why do it?

SPEAKER_02 52:43

Yeah, because they really want to have their Mufasa moment, their Bambi moment, etc. Yes, being so my eyes definitely stung a little bit with that one. As soon as we heard that fawn crying, I was just like, oh dear. You know, it just that hurts. For me, it was a little bit more emotional when I thought Mary died. Because again, like it and actually as she was being mistreated, I was getting emotional because I was just thinking about my grandma, and that was one that was like it was a step too far for me. Yes, punting a thumper too much, or punting a bunny was too much, uh mistreating Mary was too much, uh kicking this cage with a fawn in it while it's crying for its parent too much, killing Bambi in front of his baby, too much. Like there was just a lot of too much in this fucking movie, but that one in particular was super rough. I feel like the saddest death of all was the death of my fucking heart watching this movie, for sure. But what I will say is I appreciate how the Puniverse is scaling up and evolving and stepping up because I was just thinking about Bambi and A, his design, B how he looks in this movie. I know I mentioned earlier that the CGI is pretty fucking wonky as you get through this entire thing, and it is for sure. I'm not saying this is the best CGI I've ever seen, but I love, and I'm just gonna give you the example of the way that we get a car flip after we have that collision with the mom and her son in this guy's car, but we see how physical Bambi is and how he's just charging down the road and then flips the car. Just like the way that he's able to interact with the physical world, it sold it for me. I felt like, okay, I can get into this. I'm not completely taken out of the movie by how bad Bambi looks. And early on, we get less of him. We get, I think, too much as we go on. But even like the silhouette that we get of him earlier in the film, around that time, I really, really appreciated it. This is a movie that continues, and actually, this is a franchise that continues to elevate in terms of its cinematography and its production design, and I'm a huge fan.

SPEAKER_01 55:06

I mean, that whole element with the car was definitely giving Jurassic Park for sure. It definitely pulled from those roots 100%. But okay, we could give it up for some of the way that Bambi looks here and there. I could have been a little bit better with more practical effects, but if I had to pull something from this movie that I really wanted to appreciate, it's gonna be the little things. And I don't think this movie does a lot of things super well. I think the production was amped for sure, so there are some elements that look better than maybe previous installments, but one of the things that I thought was fairly well done in this movie was the sound design. And I think the sound design really helps you feel really immersed in the universe in this film. I think you get like the crunch of the flesh with the kills, you get the rustling of the grass in the woods, you get those crackling, creaking branches. It all helped to add a lot of texture to the horror of it all in this movie. So I gotta give it up for the attention to detail with the sound design for this one.

SPEAKER_00 56:07

I'm gonna give it up to something that is less normal. Okay, because I think most of us talk about the fact that we don't like CGI. Use practical when you can do it. I love the fact that we used CGI animals. Because it's look, it's 2025. We don't need to be injuring animals, dragging them onto a set, risking their lives, risking their health to get them for a 30-second shot. All right. If you can make a fake bunny, make a fake bunny. If it looks like, you know, pretty good at this point. I'm okay with it. We've seen that a lot in other like mainstream films where they have CGI dogs, especially when dogs are like in the story for a long period of time. Why risk a don't don't put them out there to get hurt in any sort of way? We don't want to go back to homeward bound, okay? So I'm gonna call out some of these these CGI animals. I think they looked pretty good. The bunnies looked fine, the fawn looked great. I think there was a moment at the end where I was curious, did they actually have a real fawn in their hands? They just kind of nailed it. And uh yeah, so credit where credit's due for having some fake animals that don't look like dog shit. Like pretty decent job. Obviously, Bambi here is, you know, a mutant, so you can't expect it to look normal in any sort of way, and it doesn't need to, but the other ones are supposed to and mostly do, and I'm okay with that.

SPEAKER_04 57:23

Yeah, I agree with you because you know, obviously they could have like real animals. In this case, let's use like the bunnies and the rabbits as an example. Like they could have had real bunnies just to kind of set the tone of them just in the forest, but they opted to just do CGI all around. And I actually think that it worked out because I appreciate that they decided to have the bunnies look as if they were normal, but were like deceivingly mutated, actually. So it's kind of a clever way to use it as a device to show how vile some of these men were, specifically Harrison, obviously. You know, that they would be willing to do that to something so cute. But, you know, he fucked around and found out and realized that, yeah, they looked very cute, but they also were mutated. And the look of that was really clever. I appreciated. A runner-up would be a it's a small, super small thing, but I loved the paintings of Bambi. I thought that they were really, really cool. Was kind of giving like something you would find at Home Goods or Hobby Lobby, but you know, tucked behind a lot of like generic paintings. And here you can find something that looks really cool and gothic that you would have up in your house, maybe. I don't know. I thought that was like a nice little touch to incorporate obviously not only like Mary and what she's going through in her dementia and stuff and what she's seeing, but at the same time, just like a nice little way to keep this tension and this curiosity of what is Bambi gonna look like at the beginning of the film.

SPEAKER_02 58:54

Yeah, I also want to just give a quick shout-out because those bunnies they had big Monty Python energy, which actually made it even funnier for me as this movie went on. And I do agree with you, the paintings looked really, really great. The paintings and the charcoal drawings that were in the book, it made one of those moments of just like, damn, this feels mythical. Bambi feels larger than life, so large, in fact, that he can break into a house, also semi-navigate between doors, bust through door frames, but still polite enough to turn a knob. I'm sorry. Best scene in the movie is when he is breaking into that house, and this motherfucker puts his hoof on the doorknob, and then when the doorknob, when the door opens, and you see from the inside of the room that the door is opening, his leg goes down. This movie implies that this motherfucker actually turned the knob. A deer who just broke into this house, who just rammed his way in here, had the decency to turn the knob. And that, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends of all ages, peak silly, peak universe nonsense. It completely sold me on the tone for the rest of the movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:16

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:17

Absolutely, absolutely. Because even when he's seeking vengeance, he's a sophisticated boy. I love it. I'm here for it, and I appreciate it 120%. And that is why I am so heartbroken about this damn ending, and I will not quit. I will not stop. It's crazy that I walked in for a Puneverse film. I walked out thinking, did I just watch a gothic tragedy? Is this a Puneverse film, but a Mike Flanagan film? Like, what's happening here? Is this Nosferat? Is that I just is this Frankenstein? Is this Guillermo Toro? Bambi? I'm just wait a minute. Hold on a second. Actually, you just said something that's crazy. Guillaume Letoro making a Bambi film. I, sir, hear our prayers. I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:14

Anyways, he would make the first fuckable Bambi, and that's weird. No thank you, things.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:19

He did already use the line, you know, I'm a fountain. Fawn is close enough, so I Soyu and Fawn would work just as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:28

I'm sorry, hold on. Live live updates here. Nathan strikes again. He went from fawn but not forgotten to nos for Apu. Sorry, folks, this this is why you need to be a patron join the live recordings, because we are having too much fun in this Discord community. Courtesy of Nathan. That I think I'll make the subtitle when I post this raw recording on Patreon. Episode 420, Nosferapu.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:54

That's wild, Nathan. That's wild. I love it. I'm here for it.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:59

My gosh. I do gotta say though, I think, you know, we've already touched on Harrison being a great kill. We've touched on like the cuteness of the of Thumper and the rabbits before they turn deranged. And I've got a couple of things I think I would shout out. I just do want to kind of like emphasize that as one of the stronger scenes in the movie for sure, because it's literally the introduction to Thumper. It's when I went, it's when this movie I was like, oh shit, yes, we finally get some other characters. I was like, didn't even like when I was watching this movie, I was so caught up in the Bambi of everything that I was just like not even thinking that we might get some of these characters from the Disney classic. So when Thumper shows up, it's just so hilarious. It's that mix of absurdity and gore that makes this one memorable for sure. It's like you they added some of those characters, really letting us know that Bambi isn't the only mutated creature in these woods, which they can really develop on that. But it's just to your point, Binx, it's the way Thumper appears all cute at first and then becomes all creepy, and then more of Thumper's friends show up for this midnight feast. It's just absolutely hilarious and absurd, but also kind of vicious and gory. And it's like that that playoff of those two feelings, which is that was really well done. You gotta give it up. That was really well done for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:23

Yeah. I also love that he strikes back at the end and has the last kill in the movie with Simon. Yeah, fuck Simon too.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:31

Give me the thumper spin-off. I'm gonna go, I guess, a bit less fun for my favorite scene than all of you have chosen. And I think that's when our main characters finally confront the root of all the evil, which is realizing that Simon is behind all of this stupidity and has created this issue for all of them and call it out. His little son calls him out. They named him Benji, and he's still able to stand up to his dad. That's great. Because they're like, dude, this is all your fault. What the heck? Not husband, ex-husband, get it loved everything that was happening with mom and son here at the end of the movie, where they were like, nah, dude, we don't need you at all. I can't believe you dragged us into this.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:08

Yeah, I appreciated that Benji came to his senses and realized how much his mom was there for him and did love him. It seemed like one of those moments where he spent so early in the film looking for his dad's approval and attention and wanting to feel wanted and wanting to feel loved by his father. That you know, I'm thinking about his mom actually picking the glass from his wounds, and he's saying, Dad'll know what to do. It's like, motherfucker, I'm pretty sure your mom also knows what to do. She's doing it right now. But it's that kind of feeling where his mom has to sit here and take it and absorb it and also know that this is just who he is and where he is right now in this moment. But she never stops fighting for her boy. And I think where they come at the end of the movie, especially with Benji confronting Simon and saying, No, she lied for you when Simon is just trying to spew all this hatred and all these lies about how she's turning Benji against him. It honestly was just such a good way to wrap up the movie in terms of their dynamic specifically. And she actually for me is one of the better parts of this movie because I feel like of all the performances, even Benji, I found a little bit grading a little bit annoying in some moments. But she for me was rock solid throughout, and I really appreciated her in this one.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:32

Yeah, I think that she was a great kind of like example of what Bambi. I mean, obviously, I know I'm being ridiculous now because it's a deer, but like, you know, stay with me here. I just feel like she was like a great example of motherhood, and that reminds you that Bambi lost his mom. So, like, I think that it was also a great way to tie in marriage. As well, from a different perspective, like again, that matriarchal presence that is just kind of disregarded, is a burden. That kind of idea is really, really sad because ultimately Mary's who like really saves the motherfucking day at the last hour. And I think that that's also special. I mean, the two of them were fantastic. I was really like feeling the emotions boil up when she was having that like standoff with Bambi and again, in a sense, like we we've seen that before, right? Where all of a sudden like that real nurturing spirit is what like calms down the beast and blah blah blah, whatever. I mean, that wasn't too like original and surprising to an extent, but I think it did help that since I hated most of the characters here, and honestly, to an extent, Benji was not safe either, because nothing annoys me more than a kid that blatantly disregards what their parent tells them to do. That kind of disrespect, I will not stand for it. But again, nothing can beat Harrison, I suppose. I just feel like ultimately, like she was a great, nice presence to have in the movie, so that I had at least someone that I was rooting for, in addition to obviously Mary.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:16

Yeah, I think the tough thing is, is that, you know, I don't know that there was really like there wasn't enough investment in any of the characters for me to really care about anybody. There wasn't even theoretically up until the end, there wasn't even enough, there wasn't even enough to really root for Bambi in essence for the whole film. Like it was just it went from like the opening, which you kind of get the feels, but then it for some reason it just goes into the film and you're just like just going for the absurdity and the chaos and the kills that you're just like, okay, I'm just here to like visualize this. But I wasn't invested in any one person. There were definitely characters that you wanted to hate more than other characters. That's where the Harrisons come into play, that's where the deadbeat fucking dad comes into play, right? Like we get all of that shit, and you and and Michael, right? Like he was an asshole. But like outside of that, even the protagonists or the so-called protagonists in this film, I didn't care. It wouldn't have mattered to me if every single person in this movie died. It would not have mattered.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:20

You know, I'm actually curious now in retrospect. I wonder what Benji's healing will look like after knowing that he killed his uncle.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:28

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:29

Something I just I when I thought about the deaths in this movie and how satisfied I was that Harrison went out so in such a great way. I completely forgot about Andrew being towed to his death.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:42

Yeah, that was a crappy one. I mean, I don't know if anyone really had a good way out here. I think everyone got gotten pretty like gross, sucky, gnarly ways, but I don't know. It's I think what Sean mentioned is like you don't really have heavy investment with any of the other characters emotionally. So like when they happen, you either don't realize it or you're kind of like, oh whatever. They're pretty much all expendable.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:00

Yeah. You know what? Hey, and what better way than to uh commemorate someone being expendable than by expiring the absolute worst part of this movie, which was, I say again, Harrison's existence. Overstayed his welcome by a mile. And every time he opened his mouth legitimately, I think the movie just it's begging you to root against him harder. You know what I mean? I feel as though he could be the big bad in another movie and then just get completely played like a chunk. I do also think though, like on a real note, outside of him specifically, I just I wish the CGI was a bit better in this movie. There's just some moments where it just took me out. One of which is is absolutely when Harry gets bisect bisected and the blood is coming off of the bottom of her body. But then even some moments with Bambi. There's some moments where he opens up his mouth and it looks like you know, Sean, you mentioned Welcome to Dairy. It looks like penny wise in it chapter one and two, when he's just opening his mouth and his teeth are coming out, that's what it looks like. But not like as good as those movies.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:11

Yeah, I feel that for sure. I think, listen, for me, I loved, and I'll say it again, I loved the fact that we introduced some of the other characters from the Disney classic, but I just, you know, that for me could have been the best part. It was a highlight in the scenes getting to see Thumper, but I wanted to see more. And so, like, man, I felt like the rest of the movie, I was wanting to see characters like Flower spraying some toxic spunk into someone's eyes or some creepy variation of friend Al doing some wonky shit. Like, I just needed to see a little bit more. I wanted to see the evolution of that, and maybe the idea is for more movies to come, you might get introduced to these characters, but I was really wanting those.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:56

I think maybe what I was wanting was like trauma, like classic trauma films. That's perhaps what I had desired from a creature like this was absolutely glowing toxicity, ridiculousness. But I think if I have to pick a best part of the movie, that is not too hard. There's some good bits here. I've already mentioned the simplicity. It's probably one of the best parts here. You know, if you're gonna have a monster movie, especially one that's based off of a mutated animal, I think it's smart to just make it about the fact that a mutated animal is killing things and people, and just keep it keep it there. You don't have to go any deeper than that. You can go a little bit deeper, you know. All right, this guy's responsible or he's cleaning it up, or who knows what happened. Doesn't really matter, right? Good. That's where things should land. And I think they should apply that to perhaps some other films in this whole series.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:43

Yeah. I think that for me it's kind of similar to an extent, but like on the other spectrum. I like that it was very simple and nothing too insane, but I want to go back to what I was saying in terms of like that fear opportunity. And again, I guess it's because I really do like like gothic bleak, just like the depths of emotions and sadness films. It would have been cool to maybe get a little bit scarier. And to your point, Mac, I would agree that maybe if I were to really were to imagine it sometimes if you show too much, then it's like not that scary. But I think maybe leaning then into the setting, into how goddamn dark this movie was, literally lighting-wise and color correcting, it was just like brightness up. But I think that maybe then at that point they could have made it a little bit scarier just to have something fun and also to an extent make me feel like, man, I wish I could have seen this in theaters. And I know that's crazy to say about a Puneverse film, but I actually felt that way when it came to Blood and Honey 2. I was glad that was in theaters, glad that I saw it in theaters. That was a great time because it was in theaters and I had that loud music and the whole setting fit for the film. I feel like here it would have been really cool if it had been just a bit scarier since it already was dark. So again, opportunities for fear and kind of upping the ante a little bit, but other than that, that's really it. I which is kind of crazy to say, but makes sense because again, I want to reiterate, I would most definitely re-watch this again. I really would. It's kind of crazy to say out loud. And although the Thanksgiving of it all is like a throwaway line, because there's not even turkeys around or anything that would make you decor of any nature, I feel like I'm running a little bit low on Thanksgiving films in general, so why not? Just throw this into the Thanksgiving pile and give me another reason to watch it. It's gonna get real sad, obviously, for me, but that's okay. I'm down.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:46

I have a feeling that my Thanksgiving rotation is now gonna be Thanksgiving and this movie. Why not? I cannot wait to watch this again. We were talking on a brief break earlier about the potential of doing a little Pooniverse watch party situation in our Discord server. So maybe that's something that we have to lean into. I feel like we need the full expansion, especially before Monsters Assembled comes out.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:10

I don't know that I'm here for all of this. It's a bit much for me. I think I've had a taste of the Puneverse, and I've feel like that was too much almost. You know, I think I'm good on Bambi the one time. I'm giving it its credit in my book, but I just don't know that this whole franchise has any rewatch value for me. I just think I'm the wrong audience for it.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:30

It's interesting.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:31

I haven't even seen half the franchise.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:34

That should tell you something, I think.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:35

Well, listen, I think it's interesting because obviously I think when we were going into the releases or the first releases of the Puneverse, right? I was literally like, oh, this sounds great. Like, we're gonna revamp all these Disney movies. They're in public domain, these characters that we grew up with as children, and I'm here for it. So far, I pretty sure outside of Blood and Honey or Blood and Honey 2, these have been a miss for me. So we'll see. We'll see how it goes. I'm still open to exploring them as they come out. Hopefully they get better, but you know, it is what it is.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:12

Well, what a way to wrap up this episode. It is what it is. Well, there you have it, folks. Bambi the Reckoning has earned two hacks and two slashes, but it still sounds like a lot of fun, so you should watch it anyway. We've certainly had a robust discussion here, but the conversation about this movie doesn't end here by any means.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:30

Yeah, if you're craving more content without getting mauled by a rabid forest creature, consider supporting us at patreon.com slash hackerslash because it's the one place where you won't get impaled for wandering off trail. But it is where you can enjoy even more of the show, including bonus content with early access, extended episodes with our B sides, and movie nominations, and of course, live shows.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:57

We'll see you next time, folks, and remember, it's perfectly safe.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:01

I'm going for a piss.