Bigger, bloodier and more competently made, Blood and Honey 2 is an improvement over the first movie in every way (that’s not saying much, I know). However, now that the novelty of an R-rated Winnie the Pooh horror flick has worn off, we’re left with a sequel that has no tricks left in its honeypot.
With a modest budget of half a million (which is ten times that of the first movie), the production value is noticeably higher. Everything from the cinematography to the gruesome gore effects gets a massive upgrade, making for a sequel that feels closer to a full fledged movie rather than a cheap fan film. The most notable improvement though, is the work that went into Pooh and his friends’ faces. Replacing the stiff rubber masks from the first film are prosthetics with plenty of detail. These villains now look like actual monsters, rather than actors in low quality Halloween masks.
That shiny new coat of paint is almost enough to trick you into thinking this is a halfway decent movie, by direct comparison alone. There’s no denying it looks better, but looks aren’t everything, and under the surface, this sequel suffers from the same fundamental problems that plagued the first instalment. These movies are based on beloved children’s characters, and once again, that opportunity is squandered. There’s so much fun that could’ve been had with this property, but beyond character names and being set in the Hundred Acre Woods, the film does nothing with it. The villains are bland and completely interchangeable, with no distinct personalities to set them apart from each other.
The bigger problem is how seriously this movie takes itself. The idea of a Winnie the Pooh horror movie is ridiculous, and doesn’t naturally lend itself to such a dark tone. There are some moments of tongue in cheek levity and absurd one liners (“It’s Pooh-ing time” is a real line used in a very meta moment), but otherwise this slasher is played pretty straight. Everything the movie does wrong is harder to overlook because it simply isn’t fun. Even the kills get repetitive and lack any real ingenuity.
Blood and Honey 2 is a substantial technical improvement over the first movie, but a bigger budget isn’t enough to mask everything else wrong with this sequel (it’s a long list). The gimmick is played out, and what remains is nothing more than a lame slasher cashing in on a popular children’s property. With a third film and a planned cinematic universe in the works, all I can say is “oh bother”.
1/5
Review by: Benjamin Garrett
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