The Big Picture

  • Matt Leslie openly acknowledges the flaws of the original film, but is excited about the improvements made in the sequel.
  • The sequel to Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey prioritizes making a better film, rather than copying the original's success.
  • Blood and Honey 2, praised for its terrifying, funny, and bonkers nature, releases in theaters for a limited three-day event on March 26, 2024.

March has a handful of exciting horror releases. However, none have genre fans buzzing like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2. The sequel to the critically panned slasher take on the beloved children’s icon didn’t fare much better with the horror community itself. That’s despite the internet gravitating towards the project thanks to its blood-soaked nature and out-there costume designs. Now the writer of Blood and Honey 2, Matt Leslie, acknowledged that the original terrifying trip down through the Hundred-Acre-Wood wasn’t that great.

In a post to his Instagram where he confirmed he was indeed the writer of Blood and Honey 2, Leslie wrote “The first film... wasn't great. This is how I got involved…”. He would go on to explain that the first film’s composer, Andrew Scott Bell, reached out to him. “Andy is an insanely talented composer who created a wonderful score for the first film. Candidly, it was one of the few bright spots. He said the filmmaker was looking to step things up in the sequel and was in search of a writer.” Leslie would soon have a meeting with returning director, and writer of the first film, Rhys Frake-Waterfield. They talked “at length about what went right and wrong with part 1, and he was quite sober about it all. He knew it wasn't a good film. Having made it for like $40k, you can imagine what an impossible task it was. But sometimes in this business, you take what you can get. It's f***ing brutal.”

Why Did ‘Blood and Honey 2’s Writer Take the Project?

So, after all that, you might be wondering why Leslie would go on to write the sequel. He would praise Frake-Waterfield for his pure love for film and his passion. Something he could relate to. Plus, despite his concerns, which included the ridiculousness of a killer Pooh and the still small budget, the director’s vision was what drove him to the project. He would also go on to call Scott Chambers', who plays Christopher Robin, performance in Blood and Honey 2 “f***ing brilliant”. That’s something you couldn’t say about any of the acting in the first honey-centric murder spree.

The job/goal of a sequel should always be focused on improving its original. It would be easy for the filmmakers just to fall back on the box office hit of Blood and Honey and copy it beat for beat. However, that’s why it's refreshing to hear Leslie speak so openly about the first film’s missteps and that Frake-Waterfield was completely on board with making a much better film. The horror genre is flooded with many unnecessary sequels. Blood and Honey in its original form was an objectively bad film. Even fans of the first film could admit that. Given Leslie’s track record, which includes the well received Summer of 84, one would think Blood and Honey would be beneath the writer. However, this gave the writer an opportunity to make a positive contribution to a much maligned concept. Leslie would finish expressing his excitement about the sequel, saying, “the film we've all made is a blast. Good people came together and made something that's scary, funny, and definitely f***ing bonkers, and it's worthy of playing in theaters.” As a horror fan, you always love hearing stories like this.

When Does ‘Blood and Honey 2’ Release?

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 releases in theaters for a killer three-day event starting on March 26, 2024. You can order tickets now on Fandango’s website, and you can view Leslie’s full post below.