Just when you thought the Razzies couldn’t get any weirder, they went full horror show by awarding the tiny indie slasher “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” a grand slam of worst picture, director, screenplay and more. In a delicious twist of anti-prestige, this no-budget nightmare about a rampaging Winnie and Piglet turned childhood innocence into a gory, cannibalistic fever dream – and the Razzies rewarded it like a new cult classic.
Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield seemed almost bewildered by the dubious honors. After all, his $50,000 backyard butcherfest was squaring off against nine-figure studio duds like “Meg 2: The Trench” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” It’s like your kid’s haunted household diorama winning the Oscar for Best Picture. Frake-Waterfield was a polite British lad about it all, graciously noting he didn’t mind joining the “pool” of more experienced directors he admires.
But you can sense his quiet glee at having the ultimate last underbear laugh. “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” was 2022’s most deliciously deranged middle finger at unchecked IP exploitation. A public domain act of cinematic terrorism, violating the childhood of millions by turning the Hundred Acre Wood into a new circle of hell. No studio benefactor, just a punk rock mashup of slasher tropes and stained plushies that sparked outrage and disgust from the moral panic brigade.
And now, this $50K cinematic paper bag filled with flaming poo has been elevated and immortalized by receiving the Razzies’ highest/lowest dishonors. An anarchic achievement truly in the bizarre spirit of the awards mocking Hollywood’s self-importance. You can practically hear the Razzies founders cackling like Piglet being disemboweled, “You want us to rag on another superhero dud or soulless IP cash-in? No, we’re going to celebrate this amateur’s unhinged violation of all that’s good and pure!”
Of course, the ultimate troll move would be for “Blood and Honey” to transcend cult curio status and become a full-blown franchise. Well, get ready for “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2” which is premiering soon with an utterly miniscule $1 million budget. Director Frake-Waterfield promises this new chapter will up the mayhem and defilement of our childhood memories. Maybe this time around, we’ll get a disfigured Tigger disemboweling Kanga with his crutch! The possibilities for depraved Hundred Acre mayhem are endless on a million bucks.
So raise a glass of spiked hunny to “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” – the first Razzie-winning Best Worst Picture that truly deserves to become an institution. A delightfully uncompromising, no-budget gorefest that faced off against bloated studio crap and won. Just when you thought the Razzies couldn’t get any weirder, they embraced a new kind of trashterpiece destined for midnight movie immortality. Oh bother indeed.
