I'm totally on board with the "Poohniverse" or "TCU" (Twisted Childhood Universe), the series of interconnected films orchestrated by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who wastes no time churning out low-budget horror adaptations of beloved children's characters the moment they drop into the public domain. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequel were fun, fresh hits of gory campiness that left me with a smile on my face, marveling at their sheer audacity. (Winnie the Pooh using a bear trap as a weapon is genius.) Both films succeeded because of the ridiculousness of plush toy animals coming to life to enact revenge on Christopher Robin and, well, everyone else. There's just something hilarious about Tigger eviscerating someone. (Maybe that's just me lol.)
Unfortunately, Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare misses the mark by eliminating the fun and telling the story of Peter Pan, a child abductor, who stalks children in his creepy kidnapper van, and takes them to "Neverland" a place that exists only in his head, but is really just a dark and filthy crackhouse of sorts. At no point did I laugh at what I was seeing: the film plays all of this pretty straight.
Peter's accomplice is Tinkerbell, a middle-aged junkie addicted to mainlining pixie-dust. She's conflicted about all the kidnapping of boys, but she stays around for her fix. Captain Hook even makes an appearance as a guy kept chained up in a dungeon room. I'm not exactly sure why, which points out the confusing screenplay that seems to want to get in as many classic Peter Pan references as possible without them doing service to the story. Apparently Tigerlilly is in the movie, but I only know that by looking at the cast list. I had no idea.
Neverland Nightmare is incredibly derivative. At times Peter Pan (Martin Portlock) is doing a direct impression of Pennywise in It (2017) and other times he's clearly Joaquin Phoenix's Joker. The story and sets draw heavily from The Black Phone (2021). There's a fine line between paying homage and outright copying that is hard to define. What's missing here is the wink-wink between filmmaker and audience. Perhaps because there are plenty of opportunities for homage within the framework of J. M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan story itself. How delicious it would have been to include some (fair use) fun poked at Disney's adaptation, or even a satirical nod to the classic Peter Pan ride at Disneyland!
While the kills are gory and brutal, they seemed uninspired, mostly relying on knife attacks. I SO wanted to see Captain Hook disembowel someone with his hook hand. Maybe we'll get that if he returns for Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, slated for release later this year. Hey, they could pay homage to the hook kill in In a Violent Nature (2024).
As in all the Poohniverse films, the acting is quite strong, especially Megan Placito's performance as Wendy Darling. The cinematography, lighting, set design, and sound design are all top-notch, reaching way beyond the film's micro £250,000 budget. Everyone involved with the production should be commended for making a very slick looking film.
Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare feels like a misstep in this budding horror franchise, dishing out a pretty straightforward slasher film, although it's entertaining enough to make for a fun party movie. It's disappointing to consider the fun opportunities missed by playing it for straight horror and depravity rather than leaning into the ridiculousness of the Peter Pan story itself, which is a little disturbing on its own. I hope Bambi: The Reckoning and Pinocchio: Unstrung bring back the campiness and schlock later this year. Damn, they are really cranking these out!
7/10.
