Bambi: The Reckoning

In the maze of public domain horror films that now make up the well-established Twisted Childhood universe, Bambi: The Reckoning is not just another installment in this offbeat collection, but stands out as a bold and bloody new benchmark. Directed with surprising confidence by Dan Allen and written by Rhys Warrington, this film is the most coherent and accomplished work in the Poohniverse universe to date. This creature feature finally delivers the chaos, mythology, and monstrous charm that its predecessors only hinted at. Drawing more heavily on Felix Salten's original 1923 novel, Bambi, A Life in the Woods, than the sugarcoated vision many still associate with the doe-eyed deer, this adaptation unleashes a truly terrifying version of the eponymous creature: a mutant force of nature filled with rage, with sharp teeth, glowing eyes, and a vendetta born of tragedy. What makes this film successful, despite its flaws, is the clarity of its premise: a mother and child trapped in an isolated house, pursued by a nightmarish beast that represents the wrath of nature, human guilt, and the twisted echo of childhood trauma.

The film opens with an animated prologue that seems to be a haunting nod to the roots of the tale, quickly establishing Bambi's loss and transformation. Dan Allen's direction leaves no ambiguity: this is a film about pain, corruption, and revenge. The poisoned waters of Wilberx Pharmaceuticals are the catalyst, transforming a wounded stag into a demonic hunter whose fury echoes through the dark woods of Wilding Wood, England. What could have been just a stag on a killing spree is instead anchored in a surprisingly solid structure and an atmospheric visual approach. Vince Knight's cinematography is eerily elegant, enveloping the carnage in thick fog, blue-gray hues, and dense foliage that make the forest feel endless and inescapable. The darkness, both literal and figurative, conceals not only Bambi's grotesque features but also the pain that drives him. This creature is closer to Annihilation than Blood and Honey, and that's a good thing.

The performances of the actors give the film a surprising emotional charge, particularly that of Roxanne McKee as Xana, a single mother who goes on the worst road trip imaginable with her son Benji, a sensitive teenager played by Tom Mulheron. Their chemistry is believable, and although their relationship isn't as rich as in some horror films, it's effective enough to ground the story. Roxanne McKee's performance is particularly remarkable in moments of maternal despair; her silent horror, rather than histrionic screams, makes her more convincing than most scream queens of the genre. Tom Mulheron also avoids the cliché of the precocious child and instead offers a gentle, frightened presence that makes Bambi's attacks even more threatening. The rest of the cast rounds out the gallery of supporting characters with varying degrees of success: Joseph Greenwood's obnoxious cousin Harrison is a delightfully detestable character, while Nicola Wright's senile grandmother provides a strangely poetic link to the legend of Bambi, her fractured mind strangely in tune with the monster's presence.

It is undoubtedly in its uncompromising commitment to visceral spectacle that Bambi: The Reckoning excels most.  The murders are brutal and sometimes shockingly creative. There is an unbridled joy in the way director Dan Allen stages the action scenes: impalements, mutilations, and complete eviscerations that don't just serve to spill blood for the sake of it, but are the primitive punctuation marks of this dark fairy tale. A particularly memorable moment is when the distorted version of Panpan (Thumper in the original version) appears, a deranged rabbit who leaps into the action as if straight out of Monty Python's darkest nightmares. It's absurd, hilarious, and genuinely disturbing, and it sums up the central strength of the film: embracing the ridiculous and the deadly in equal measure. Unlike the confused tone of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey or the overly melancholic meanderings of Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning strikes the best balance between grotesque horror and mythical absurdity. The creature design, done with the help of Stephanie Bellgardt, is very well done, combining digital imagery and practical effects that ultimately elevate the monster in Twisted Childhood to an excellent level of realization and make the film even more successful.

What may resonate with viewers is the ecological fury that underlies this film. There is a clear thread of ecological horror running through Rhys Warrington's script: Bambi is not just a killer, he is a judgment, a force of nature warped by human neglect. This is not a revenge story limited to a single tragedy, but a mythical metaphor for all the ways in which humanity defiles the natural world. Bambi's monstrosity is our own reflection, the result of pollution, violence, and mindless destruction. It's not subtle, but it doesn't need to be. In fact, its bluntness is refreshing in a genre often bogged down by unnecessary twists and turns. When the blood flows, it feels deserved, not only in terms of narrative logic, but also in terms of symbolic justice. Bambi is the ghost of our sins, charging with his antlers.

There are certainly weaknesses. Some of the film's attempts to elicit an emotional response fall flat, and the ending, while ambitious, borders on melodrama. The dialogue can be stilted, and the plot sometimes gets bogged down in family subplots. The film also doesn't entirely escape the formula of its predecessors: we always know who's going to die and when, and the tension sometimes falls flat due to predictability. But these are relatively minor complaints overall. The pace is steady, the tone consistent, and the images captivating enough to carry the film through its less inspired moments. It never transcends its genre, but it refines it, which is no small feat in a cinematic universe built on meme-worthy horror concepts.

With Bambi: The Reckoning, the Twisted Childhood universe finally finds its footing. It's not only the best film in the TCU series, it's the first one that truly feels like a horror film worth watching for its own sake. Dan Allen has made a film that respects the absurdity of its premise without reducing it to parody, and Rhys Warrington has written a script that allows for moments of poetic fury amid the carnage. This is a dark and brutal fairy tale for adults who grew up with sugarcoated versions of these stories and are now ready to face the monsters lurking behind the nostalgia. Bambi: The Reckoning may not be for everyone, but for those willing to embrace the madness, it offers a satisfyingly diabolical scream in the darkness.

Bambi: The Reckoning
Directed by Dan Allen
Written by Rhys Warrington
Based on Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten
Produced by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, Scott Jeffrey
Starring Roxanne McKee, Tom Mulheron, Nicola Wright, Samira Mighty, Alex Cooke, Russell Geoffrey Banks, Joseph Greenwood
Cinematography: Vince Knight
Edited by Dan Allen
Music by Greg Birkumshaw
Production company: Jagged Edge Productions
Distributed by ITN Distribution (United States)
Release date: July 25, 2025 (United States)
Running time: 81 minutes

Seen on August 8, 2025 (press screener)

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